Ford Escort Van (91-02) - Review

The Ford Escort van was exactly what it said on the tin – a van version of the Escort car. As such it was never meant to be anything but a pedestrian workhorse. However, since its final demise in 2002, this van seems to have achieved somewhat of a celebrity status and is still much sought-after in the secondhand market. 1996 saw marked improvements in the Escort van as it followed its car brother with a brand new model. This version featured either a 1.3-litre petrol engine or a 1.8-litre diesel, although the petrol version was latterly dropped, leaving the diesel in both plain and turbocharged formats.

Pre-1996 models were pretty basic, with few creature comforts and very average seats. After that, things improved greatly with better seats and a smart dash reminiscent of the Mondeo car. A radio/cassette player was fitted as standard along with power steering but features such as ABS brakes were not offered.

While the petrol-engined Escort van managed half-reasonable performance, progress in both diesel engines was slow. The non-turbo 1.8 offered just 60bhp and 81lb-ft or torque while the turbo added another 10 horses and 19lf-ft of torque. It seems slow today but was about par for the course for diesel engines of that period. After 1996, ride and handling improved enormously as the Ford boffins got serious about NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). They tweaked suspension, gearbox and steering mechanisms to give a much more refined ride. Engine noise was reduced too.