The all new Ford Escort preview – A familiar nameplate returns in a new decade

After decades of absence the Ford Escort nameplate is back. On November 21, 2017 the Escort officially went on sale at local Ford dealers across the island. Although, new for the Taiwan market, the new Escort has been on sale in China since 2015. This Escort is a slotted in between the Fiesta and the Focus. The Escort nameplate was last seen in the USA in 2002 and was replaced by the Ford Focus lineup. In Taiwan, the Fiesta sedan was discontinued at the end of the 2014 model year and only the Fiesta hatchback remains, so essentially the new Escort helps fill the void.

The exterior of the all new Escort uses Ford’s kinetic design language, along with all new sheet metal, plus LED running lights. A modern design, yet unique in its own way. The interior is spacious, more room than the tighter feeling Fiesta. The dashboard is simple and everything is easy to read and within reach. Hard plastics abound, but you do get an 8 inch LCD touchscreen with DVD player and USB jacks to charge that phone or any other device you want to bring along. The backseat passengers will also find a convenient 120v outlet to keep connected.

The Escort is powered by a non-EcoBoost 1.5L Ti-VCT Duratec 4 cylinder that puts out 113hp@6000rpm and 14.5kgm@4250rpm.

The main competitors with the Escort are the Honda City and Toyota Vios. Pricing ranges from $NTD579,000 – 679,000 ($19,300-22,600 USD).

My thoughts:

The new Ford Escort comes with many standard features such as ABS, ESC and more airbags (6 airbags standard, Vios only has 2 airbags and ABS is optional). Optional tech features include backup camera and GPS navigation. This car gives the consumer value for their money and its spacious for the whole family. The Ford Escort nameplate and heritage is not really well-known in Taiwan, although US model Escorts were sold in Taiwan in the 1980s. It remains to be seen how well this new Escort does locally.