IDRIVEACLASSIC: A MK3 Ford Escort turned movie star

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The MK3 Ford Escort with a story...

Whilst we see a lot of love for those early MK1 and MK2 Escorts, the MK3 Escort is still an affordable, interesting classic for a petrol head without the off putting price tag of those earlier RWD cars.

Examples such as these can be snapped up for under 5k and the MK3 like this was released in 1980 with production running until 1986 when the car was replaced with MK4 Fourth gen Escort.

Now although it’s less desirable than the earlier marques, I think the mk3 is a far more usable, enjoyable and practical classic for daily use; and even won European car of the year in 1981 when it was pitched against the Panda and Metro - which were both brilliant cars of their time.

When it came to market, the car was marketed with the strap line ‘simple is efficient’ and I think this example which isn’t a special edition or a trailer queen squirrelled away and mothballed, shows off that sentiment perfectly. The Escort was never designed to be some sparkly unicorn on a podium like you see at shows, it was a basic, everyday car with mass appeal.

The car for the time was considered high tech and looking at the design now in 2022, time has certainly been kinder to it style wise than many other cars of the era.

the changes from the MK2 to MK3 variant like independent suspension all round, front wheel drive and overhead cam engine makes it a car which can easily compete for modern classic/youngtimer status with cars ten years newer.

There are things I miss from the earlier Escorts like the bodyshape, the dash and the retro 70s lairyness of the driving experience; but these MK3s are a car which are currently slightly overlooked and definitely worthy of saving over scrapping…and I’m not even a modern Ford fan!

Today’s example is a 1.3 GL, which doesn’t put it at the bottom of the pile but it’s not the top either. The range had L, GL, Ghia and XR3. Although the 5 speed box was put into the range from 82 onwards, it wasn’t standard on these 1.3s and was merely an option. An option the first owner apparently didn’t fancy. When we go for a drive, you’ll see that fifth gear would’ve been an absolute winner.

Another canny little fact on these is that 1983, the year of this car being sold, was the first year for the 5 door variant.

All in all, this is probably a very good example of what most people remember the slightly dated Escort on their neighbour’s drive looking like. Cosmetically perfect, absolutely not. But full of history and a brilliant story, absolutely.

Kev will tell the story for us better than I could ever tell it myself, but hold your horses, because first of all, we’re off to look at the dash in more detail.