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The spotted specimen

For a change, this week’s spot we didn’t come across ourselves, but was sent to us by one of our enthusiastic readers. Thank you! In Arnhem he spotted this 1988 Ford Escort 1.6D CL Estate. The car is original Dutch and with the current owner since 2005. That is quite a long time. The ‘working’ life of the car still seems to be not over, but together with the traces of use that has its charm. Moreover, it is already nice that it is still driving around at all.

In fact, this model Escort could once be found on almost every street, but nowadays it is a real rarity. There are still about 4,600 Ford Escorts on Dutch license plates. Of these, about 1,100 are of this model generation, but only 23 of them are an Estate! Statistically speaking, you are even more likely to encounter a Bugatti in Dutch traffic, as there are 109 of them registered.

Fourth-generation Ford Escort?

Late last year we already covered the third-generation Ford Escort in this column, following the at least equally rare three-door station wagon variant. In 1986, this model underwent an extensive facelift. Although Ford also simply called it a facelift, because of the many changes, this model is referred to as the fourth generation Escort in much documentation.

The ‘new’ Ford Escort

With the facelift, the Ford Escort received a new front end, with styling characteristics of the larger Scorpio (we’ve also spotted that one before). At the rear, the changes were limited, but at least the more modern taillights without ridges stand out. Inside, though, the changes were big again, with a completely new dashboard and door panels. The many innovations were also necessary, because the competition came around that time with completely new models. For example, the Opel Kadett E(also spotted).

In terms of equipment, the Escort also moved with the times. On the options list appeared things like ABS, windshield heating and an on-board computer that kept track of fuel consumption. Modifications to both the engine bay and the suspension improved handling. The 1.1-liter gasoline engine was joined by a new 1.4-liter, which replaced one of the older 1.3-liters. The other 1.3-liter remained, as did the 1.6-liter. The 1.6-liter diesel engine also remained. For model year 1989, all engines underwent another update, with the diesel even enlarged to 1.8-liter.

Finally, an all-new Ford Escort

The last updates followed before 1990, the last regular production year of the “fourth generation” Ford Escort. The updates mainly involved extending the standard equipment on almost all trim levels, as a kind of extra attractive off-the-shelf model. Later in 1990, the hatchback models were succeeded by a truly all-new model generation of the Escort. However, production continued into 1992 for certain variants, including specific versions of the Estate. Because of large inventories, even some hatchbacks were not registered until that year.