Is the Ford Escort reliable?

The Ford Escort has an average MOT pass rate of 82% across 16 years, based on 15,404 tests in 2026. That's 0 points above the national average of 82%. The most reliable year is 2016 with a 100% pass rate.

Which year Ford Escort is best?

The 2016 Ford Escort has the highest MOT pass rate at 100%, while the 2000 model has the lowest at 71%. There's a 29 percentage point spread between the best and worst years.

Ford Escort

Reliability, running costs, and MOT data across 16 years from 15,404 real MOT tests.

Avg Pass Rate

82%

Total Tests

15,404

Best Year

2016 (100%)

Years Covered

About the Ford Escort

The Ford Escort has been tested 15,404 times in 2026 MOT data across 16 model years (1990 to 2019), with an average pass rate of 82%. That's close to the national average of 82%. Available as petrol and diesel.

Best and Worst Years

The 2016 model is the most reliable with a 100% pass rate from 33 tests. The 2000 model has the lowest at 71%. With a 29 point spread, choosing the right year makes a big difference to reliability.

Reliability Trend

Older FORD ESCORTs tend to have better MOT pass rates than newer ones, with an average decline of 11 percentage points across model years.

Mileage Across Years

The oldest model in our data (1990) averages 52,314 miles, while the newest (2019) averages 32,761 miles.

Estimated Running Costs

Fuel (Petrol, 1097cc)

£955

Road Tax

£195

MOT Test

£55

Predicted Repairs

£200

Total per year£1,405

Per month£117/mo

Based on 7,400 miles/year, current fuel prices, and MOT pass rate data. Insurance not included.

Full 2019 details

How reliable is the Ford Escort?

vs national average+0% (82% avg)

vs Ford brand average-3% (85% avg)

Best to worst year spread29 percentage points

Reliability trendDeclining over years

Ford Escort by Year

Click any year to see detailed running costs, reliability data, and comparisons with similar cars.

Year	Pass Rate	Tests	Avg Mileage
2019	100%	32	32,761 mi
2016	100%	33	49,005 mi
2015	91%	34	45,109 mi
2002	74%	525	107,053 mi
2001	71%	695	98,376 mi
2000	71%	801	83,996 mi
1999	71%	706	55,466 mi
1998	74%	1,292	59,153 mi
1997	72%	1,797	56,799 mi
1996	77%	1,820	56,809 mi
1995	81%	1,377	52,782 mi
1994	83%	1,008	57,612 mi
1993	83%	1,097	51,371 mi
1992	88%	733	50,276 mi
1991	85%	782	53,590 mi
1990	85%	2,672	52,314 mi