Ford Escort RS Turbo Review

Overall Rating

Easy to mod

Poor handling
Rust
Stolen a lot (for some reason)
Interior space terrible, many smaller cars were better (like the 205).

I had a Ford Escort RS Turbo a few years back and wasn't impressed at all. It was quite quick but its speed and handling were no match for a MG Maestro turbo. It also was a constant battle to fend off the rust. Other bad points include poor space, cheap plastics and high insurance costs (even for what it is).
Basically I think these cars are VERY over rated and not worth the prices now being asked. Find something more modern or choose something else from the time, like the truely great 205 GTI.

Members' Comments onChrisX's Review

• booner999 on 8th Dec 2003

  your having a laugh aint you mate, i got a 2001 zetec s that would beat peugeot 205s and a lot more. my mate has a RS with 185bhp kicking out and thats a monster, not much can keep there at the lights with it. i think these cars are true legends and ford should bring out the new version, not many ppl had the balls to put a turbo on a 1.6i engine in such a small car (Fiesta) nothing in its class would touch this and so much for peugeot 205, a design fault with them means the heads pop more times than you fill them with petrol

• ChrisX on 8th Dec 2003

  Look they are tunable yes but handling is a no no because they flatter to deceive. A standard one is just an overpowered escort which means its rusty, poor quality, has poor internal space (even for its size) and handles badly. NO escort (except the sierra based cossy) is a match for a 205 1.9 if the driver knows what hes doing.

• samm on 25th Dec 2003

  lets set the record straight here. a fiesta zetec s is a great handling car but it is only a warm hatch
  205 1.9 has 30bhp more and weighs around 100kg less, what do you reckon will win??
  zetec s will barely hit 60 in under 10 seconds.
  in standard form a 205 1.9 is better than an rs turbo and if you have 2k to spend you can get a nice late 205 mi16 or an old escort rs prob e reg with some minor mods.

• turboJOE on 11th Jan 2004

  205 GTI's 1.9's handle well but thats about the only advantage they've got over an Escort turbo. the escort would obliterate it in a straight line even as standard, and before you all start on about mi16 engined ones you'd be lucky to find one, and even then some light tuning on the turbo would be enough to do the pug over. plus, french cars are'nt exactly famed for their build quality.

• samm on 12th Jan 2004

  ok lets put the record straight.
  205 1.9 0-60=7.8
  Escort rs=8seconds. it is actually slower!
  Also, escort rs's cost much more! even a thrashed one go for £2k where some jippo cant afford to service it.
  I see mi16's in loot all the time, u can get a nice 190bhp spec one for 2k, that is around 210 bhp per tonne!
  for £2k your gonna get an rs with around 160-180bhp but it will have more lag.
  Don't get me wrong I think rst's are brilliant as are r5gtt's, but if it has to be a turbo, for less money you can get a nissan 200 with more power, bigger engine etc and rwd fun!

• ChrisX on 12th Jan 2004

  Its an 80s ford and you say french cars have poor build quality ????
  The plastics used in fords of the time are terrible.
  'fater in a straight line'... well maybe a little but handling is so much better with the 205. Not many fun roads have no corners !!!
  The 205 is a true drivers car, you need talent to drive it well, which is why many people like the RS so much, because they have none.

• 555 on 14th Jan 2004

  OMG ChrisX I havent laughed so much in ages,I mean some of the things you have said are utter rubbish it has to be said.Number one you didn't say what RS turbo you had a S1 or S2. The former being a proper motorsport homologation special.You also say that the ford is just an overpowered Escort in standard form,what do you think a 205 GTi is only it has the thinnest metal known to man it'd dent just by blowing on it.The standards of the plastics e.t.c that is just down to preference you could say the same about the 205 1.9 GTi which incidently a friend of mine had which he wanted to get rid of sharpish because he was so very disappointed with the car as a whole. You talk about the handling and the ford not being as good,total rubbish. Neither car will have the standard suspension components on them any more long worn out. Buy some good aftermarket items and the handling of both cars will be transformed from different kit to kit (modern advances)even sandard though the RS was much better just look at some of the car reviews of the day then you'll see.As for the Mi16 engined cars this cannot be compared in any way to the fords CVH as this is like binning the CVH in order to fit a Zetec. The ford was also the first FWD production car in the world to have a LSD fitted as standard which vastly improves handling and traction. The current market value reflects which is the more desirable car enough said. Which leaves the rust issue, this is quite frankly down to how well the car has been looked after as neither the pug nor the RS were galvanized bodywork.Ford has achieved so much more than peugeot in motorsport and sport models for the roads,the RS badge has so much more prestige than the pug GTi effort.You stick to your guns and and believe yourself what you have said,but everyone else knows the true facts.Maybe one day you will take off those rose tinted glasses for the ickle french rollerskate and see the light.

• ChrisX on 14th Jan 2004

  As a professional racing instructor I think I am able to comment on the handling, the Ford is not as good, because it frustrates the talented driver, for normal drivers it may be fine.
  I am commenting on the standard car (and always do), not a modded one because all modded cars are different. I can get an better laptime of castle combe in a rover 216GTI twin cam than I can in an RS Turbo (both standard).
  The peugeot may not be as well built, but its built from better parts and is a much better design, its a smaller car and has more space !
  The second hand value of the RST is a joke, its only an Escort, even if it does have a turbo and an LSD. Novas used to hold value as well and they are appalling cars, its just because young kids have no idea what a real car is.
  I owned a series 1 and have driven series 2 models.
  If you want to believe the RST is so great then fine, real drivers think otherwise (ie the NON max power guys). Have you checked under all that plastic for rust lately? You may not see it until its too late.

• 555 on 15th Jan 2004

  Not all drivers of RS Turbos are as you put it young kids or the (Max Power) brigade. You should visit the RSOC website. Anyway I think you may find a good few 205 GTi owners within the maxpower brigade also,like the hideous 205 group B rally car replicas. Rust will only progress in any car if you neglect it. Im sure that within the fraternity of professional drivers, driving instructors e.t.c opinion will vastly vary about what car they like better. The value thing,you get what you pay for in this world, a knackered terrible example or a genuine clean car which can be up for the same price.I understand you have your opinion and i have mine.

• samm on 15th Jan 2004

  I can't agree with you more chris. The 205 1.9 has a cult status among people who love driving like journalists and sports drivers, the rst has a huge following which primarily comes from the max power people. Chris, can you confirm, how much faster round a track will a 205 1.9 be over an RST? (In standard form)
  Other than a strut brace and induction filter, my 1.9 is standard and I could never be as confident at taking corners in an RST as I am in my Pug. Ok it is flimsy but that adds to the quirkiness of the car, some loser hit my door and front wing and it cost me £30 for a mint second hand door and £15 for a brand new wing!

• kendo on 25th Jan 2004

  Look girls, the orignal review in this section is bang on. The R.S's (fiesta's too) are the most over priced and over rated motor in their range for 3 reasons....1- the handling is pathetic even if its lowered you cant take it round a corner at more than 35.
  
  2- rust...I seen a guy who paid over £3000 for one and it was minted, tried to jack it up once and put the jack right threw the bottom. No matter what you do they rust.
  
  3- price. The Escort and Fiesta r.s are the exact same as the xr's except there 3 times more pricey and what do you get.....1 second off 0-60. Not worth it. There handling is just as bad and so is the rust.
  
  and to the person who clamed they are better than R5's....are you sick in the head. If you paid as much for a GT Turbo as you do for these RS's then it wouldnt 'be unreliable' as you put it.

• samm on 26th Jan 2004

  Any suggestions on what would be the best car 2nd hand for around £6k?
  So far I am thinking
  1)MR2 TURBO
  2)CORRADO VR6
  3)NISSAN 200 S14 TOURING
  4)INTEGRA TYPE R
  5)IMPREZA WRX

• turboJOE on 26th Jan 2004

  I think someone might have bit of a thing against Fords. for 6 grand you could get a rather nice saff cossie (a true classic, no arguments please) which is obviously far better than any of those cars, except possibly the scooby. then again, whatever floats your boat....

• samm on 27th Jan 2004

  I quite like fords and a saphie cossie is very quick butI think it looks really dated now and an MR2 Turbo rev 3 will easily burn it out no probs. If i could get an escort cossie for 6k then it would be a no brainer but never mind!

• 944 on 1st Feb 2004

  Turbo Joe i agree,Kendo aka Jeremy Clarkson i think your comments about the handling are plain crazy. Must of been a really mint car for 3000,nice checking before buying. The R5 GT may be rapid like the 205gti but thats about it.Chris X also known as Michael Schumacher I also disagee.

• samm on 2nd Feb 2004

  Kendo definitley has something against fords.
  An RST may not have the best chassis or handling but if you put some coilovers on, the handling will be transformed

• Wallpaper on 5th Feb 2004

  The RS is faster...just, I drove them both on the same day to decide which 1 I wanted. I think the 205 is faster from the off...but when that TURBO kicks in OMFG! it would dust the 205 on a motoway. Im not biased in any way bcos I really did want 1 until the RS came along and I couldn't say no.

• samm on 6th Feb 2004

  on a motorway the rs is definitley faster but there is no way you can take corners at the same speed the 205 can, therefore, on a track the 205 will win, unless its a track with very few corners

• TopSecret on 8th Feb 2004

  0-60 on my Dads Rs Turbo S2!! Is 7 seconds and under. We had done some 0-60 our selves and thats what we got. It was about 7.2 seconds,thats without any major mods. As far as I know it has NONE!!! and it boots out around 160bhp,now I think thats amazing considering it has no mods. All thats been done is a rolling road!
  
  Peugeot's lol,it wud rinse them (rs wud)
  This Rs basically has left behind any other Escorts we have come across. I love my dads car, can you see why? hehe. well add me to msn or something u lot and also visit my site. topsecretts@hotmail.com
  
  site is http://www.avidgamers.com/Tuned_cars/
  
  Cya!

• samm on 9th Feb 2004

  yea true but then we go back to the fact that 2k will buy you a mash up rs probably a d reg with over 100k miles. and 2k will also buy you a 180bhp spec mi16 205 in very good condition with no lag and better handling.
  It is good if you own an rs but if you are buying, the pug is better value.
  If i wanted a turbo car and had around 2k, I would much rather a nissan 200, for starters it has rwd and a more flexible,tuneable engine

• SidRST on 20th Feb 2004

  Anyone who thinks the 205 is better than the cult class RS turbo is very deluded indeed. Just looking at current values prove the 205 is only good for scrap now.
  
  In its time it was good for what it was, but as soon as tuneability comes into it - the Escort wins by a huge margin - thats why it still has such a big following.
  
  An rs turbo that is mildly tuned should see almost 200bhp - you'd need something pretty drastic for the pug 205 to do the same, eg engine swap mi16!

• samm on 21st Feb 2004

  true, the rs will always be more tuneable by virtue of the fact that it is a turbo engine.
  Personally i have driven both and it comes down to your driving style.
  If u prefer straightline speed the rs is the one. if u enjoy taking corners at speed, the 205 is miles better, thats my conclusion after driving both. a 200bhp rs will cost around 2-3k.a 180bhp mi16 205 will cost 1-2k.and will handle better with no lag.
  Really, the rs should be compared to the R5 not the 205 because they are so different.
  Weather or not an r5 is better than an rs in standard or modified form i really dont know. it's a very close one.
  I have heard the r5 costs a lot in repair bills but most rs owners I have talked to say that they cetainly aint cheap(gear boxes etc)
  this is another one where the 205 wins-it is miles cheaper to maintain although the build quality isnt quite as good as the rs.
  why spend 3k on an rs when you can get a more fun (rwd) and quicker nissan 200 for less?

• turboJOE on 2nd Mar 2004

  I must agree with you samm the rs turbo and 205 gti are both very different cars. RS owners will always argue that their cars are faster in a straight line (which they are) and GTI owners will always say their cars handle better (which they do, I drove one the other day and chucked it about a bit and loved it, but still missed my Escort\'s grunt). As for the nissan 200, the reason that most of us drive RS turbos is that there are parts for them everywhere you look. if ever I need a part for an Escort (engine, box, recaros, anything), a few phone calls later and ive got it for next to nothing. you could never do that with a jap motor, thats the beauty of fords.

• TopSecret on 24th Mar 2004

  Got a question here!!
  
  A mate of mine told me the GTI escort is faster than the sr2 RST Escort?
  
  is this true in both 0 to 60 and top end?

• samm on 29th Mar 2004

  Maybe in 1st gear only but I'm sure 0-60 and top end the RST is a fair bit faster

• samson123 on 30th Mar 2004

  Hi im about to gt my first car have been looking about for a 1.6i Escort mrk4/5 but after reading your reviews of how rubbish they are, could anybody suggest a better first car that is a bit more rapid than a 1.2 corsa?

• AndyC on 23rd Apr 2004

  Found this by mistake and it made me chuckle as I just bought a little 1.6 205 to play with. Have had XR's etc in the past and in reality the 205 was never really in competition with any RS Turbo Escort certainly in the beginning. The 1.9 in standard form was quicker than a standard RST, end of story. Back in the late 80's/early 90's a lot of us had both cars and the 1.9 was quicker because we had no respect for anyone else on the road and thought we all knew how to drive - amazing what I've forgotten in the last 14 years, ain't it?
  
  A client of mine services XJ220's and RACES historic Group C cars and he & his Dad run 3 1.9's between them and rate them as being the biz which says a lot to me as these blokes really REALLY know their cars.
  
  That said, the S1 RST was my dream car when I was 13 as that was the year they launched it but the 205 looks better, goes better and handles better. The first 2 are just my own opinion but handling? come on - in standard form and driven by a competent driver a 205 will wee on a Ford any day - sorry but that's basic fact chaps!

• Wallpaper on 28th Apr 2004

  Well RS turbos are very fast...mine was actually 160bhp which cost me £200 because the guy I bought it from thought it was knackerd but all it was, was something in the engine was backward because his x-wife had tampered with it 2 upset him! Anyway RS turbos don't handle to well due to the tourque steer, you could be driving down a country lane and put your foot down and get pulled into a wall! with the 205 that doesnt happen. Actually the best all round car in my eyes is the Mk2 golf GTI... it is fairly fast (0-60 in 8.2 seconds) it is v.solid and you dont end up having your rear overtaking you if you mess up a corner, but for speed look for cheap rs!

• andy1337 on 29th Apr 2004

  Ford Escort RS Specs
  0-60mph 8.20s from
  http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=26851
  and
  
  Engine
  Type: CVH
  Capacity: 1596cc
  Bore/Stroke: 79.9mmx79.5mm
  Compression ratio: 8.2:1
  Max Power: 132bhp@5750rpm
  Max Torque: 132 @ 2750rpm
  0-60: 8.2 seconds
  1/4 Mile: 16.8 seconds
  Max Speed: 128mph
  
  from
  http://www.fasterfords.com/guides/s2_rst.htm
  
  And for the 205 GTi 1.9
  0-60mph 7.60s
  from
  http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=36894
  and
  0-60 7.8 sec
  according to
  http://autozine.kyul.net/classic/peugeot.htm

• samm on 5th May 2004

  Try a Fiat Uno Turbo-v tuneable and group 11 insurance.
  Or an Ibiza Tdi sport, with mild tuning you will have massive torque figures - better than an Impreza sti or Boxster s- it is group 7, 6 speed box and 55mpg!!

• chris b on 21st May 2004

  I disagree there are so many events to go to when you own a rs and if you own a nice example and do the right things to them you will get a lot of interest and respect for the rs you own! You don't get any interest if you own an old rusty metro or a foreign French 205 gti which are cheap for a reason because they are too dear on insurance and the parts are a complete rip off and everything has to be ordered at least with a rs 90percent of parts are straight off the shelf. you never see 205 gti and metro ownership days and if you do they would not have half as a good turn out as the rs lot and the reason why there are so many? Because they are a brilliant motor.

• chris b on 21st May 2004

  I know two people who owned 205 gti's and they both fitted mi 16v engines before they both owned est rs turbos they both now how to drive and have recently gone back to rsts because they are more fun and lively to drive which I think says a lot! The escort rs is not only fast in a straight but it is also a lot of fun round corners if you know how to drive it! i.e not crash it into a wall. The gti is just to plain and boring. the rs just gets your adrenalin going and the torque is brilliant that’s when you know when a car has some real grunt under the hood and all the noises that come with the famous rs. People would much rather see an rs getting driven hard and fast properly then a chocolate log gti! and as for the mi with a few mods to the rs it would beat that big ugly shed as well and it would put a big smile on your face.

• RS S1 man on 3rd Jun 2004

  It all depends on what mk Escort it is, the S2 ain't as good as the S1, they made a lot of changes to the car to tame it. They backed off the action of the lsd to stop torquesteer by drilling holes in the clutch plates, lenthened the box ratio's to make them better on the motorway and modified the ecu's to contain more part throttle mapping all in the same memory space. This done nothing to help the 0-60 time. the s1 had rosejointed front suspension (better than any poly bush kit) bar the two bushes in the tca, and more uprated suspension than the s2. the s1 understeer quite badly as standard and a cheap way to cure this using standard parts is to use s2 tca's. They are about 12mm longer and give the front wheels more camber and make the car so much more responsive. this also rosejoints the inner bush as well. As to rs s1 vrs pug gti? I'll have a go any day of the year.

• samm on 12th Jun 2004

  Especially round a track a 205 will completley show up an rst with its wallowy handling and huge understeer. It's steering is not as responsive and direct, I would put my mortgage on that fact. I will beat a rst on a track.

• TopSecret on 14th Jun 2004

  Yeah but like the rs's are legends, they are just so nice for there age!

• Tidyshow on 28th Jul 2004

  i think you got the cars the wrong way round matey,
  the rs turbo is far ahead of the MG in terms of performance and handling.
  the MG's are quick, but the rust is quicker accelrating than the car is

• lsd on 14th Nov 2004

  As a commited ford fanatic it has to be said that the pug 205 in its day was renouned for its superior handling for any other car in its class.
  Where as ford rs were commited to putting a turbo engine into the esct rs, peugeout were too making a good na car handle well. Swings and rounderabouts.

• TopSecret on 22nd Nov 2004

  This topic still going! Wow, i'm doing an rst project. I've started from an escort popular. Check my site out to have a look, the site needs major updating etc but ill get around to it one day. The pictures of my car need updating too as i've got the rs bonnet now and it doesnt show it on the site yet.
  http://www.essextunedcars.co.uk
  by the way this is my personal site and isnt a business. I just like to share my car with others.

• matbob on 28th Aug 2007

  RS turbos are truly amazing cars I've got a 1985 series 1 which cost me 4500 last year and is kicking out around 200 bhp at 14 psi with a few mods ie chip,cam and bigger intercooler etc and there aint much which keeps up with it at the lights a 205 gti certainly wouldn't get near it in a million years. RS turbos are ace, do your selves a favor get a decent rs tutbo £3500 oh sorry nearly forgot to say big respect for the RS lovers cheers, Matt