I stumbled upon my Mk5 Escort RS2000 by accident. After a week of phone calls and a rather long drive to Oxford, I had a 150BHP Ford RS sitting on my drive. At first I wasn't convinced. You see I have always disliked the Mk5 Escort. As a loyal Escort fan, the Mk5 comes across as if the designers weren't really concentrating. I find them rather annoying to look at; because I can’t understand what Ford were thinking. Of it’s a tossup between looking at an Mk5 and I don't know... Watching paint dry... I know which I'd choose. It's much the same story when you get inside one. I'm not saying the Mk4 was the most equipped car-because it wasn't. But alongside its rivals the Mk5 looks like it doesn't really care. All that teamed up with a truly uninspiring driving experience, the Mk5 scores rather low on my list.
The Mk5 RS2000 is one of those simply ignored editions in a manufactures history. Why? Well it wasn't very good for a start. You see the point of the RS branch of The Ford Motor Company, is to make the Joe average machines, which are churned out standard, into cars that went like stink. Only the RS2000 didn't really live up to expectations. It wasn't that fast for a start. Teamed with a not quite right ride and a heavy price tag, the RS2000 was a sort of flop. If you mention one at a RS meeting someone will quietly ask you to leave.
My brain works in quite a logical way. As far as I'm concerned, a small, car with a 2.0 Double Over Head Cam Ford RS engine is a recipe for fun. On my first drive I was slightly disappointed. I couldn't understand the lack of power. Because the Mk5 chassis isn't very good, you can ALWAYS feel the weight of this thing. So to get it off the line requires a great deal of effort. The power is thrown at you from 2750rpm and was clean out of puff at 5300rpm. Not the most exciting experience. Until you get to 4th gear. This car has a trick up its sleeve. The torque in 4th gear is immense. It pulls like a train-anywhere. The traffic light sprint? Don't bother. But just you wait till the torque gets you moving.
This caused my much disliked RS2000 to gain a solid soft spot in my heart. This was of course until a muggy Wednesday morning. After a game of cat and mouse with a Vauxhall Astra GSI, the Escort got irritated and blew its head gasket. See what happens when you take a chance with something that you knew wasn't really going to be a god idea? You get proven right, and everyone around you gets bored of hearing I told you so. The cream on the slightly stale cake is that the labour charges for a RS2000 head gasket start at £400. For what reason exactly? Why would it cost so much to repair something that wasn't very good in the first place? I do find that rather insulting.
Verdict: Buy one and drive around in forth all day... Just don't ask for much more.
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