I HAVE JUST GOT IN FROM PARTING COMPANY WITH MY RB5, AND TAKE DELIVERY OF A ESCORT COSWORTH WITHIN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. HAVE I MADE A BAD DECISION. ON A TEST DRIVE THE ESCORT FELT SLOWER BUT MORE COMFORTABLE. ANY COMMENTS WELCOMED.

Most people(general public) have no idea about the capability of either machine so i say looks count more:D Everyone knows a Escort Cossie(looks smart)but most wouldn't know a RB5 if it slapped them in the face with a wet fish!:D would take either if offered!!:D -anyone?:D:D

I can only give comparison between my present and previous Escorts, and with the WRX I owned last year.

It all depends on the driving style that you prefer! The Escort sits squat on the road with it's wide track, and does feel VERY SOLID when going around corners (feels like it's on rails). The downside to this is that *if* the car does break away, it will so BIG STYLEE.

The WRX I owned had uprated suspension and was very competant on the road. While I did not *feel* as safe as what I do in the Escort, it was a very good ride. The *real* bit I disliked about the Scooby handling, was the tendancy for the back end to drift.

For an Escort to be as competant in the handling department, you must sort the suspension and roll bar bushes. Stick with the standard Ford springs, but uprate the shocks with a set of Billsteins. All the bushes really need uprating to Poly jobbies.

The standard large turbo Escort, is SLOW compared to any Scoob, purely down to the size of the turbo. Get an upgrade to 330bhp and you will soon notice a major difference in driveability.

Hope you have fun, and welcome to the happy family!!! :)

Regards,
Shaun.

P.S.

I wouldn't sell mine and go back to a Scoob, for the world! :)

Not driven a Scoob, but can agree about a standard Lg turbo EsCos feeling slow (5.7 0-60 still aint bad though). The car is similar in that it is like the RS500 - built and sold to public to facilitate Group A rally programme. So basically it the perfect base for uprated power. If you fit a 330BHP conversion (Ahmed Bayjoo being my preference) including all the 'extras' (Grp A head gasket, uprated fuel pump, oil breather kit etc) you should have a reliable car with the power it was designed for :) . Plus I think you'll get better value performance wise modding an EsCos compared to a Scooby.

Large turbo EsCos (for homologation) = meant to be uprated
Small turbo EsCos (for the road) = nice, brisk car as standard, but harder to modify.

Enjoy :)

Bill

I've driven a scooby only once and I think that one felt more comfertable than my Escort Cossie.

Even though the Escort is slower in standard spec it feels very fast, and ther's nothing like the turbo rush from the T35.

This must be the 5th time (at least) that this thread has been posted!!

We used to have a K reg big turbo cossie - and a friend who had an RB5, both were VERY nice cars, i would choose RB5 for comfort and the cos for most other things - was gutted when it was sold for a MY01 DBM.