I just became aware of the ZX2 thanks to mgazak. I might be able to develope some interest in one of these for a daily driver. If you own one, what do you think of it? Thanks, Mike

 

They are a cheap college kids car. Don't expect much from them. I tried to go to ford's american website to get a price but it appears to be non functional right now.

 

I had 2 1998 Escorts. The ZX2 is an Escort w/ a better engine. I drove 1 of the Escort & my wife drove the other. Both were 5 speeds, and fun to drive. Beware, before I bought them a friend warned me that the clutches were very small compared to what we are used to. Sure enough both clutches were gone before 50k
miles.
BTW my wife & I have drove standards for years and never burned a clutch this quickly before. All of our others have lasted over 100k.
Overall I would would say that the Escorts are decent cars though. Other than the clutch they held up well.

 

When it comes to econoboxes, I think they're a pretty decent car. No trouble with 108,000 miles, 40 mpg if I'm kind to it on the freeway.

 

I've got a 2002 ZX2. It's got the 2 Liter (sp?) Zetec engine, 5-speed and air. No power windows or locks. I bought a pioneer CD player to replace the stock cassette and love it. Bear in mind that it's not a speed demon, but I have not had the first problem out of mine in the year that I've owned it. I drive it every day on a 80 mile round trip commute and it's performed flawlessly. The only gripe that I have now that were in summer is that it seems to suck a bit more gas with the A/C running. I guess that's to be expected though. Look at spending anywhere from 12-16 K for one. I gave $10,500 for mine on X-Plan.

Just bear in mind that it's not for everyone. Definitly test drive one. If I had mine to do over again, I probably would have bought a Mazda Protege 5 for more comfort and room for just a little more.

 

I know a few kids with the Mazda 6 and they say its a pretty decent car. Its a little more expensive but I believe its a quality car, that is worth looking into.