Ford Escort, Buying guide, MOT record and UK numbers
15,844 Ford Escorts are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 79.6% of initial MOT tests, 7.3 points above the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific Escort? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Ford Escort at the MOT
79.6% of 9,576 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Escort 204th of 575 models.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Where Escorts fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Ford Escort tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (7.4%), service brake imbalance across an axle (3.8%) and joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.1%).
The MOT page lists every common Escort MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The Escort's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
-
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.22.4% of Escort failure items
-
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.19.6% of Escort failure items
-
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.18.5% of Escort failure items
Ford Escorts in the UK
15,844 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 68% since the end of 2014.
- Change since 2014
- −68%from 49,301 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 1980half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 1980 or earlier
- First registered in 2025
- 142against 291 in 2021
- Declared off the road
- 42,85973% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Ford Escorts since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 49,301 |
| End of 2015 | 36,264 |
| End of 2016 | 27,313 |
| End of 2017 | 21,028 |
| End of 2018 | 17,645 |
| End of 2019 | 15,914 |
| End of 2020 | 14,855 |
| End of 2021 | 14,867 |
| End of 2022 | 14,682 |
| End of 2023 | 14,132 |
| End of 2024 | 14,263 |
| End of 2025 | 14,085 |
| End of June 2026 | 15,844 |
How old they are
Licensed Ford Escorts by year of first use.
A further 7,371 were first used before 1983.
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 176 |
| 2001 | 246 |
| 2000 | 266 |
| 1999 | 132 |
| 1998 | 273 |
| 1997 | 324 |
| 1996 | 319 |
| 1995 | 238 |
| 1994 | 175 |
| 1993 | 168 |
| 1992 | 137 |
| 1991 | 134 |
| 1990 | 434 |
| 1989 | 439 |
| 1988 | 275 |
| 1987 | 151 |
| 1986 | 112 |
| 1985 | 202 |
| 1984 | 195 |
| 1983 | 352 |
Escort engines and fuel
1.6 litre engines made up 48% of Ford Escort MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.0 litre at 18%. Petrol accounts for 95% of licensed Escorts and diesel for 4.8%.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 9,572 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Fuel type, licensed Escorts
DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.
| Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 15,090 | 95% |
| Diesel | 753 | 5% |
| Gas | 1 | <0.1% |
Other Ford models
The most-tested Ford models in 2025, against the Escort's 79.6% MOT pass rate.
Ford Escort FAQs
How many Ford Escorts are there in the UK?
15,844 Ford Escorts were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 42,859 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Ford Escort reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 79.6% first-time pass rate for the Ford Escort across 9,576 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
What should I check before buying a used Ford Escort?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check a Ford Escort's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
Already found an Escort?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Ford history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Ford VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.