Escort gets a £30m redesign
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• Door impact beams, a redesigned steering wheel and reinforced body panels are among the £30 million pounds worth of improvements, aimed at better crash protection for 1993 Ford Escort vans. The revised range was launched at the Motor Show last week.
Behind the new bonnet and grille are nine structural changes to the front of the van. The lower longitudinal members running between the front panel and the footwells have been thickened, as have the cross member behind the fascia, the B-pillars and the upper parts of the A-pillars.
Either side of the engine, the inner side members have been extended forward to the front panel to absorb more impact energy. The cowl structure around the windscreen and its connections to the A-pillars have been reinforced to improve body stiffness and resistance to cabin deformation.
Vertical bracing between the cowl and the floor is aimed at reducing vertical steering column movement in a front impact. The structural foam in the steering wheel has been improved to reduce head and chest injuries in a crash. Finally, side protection has been improved by re-designing the lower sills and fitting side impact protection bars in the doors.
Ford claims that with these changes, the Escort van will exceed the strictest standards imposed for injury testing.
The Popular 60 model has been dropped and a five-speed gearbox is now standard across the range. Engine options have also been rationalised. The 1.3litre petrol engine has been dropped from Standard 60 models and the 1.4-litre petrol from all "40" models.