chicagotribune.com's view

Sometimes auto designers have to be cosmetic surgeons between stylingcycles.

Ford`s new midyear 1988 1/2 Escort actually is the old `88 model withonly a minor facelift to freshen up the looks of a car that`s been aroundsince 1980. The big change comes in 1991, when an all new Mazda-designedEscort bows.

Ford didn`t mess with Escort mechanicals for `88 1/2. It simply brought a bit of the aero look to the car for midyear, with slightly rounder lines and asharper sloping rear hatch lid that slants back to a tiny raised bulge,similar to that on the Chevy Beretta.

Escort was the top selling car in the industry last year, with sales of392,360 units, bringing the total since 1980 to 2,549,895. It hardly neededdramatic change.

Escort is built on a 94.2-inch wheelbase and is 169.2 inches longoverall. In addition to new styling touches, Escort switches to 14-inch tires from 13-inch on Pony and LX models and offers a 5-speed manual transmissionwith the wagon rather than the 4-speed manual in the rest of the lineup.

The subcompact Escort hatchback is big enough to seat two up front andsqueeze two in back. It holds the kids, groceries and luggage, though not all three at the same time unless you fold down the rear seats to increasecarrying capacity. It gets lots of mileage and has front-wheel drive to runaround Midwest snow-covered roads.

Escort is a very good small car, a very functional vehicle for theeconomy-minded who want a relatively small price tag and a vehicle sold inlarge enough numbers so you don`t have to hunt very far to find a replacement part or someone who can do repairs.

It`s powered by a 1.9-liter, fuel-injected four-cylinder engine thatdevelops 90 horsepower. That`s adequate power, but the engine is designed for economy. The EPA rating is 33 miles per gallon city/42 highway with 4-speedmanual, 24/30 with optional automatic. The 2-door LX hatchback we drove hadthe automatic.

Power brakes and steel-belted radials are standard, and more galvanizedmetal has been added to improve corrosion protection. You`ll have to add air($688), tinted glass ($105), rear-window defroster ($145), rear-windowwasher/wiper ($126), AM/FM stereo radio ($206), power steering ($235), digitalclock ($82) and automatic transmission ($490) on your own-items that total$2,077.

Two major annoyances: The prop-held hood is very heavy for a subcompactcar, and the ashtray is located directly behind the floor-mounted gear shiftlever.

Base price of the no-frills Escort Pony is $6,747, the 2-door LX $7,127,the 4-door LX $7,457, the 4-door LX wagon $8,058 and the 2-door GT hatchback$9,093. Ford is offering a $500 rebate through July 12.