The Escort was once a fun compact car that even had its place in the rally world. But, like all good things, the Escort eventually had to come to an end. It was even discontinued in Europe years ago as well. In 2014, Ford quietly introduced the name to the Chinese market, and it’s apparently been very well received. So much so, in fact, that Ford just ushered in a new-gen model built around the brands new global midsize car platform. Could the Escort come back to the States and Europe someday?

Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Until gas prices spike and SUVs lose popularity, we’re never going to see the Escort this side of the Asian market again. In fact, Ford just announced it’s downsizing to just two passenger cars in its whole U.S. Lineup. But, if it makes you feel better, the new Escort in China comes with an eight-inch touchscreen display, an attractive instrument cluster, and there’s even a little bit of fastback and Focus DNA in there as well.

It is offered with a 1.0-liter or 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine, but power figures have been kept secret for now. I wouldn’t expect to see it deliver over 130 horsepower in its most potent form – after all; it’s for the Chinese market. Either way, if you’re going to be in China and you miss the Escort of the old days (God I miss my hatchback), you could move to China and procure yourself a 1.5-liter model with a manual transmission.

References

Sorry China, this is what a real Escort looks like:

Read our full review on the 2013 Ford Escort Concept.

Read more Ford news.

Read more 2018 Beijing Auto Show news.