I remember being handed the keys to one of these in 1.3L guise when I was doing my Industrial Placement in 1983. Smoothness and refinement were good compared to my 6 year old Maxi I had at the time!
You must have had the world's most knackered Maxi if a Mk3 Escort bested it for smoothness and refinement - was there any fluid left in the Maxi's suspention system? Better gearchange? Yup I can buy that, better handling? Undoubtably - but better smoothness and refinement? Really?
When I test drove a 1600 the engine was much smoother than my parents Maxi 1750. It would have been difficult not to have been.
Having driven many cars with both engines - I'd been hard pressed to pick a winner in terms of engine smoothness - the CVH is rightly renowned for being harsh and noisy - the E series can be harsh and vibey (particularly 1750 twin carb models that haven't been serviced properly) but plenty of them are smoother than any CVH I've ever had the misfortune to rev. Being a long stroke engine, designed to maximise torque, there was no point screaming the E series anyway.
In terms of overall vehicle refinement there's absolutely no contest. The Maxi was from the next class-size up (and was refined for its class). Of course the Escort mk3 (which wasn't particularly refined in its own class) would run rings round it in the twisties..
Interestingly the European Escort was the first Ford to be put through thier then new NVH (Noise Vibration Harshness) programme - the purpose of the programme wasn't to eliminate NVH (which would make the cars expensive to produce) but to tune it to frequencies that humans find pleasing. The RS1600i with it's solid engine mounts proved the concept works - refinement was poor - but the mechanical vibes felt right in the car - giving it a sense of sporty purpose, connecting the car and driver!
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