Im looking at putting new bushes in my mk2 escort , I have been told to stick with rubber bushes as poly ones can give the car very stiff and sensitive handling , and also be very noise , tho they last longer . I've also heard  that rubber ones give a smoother ride and still last a reasonable time . Can anyone tell me how much truth there is to this or experiences you have had with either .
 
Thanks

I think the bigger question may be can you even buy rubber bushes for an Escort?

Ok. . Nolathanes do not last no where near as rubber bushes , expect few yrs for front end bushes and about 10yrs for rears considering orig rubber goes for 30-40yrs!!!
The best way is to mix nola and rubber on the car , ie , do the rears fully Nolathane but the front ( as i was told by a local rally guy) inner control bushes to stay rubber as they have lots of flex involved and will lasta long time , all other front end goes Nolathanes .
Super flex and Pro flex in the uk for bushes , color means nothing... it's only a dye used to show who's is who's etc. Here's a pic of what happens after the use by date is up. .

Flighter
I think the bigger question may be can you even buy rubber bushes for an Escort?

I would like to know the answer to this question. I would like to replace my bushes for rubber to keep the original feel of the car.

Super pro and a few others have a lifetime warranty so if they degrade  like above they are replaced by the company. No labor paid for though.
Rubber was used by the factory for a compromise between compliance over bumps etc and performance.
In a performance application, rubber allows more flex or geometry change and less precise handling. whereas nolothane et al maintain geometry better but increase NVH. Rubber can last along time but the absorption of chemicals like fuel and oil degrade their stiffness. they look good but are like jelly. I haven't seen this happen with poly bushes.
I have poly in all bushes in all of my cars and haven't ever had a problem with crumbling. In the race car and hipo road car I have had to replace certain poly bushes (same location in car) many times but would have done so with rubber as the loads placed were much greater than the factory had designed for. the 2 part poly was always easier than 1 piece type original rubber especially those with steel casings
 
Just my thoughts
 
JP

I still go poly. I got a bad batch, they half have crumbled. after 5000km's. Had Nolathanes in previous car and out lasted the control arms. If you intend to run wide tyres it's got to be poly, or under hard bracking my tyres would come back against the edge of the guards, stopped with poly. NVH hardly noticable IMO.