These changes were welcome at a time when the Escort was faced with a host of new competitors; General Motors had brought out a new version of the Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra in October 1984, shortly after Volkswagen had introduced the Mk II Golf and British Leyland had launched the Austin Maestro a year earlier, while the British-built Peugeot 309 had gone on sale just weeks before the updated Escort.