I give the Contour 5 stars, but only for certain people. Do you:

--like the sound and feel of a DOHC six?
--require the control provided by a manual transmission?
--prefer the feel of a German car to that of a Japanese car?
--not require an especially roomy rear seat?
--need or want to spend only 20k, or even only 10k?

Unless you answer in the affirmative on all of these questions, the Contour is a 4-star car, or even a 3-star car.

I've written a separate review for the Mystique. That review shares about 80% of its content with this one.

Very few people fit all of the above criteria. As a result, Ford has not had much success with the Contour, and it will be discontinued in a couple of years. The major consequences are that the prices of new Contours are very reasonable (because Ford must price the car to appeal to people who don't really like it to keep up volume) and resale values are poor (again, because the car doesn't really appeal to most people and because so many are sold to rental car companies). Resale values will only get worse as more people learn that the Contour is a lame duck. While poor resale reduces the attraction of the low sticker price, these factors together make the Contour an EXCELLENT VALUE AS A USED CAR (again, if you answered "yes" to the above questions).

Almost as a matter of policy, I buy cars that both perform well and depreciate well when they are about one year old. I bought my '96 Contour in '97. More recently, I bought a '98 Intrigue in '99 (see my other review). While both of these cars perform very well in their new car price ranges, they are unbeatable in their used car price ranges. By buying them a year old, someone else takes a big bath and you still have about a two year warranty.

Let me put it this way. Here's what my 23k mile, one-year-old Contour included:
--DOHC six
--five speed
--ABS
--traction control
--sport seats
--all the good traits described below

Here's what it cost me: $11,300. At the time, even Civic EX's and Saturn SL2's of a similar vintage cost more, and they're much less substantial, four cylinder cars. I suspect the same is even more true today.

I didn't actually start out looking for a Contour. I started out looking at Probes. They also depreciate and perform well. At the time I knew my wife wanted to start "trying" in about a year, so my sports coupe days were numbered. One day when scanning the classifieds for Probes I saw an ad for a Contour. Like the Probe, it had a DOHC six and five speed. Unlike the Probe, I wouldn't have to sell it in two years. So I gave the guy a call, and ended up buying the car. Good thing, too, since I now have a baby girl.

Since then, I have learned that many people go through a similar process. They either had a Probe or were looking at Probes at the time they bought their Contour.

I would not be original if I referred to the Contour as a four-door Probe. I would also not be entirely accurate. While the cars have many similarities on paper--they're both Fords with DOHC sixes, available five-speeds, and smallish rear seats--they differ greatly in driving feel.

The reason for this is simple. The Probe was based on a Mazda chassis and used a Mazda powertrain, while the Contour was developed largely by Ford's German branch. As a result, the Probe feels very Japanese and the Contour feels surprisingly German.

What this basically means is that in the Probe everything--the engine, the transmission, the chassis, the steering--has a very slick feel and requires minimal effort to operate. Most Americans prefer this. That's why Honda's are so popular here. The same parts of the Contour tend to feel more substantial and mechanical and require more effort to operate. Some people prefer this. I'm one of them.

Unfortunately, most cars with a German feel are, well, German. There are no inexpensive six cylinder German cars. Even a Jetta, once you add the six, costs well over 20k. German cars are also expensive to insure and maintain. Finally, the least expensive six cylinder German cars don't depreciate quickly enough for my taste. Enter the Contour. The feel of a German car with the costs and depreciation of an American car.

Update: It is now April 2000 and I love driving this car more each day. It feels great on grocery runs and on the highway. The best word that comes to mind is "invigorating." The engine, steering, and shifter of this car talk to me like few others I've driven. The car also continues to be problem-free. It's been a year since the factory warranty ran out, and I haven't had a chance to check out my extended warranty. Until I post otherwise, the car has continued to have no significant problems.

Update: In June 2000 I drove the new 323i. The BMW is a much more refined car. Everything is slicker and smoother. Yet I actually did not enjoy driving it as much as I enjoy driving my Contour. The Contour does have some raw edges but many of these provide sensory inputs that make the car fun to drive.

Specifics:

Engine: I wanted a DOHC six. I like the sound and feel of them. The one in the Contour sounds wonderful to my ear. It's sound is one of my favorite things about the car. No four cylinder sounds or feels like this. As sixes go, the Contour's has a very mechanical sound and feel to it. Again, most American's prefer quieter, smoother engines. You know, like the ones in Accords and Camrys. Not me, and maybe not you. If you like to feel and hear those cams, they don't get much better than this.

Most Contours are sold with fours. This makes very little sense to me. While it is a good four, the six is only $500 more, and it totally transforms the car. A no-brainer. Update: the Contour now comes standard with the six. Probably should have from Day One.

The value of the SVT motor depends on your priorities. It produces 30 more horses, but below 5,000 RPM the power curve is very similar to the standard engine. So it's only quicker if you're going to the redline, and even then only by a few tenths. This is still of course a good thing. What outweighs it for me is the fact that the SVT requires premium fuel, while the standard six does not. The key thing about the Contour is value, and marginally quicker acceleration at legal speeds in exchange for 20% higher fuel costs is not a good value, at least not in my mind.

Update: One thing I forgot to mention is that the car does not perform nearly as well when the A/C is on. You can really feel the compressor dragging on the engine, which does not respond as immediately as it does when the A/C is not running. This stands to reason, especially with a manual transmission, but the A/C is not as noticeable in a BMW 323i, which has a similarly powerful engine. And in my wife's Intrigue, with an engine 50% larger in displacement and an automatic, you can't feel the compressor operating at all. Since I really love how the powertrain feels without the A/C, I do without it as much as possible.

Transmission: For most people the ideal is Honda's. It goes exactly where you want it to with little more than a flick of the wrist. The shifter in my Contour is not like this. It has a much more mechanical feel to it, and requires considerably more effort. Still not a lot of effort, but you can't just flick it from gear to gear. Again, some people prefer this because it feels more like you're actually changing the gears rather than simply flicking a lever.

I said "my Contour" because Ford totally redesigned the shift mechanism for '98 1/2. The new shifter feels much more Japanese. For me this totally changes the feel of the car. This is compounded by the fact that Ford redesigned the steering system to reduce effort at the same time. As a result, newer Contours have a much less mechanical, hefty, German feel to them. This probably increases their appeal for most people, but not for me.

I mentioned the manual transmission in my criteria. My wife cannot drive a stick, so I drove the automatic before buying the car I bought. I really wanted to like it because an automatic would be more practical for us. Unfortunately, the automatic is much slower. Worse, it sucks much of the personality out of the engine. It totally changes the feel of the car, and not in a good way.

Steering and handling: I've already said a bit about this. In older Contours like mine the steering is very precise and the car turns in very quickly, yet the car at the same time has a certain feel of solidity and heft to it. Again, very German. Newer Contours remain very sharp handlers, but something is subtly different about the feel.

Only one thing keeps the handling from being perfect: torque steer. When accelerating and turning at the same time, the engine gives you a tug through the steering wheel. I've driven other cars in which the torque steer was much worse. Only rear-wheel-drive can totally eliminate it.

Ride and comfort: This is one area where newer Contours, even the SVT, are clearly superior to my SE. The original SE was a no-holds-barred performance sedan. My seats have very narrow bolsters, and the suspension is very stiff. For '97 Ford loosened the suspension and reduced the size of the seat bolsters. A little of the essence of the car was lost, but not much. Even I must agree this trade-off was a good one.

Room: just enough for four average-sized people. If you need more, you need a different car. For me it's just right: I couldn't get by with any less, and I don't need any more. But then I'm only 5'9" and fairly slim (though not as slim as I used to be).

Exterior styling: I prefer the original Contour SE design. It's very subtle. It's not a great looking car, but it has a purity to it. It looks like what it is, a to-the-point, compact sports sedan. More recent Contours have jazzed-up front and rear ends. The paradox is that while the new front and rear ends are those of a larger, fancier car, the overall effect, at least to my eye, is that the car as a whole looks smaller and cheaper. A balance in the original design was lost.

The styling of the SVT does not appeal to me. I do like that they avoided the temptation to tack a spoiler onto the trunk, although the one on my SE isn't bad. But the SVT's skirts a bit too deep, and it's flat surfaces and sharp edges do not blend well with the fluid body. The skirts on my car do a much better job here. Above all, the rear end common to all recent Contours looks even worse on this car. It's way too frilly for a serious performance machine.

However, I can see why some people would prefer it. The styling of the original Contour is too subtle to get noticed by others. The SHO version of the Taurus was subjected to similar criticisms. The SVT does not have this problem.

Interior styling: pretty much the same comments as for the exterior. Not the best, but an honest effort, with some unique touches that add character. Unfortunately, when Ford redesigned the interior for '98 1/2 they got rid of the lower part of the center stack (vertical console) to make room for slightly better, but still bad, cupholders. The resulting dash is a bit more practical but a lot less attractive. That said, the interior of the SVT is the best thing about the car in my mind. Very nice seats front and rear.

Fuel economy: about 22 around town, about 27 on the highway. I really wish this car had a sixth gear. This would reduce engine noise at highway speeds (not a big deal, but why not?) and greatly improve highway fuel economy.

Last words: these characteristics come together to make a very distinct car, especially with the first generation Contour. As I've explained, this car will appeal to only a few people in this country. It says a lot about American "drivers" that the 4 cylinder/auto Contour costs a few hundred dollars more than a 6 cylinder/manual Contour, yet the former combination greatly outsells the latter. This in turn explains why the Contour will be discontinued. If you want a four cylinder automatic, there are better alternatives. If you want a manual DOHC six with outstanding handling, and want to spend as little as possible, look no further.

Ford Contour Reliability, Update 10-2003:

I've now had this car for six years. For most of this time I had very few problems. Then the catalysts went out last July. Luckily they're covered under an 8/80 warranty, and my car only had 66,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, my engine lost much of its top end at about the same time. Preliminary diagnosis suggests that compression is way down in two cylinders, indicating major engine damage. Solution: a new engine at 66,000 miles.

This damage could have been caused by the catatylst in one of two ways. But proving this requires disassembling the engine, which would cost about $1000. If Ford buys that the catalyst killed the engine, then they pick it up. If not, I do. Dealers tell me Ford will fight me on this tooth and nail.

Two morals to this story:

1. If you own a 1996 V6 Contour, do what you can to get the catalysts replaced before the 8/80 warranty runs out.

2. If you're shopping for one, only buy one in which the catalysts have been replaced. Ford will only replace them with an updated design after they fail.

Should you buy a Ford at all? I used to say yes. But after seeing so many engine and transmission failures under 100,000 miles in 1990s Fords, and the company doing everything it can to avoid accepting responsibility, I'm rethinking that.

Beyond the reliability, the company never considers the impact of the actions it is considering on resale values, such that these are awful. You save up front with a Ford, but once resale values are factored in a Honda or Toyota will cost a lot less in the long run.

Finally, the dealers' service departments are generally awful. I asked a dozen other Contour owners in the Detroit area for a good dealer. Not one thought a dealer in this area was good. One flat out refused to work on my car because they already had one they couldn't figure out how to fix. Another wanted to replace things I could tell were not broken. And these are the people I have to go through for any hope of compensation from Ford.

Maybe it will all turn out okay. I'll update this review as this issue develops. For now I'm feeling far less confident than I was recommending any Ford product. This company has too long a history of cutting corners and denying its mistakes, and now that it is in financial trouble I don't see this ending any time soon.

My reliability research

People often email me asking about the reliability of the cars and trucks they are considering. Existing sources of reliability information just aren't helpful enough.

In response, my website, truedelta.com, will more clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Contour rather than something else by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). Those who help provide the data--which will require just a few minutes a year--will earn free access to the site's reliability information. To encourage participation, this access will otherwise cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.