Saying farewell to our troubled Taurus was not exactly the saddest day of my life, especially since there was a new car coming to replace it. Of course, the biggest challenge was choosing what from the Ford stable to take over that garage space. As the Taurus was a bit expensive, the options were pretty appealing (and fairly costly, too).
At the time the Ford car line included the Taurus (which I wasn’t about to choose twice, thank you), the Aspire compact (replacing the Festiva), the Escort, the Contour, the Probe, the Mustang, and the Crown Victoria. I did think briefly about the Crown Vic as I have always liked the big barges but decided that I was a bit too young to be driving something like that. Why not pick a Mustang, since I was young with no kids? No idea…but I didn’t. (Looking back, I probably should have!)
I wound up with the Ford Contour. The Contour replaced the much maligned Tempo/Topaz in 1995. It was a global European platform design (known as the CDW-27 platform), but as a new design it was more expensive than the utilitarian Tempo-paz. Although Ford was using a “global platform” the company tailored it to individual markets. The Contour (and its Mercury sister, the Mystique) were well-received by the motoring press but less so by the consumer. The combination of the higher price and relatively small interior meant that a lot of returning Tempo customers decided to step up to the Taurus as it was fairly close in price (as I figured out when I was looking for a similarly-priced replacement for my ill-fated Taurus.)
I picked the Contour SE, the highest trim level, and chose a car on the lot that had most of the available options except CD and sunroof. The car color was the ubiquitous mid-90s “champagne” (instead of green as I had to choose from what was on the lot to facilitate the buyback transaction). The SE I chose came with the Duratec V6 and 5 speed manual transmission with 170 hp, which was pretty good power for a car this size in the mid-90s. The interior was Fat steering wheel, responsive handling, good power for the car size (170 hp). Motor Trend said 0-60 times were in the 9 second range with an automatic, so the manual was probably a bit quicker.
The interior was well-appointed with a fat leather-wrapped steering wheel and chunky shift lever, both of which felt expensive. My SE had a leather interior (very similar to the photo below) that looked and felt upmarket, particularly in comparison to the cloth seats in the Taurus. Interior space was tight as the car magazines had said but that wasn’t a great worry for us. By the 1997 models, Ford had developed a front seat design with a hollowed-out back to increase legroom somewhat. The interior door locks were somewhat odd as they were motor driven swiveling lock buttons next to the door handles – they moved more slowly than the old-school solenoid-driven locks. One nice feature that I had for the first time on this car was remote keyless entry. I had the keypad keyless entry system on my Thunderbird, but this was the first time I got the key fob remote system. My father found it greatly amusing to push the “panic” button and set the car alarm off in the garage (with his typical “What does this button do?” remark).
On the outside, the SE came with a set of “ground effects” rocker panel skirts (with cutouts for the tire changing jack pads that usually went missing when the cars got older). The SE package also came with a tiny rear spoiler and a set of nice 7-spoke wheels that were later sold with lower-level trim packages.
This was the first car for which I purchased an aftermarket in-dash CD player to replace the OEM Ford cassette stereo from a well-known catalog retailer. Their easy-fit wiring kits made installation of the aftermarket head unit vastly easier. I spent many an hour with my father under the dash of various cars trying to wire up stereos, holding a flashlight to see which wire to connect next (with much cursing as wires tended to slip out of hands when you were trying to hold the stereo with one hand while you tightened wire nuts with the other).
Being able to lay out the easy-fit kit next to the aftermarket unit’s wiring and connect up all the wires on my dining room table made the installation a 15-minute affair – just connect the two harnesses together and plug them into the car. My Contour didn’t come with the Ford “premium sound” system so there were no external amps to bypass. This kit made it ridiculously easy to remove the aftermarket unit when I went to trade the car in – just unplug it and plug the OEM unit back into the dash. (This, of course, was back when replacing the stereo was easy to do, before the stereo was integrated with the navigation system, the Bluetooth unit, and sometimes even the HVAC controls. The price of progress…)
I had a lot of fun driving this car, especially with the manual transmission. I had fairly good luck with the car as well (great luck relative to the previous two cars, the Taurus and Civic). Someone did key the car in a parking deck near the urban office where I worked at the time. The person who did it certainly took their time to do it right – they damaged every panel on the driver’s side of the car.
Luckily our insurance company picked up the tab. Unluckily, I picked a mediocre body shop to repair the damage, so I got wavy and dull doors and fenders with obvious paint runs. I took the car back to the shop several times, and I believe they tried to fix the problem by simply rubbing the paint out with polishing compound. I knew full well that wouldn’t even remotely fix the problem, but I had to let them do it and then say “Nope, not good enough.” Even after a second repaint the side of the car wasn’t right but I mostly gave up as it was too much work to continue complaining.
The other problem with the car (and more with a repair shop) came when a rock hit the windshield and chipped it. Being still young and a bit unwise, I made an insurance claim to get the windshield replaced (nowadays I typically pay for window repairs myself as many of them are less than my deductible). I contacted a company to replace the windshield in my driveway, and that didn’t go well at all.
First of all, the repair technician showed up wearing jeans with an enormous belt buckle that seemed poised to scratch the car. Next, they replaced the windshield with off-brand glass (since my insurance company was paying the bill). The windshield was very cheap and was so wavy and distorted that it was virtually impossible to see out. Lastly, the belt buckle technician slopped windshield cement across several areas of the interior, including the front seats.
Needless to say, I was fairly furious and made my objections loudly known to the company. After much “discussion,” the windshield company agreed to replace the funhouse windshield with an OEM Ford part. At the time, the mobile windshield installation system didn’t include the same tools for maneuvering the windshield around (arms, suction cups, etc.) so the technician had to lift the windshield into place by hand after applying the cement. His mistake was to lift the windshield near one side instead of in the center, and as a result the windshield broke from top to bottom between his hands. The sound of that glass breaking was audible from inside the house where I was, and I saw him ruefully set the broken windshield down and trudge toward the house to let me know there’d be a delay while they brought another replacement.
I really enjoyed this car as it was fun to drive, it was well-assembled, and it was pretty good looking for the day. However, I couldn’t quite escape the negative feelings from the Taurus that came up sometimes when I drove the Contour. I decided to trade it in not long before the lease was up just so I could close the door on the whole affair and walk away. Unfortunately (a common theme in my COAL history), I didn’t like the Contour’s replacement any better, as we will see in the coming weeks.
I think something happened to your story in the middle of paragraph four. Some of the wording is missing.
Yes, my error. I must have left in some rough notes about the interior that were developed more thoroughly in the next paragraph. Apologies for the confusion!
My sister-in-law (late wife’s sister) had one of the bottom of the line, bare bones models. Z-Tech four cylinder and a five speed, cassette stereo, air conditioning and heated rear window. And she was pissed as hell when she took delivery of the car and discovered that it didn’t come with a tachometer. (Carol had owned a Porsche 914 and a 280Z previously.)
I loved that car, and eventually ended up owning it, when her mother decided that 90 was getting a bit old to drive and gave her the Ford Escape she’d recently bought. Kept it for a year or two after my wife’s death, the next wife used it as a work beater, but then we decided that there were too many cars in the driveway and we let it go.
I always intended, and never got around, to make some basic suspension changes to the car (wheels, tires, sway bars and lower the suspension at least an inch), because that car had the makings of a really nice backroad playtoy, as well as being comfortable. In the front seats, anyway.
Always considered it one of the Ford’s better and more underrated efforts.
I’m sorry that life threw so many frustrating problems at you and this car, but you made a good choice in picking the Contour. As Syke mentioned, this really was a good, underrated car: great handling, comfortable (at least in the front), and certainly a pleasure to drive. Got one as a rental and really wished I could’ve taken it home.
Yes, the Contour was very popular as a rental. At one point my father got one as a rental to go on a trip. My SE had a fold-down rear seat that my dad thought all Contours had. He said he was sitting in the trunk kicking the seat to try and fold it as he thought it was stuck. He said he got it to move quite a bit before my mom suggested that maybe not all the Contours had the fold down seat. Whoops.
I’m not sure I have all of the facts, but weren’t the Contour and the Jaguar X-Type platforms one in the same?
At a base level, yes. The XType was based on the second-generation (some would say third) of the Mondeo, the Contour was based on the generation before that. There were quite a few changes.
My wife had a ’96 when we were young and first dating. The car wore out fast and was the last American car my in-laws bought before switching over to Hondas, Mazdas and Toyotas. While the Contour was reliable, it was going to pieces and had lots of quality issues. I recall that the bottom of the car had some large piece of plastic break loose and that we had a giant pack of zip ties that perpetually failed to keep it in place. Somehow or other, one of the taillights broke, and by this time, the Contour, which was about 10 years old, had become so obscure that a replacement couldn’t be found. The insurance company issued a note explaining the scarcity of the part in case my wife ever got pulled over for it. We were glad to move on from the Contour when the time came, and ended up with a Honda.
I remember the good press these got at intro (other than the rear seat room issue). But they didn’t seem to age well. The last time I was looking at inexpensive older used cars on my local CL, these were routinely the cheapest out there. The used car market is pretty good at telling us what is and is not a money pit, at least on average.
Based on a positive experience with a manual transmission Mondeo on a rental in Europe, my wife bought a ’96 Contour Sport five speed manual.
I thought the car was fun to drive; she thought the interior was, as noted, too small. She also did not like it in snow. The car was gone after a a couple of years for a Mazda 626.
The Contour had some significant shortcomings in the quality department. The ’95 model had a disintegrating wire harness around the engine. The insulation on the wires fell apart and cause wire to wire shorts. It was plagued with recall after recall. By ’97 they had them much improved. Then came the ’98 refresh and the recall count went up again. By 2000 they were about average again. However just about every ’98 and up Contour/Mystique had the dash padding curl up and affecting the view out front, the rear door hinges were so tight they made a horrible creaking noise when they were opened. All of them had issues with water getting into the trunk. Squeaky suspensions were common too and the worst and unsafe part was that the springs could break and slash the tires.
However, if you knew to avoid the ’95 and ’98 model years and how to lube the door hinges, tape up the tail light gaps under the deck lid, put silicone grease on the sway bar bushings and hold down the dash padding with wood screws you could have had a car that handles like a 318i and reliably took you from A to B. My wife’s 2000 SE 4cyl, automatic did for full 10 years and it turned out to be her least expensive commuter she ever owned. Although she drove it only 4000 miles a year. We replaced it when the rust and a failing VCT solenoid and worn out struts spelled the out.
We replaced it with a ’10 Ford Focus. She had some trouble adjusting to the less favorable ergonomics of the Focus. In frustration she pointed to the ailing Contour saying: “This is what I should be driving!”
Another excellent designed and lousily executed model by Ford.
They had the lousy harness in 96 as well.
I think my brother did some work on the injector harness for the ’96 Mystique that he now drives back when it was still with the previous owner. The dash plastic has warped slightly over the years creating large-ish gaps around the HVAC vents, but nothing too serious. I agree fully on the handling, it is quite excellent. More engaging to drive than most newer cars I’ve experienced (blame EPS and wider tires mostly).
Nice to see this car appear on CC; I owned a ’96 for 13 years, and echo most of what’s above. I see I did better than most with quality bugs (there may have been one recall back there somewhere), and mine was a fun-to-drive zippy handler (even with 4cyl/auto) that was pleasing for interstate runs or back roads. A story from a fairly reliable source is that the production cost for the Contour ended up too close to the Taurus—yet it would be tough for Ford to ask anything like similar prices for both. I always wanted to drive one like yours, MDL, to see the difference. BUT, what I really always wanted was the UK wagon, which I got to ride in once. If only Ford would have made that body style available here, either then or now! So, how much trouble would it be for me to wait until about 2021 and import one of these?
I used such a car as a company hack in the late 1990s. Fitted with a 1.8 litre diesel, it was surprisingly good to drive, once you got used to the diesel clatter and the very binary governor. It would sit in a low gear at 3250 rpm (IRRC) limit all day, and carry a lot of stuff.
I’ve ridden in a couple. My little bro and his wife had one. Cousin had a Mystique. Liked the styling pre-facelift. Back seat tiny for the size. Both were noisy over the road. Remarkably so.
My brother’s was nothing but trouble. 4 cyl. Blew it’s engine before 100,000 miles. Warning lights constantly going on. That was part the car and part the inept mechanics attempting to work on it. Rear brakes always squealed, and not the usual squeal of certain disc brake set ups, either.
A shame as it was a very pretty car. Cranberry red and my brother painted the centers of the hubcaps the same color as the car for a nice contrast.
They, too, went to a Focus: Mom’s 02 with 40,000 some odd miles on it, which served them well for several years.
My mother in law, who is now 90, is still driving her Contour around town in Fairfield, Iowa. I don’t remember what MY it is. She doesn’t tell me much about its issues, but she does have a doting and reasonable mechanic who keeps it going for her (on of the distinct advantages of small town living).
It looks like what we in Europe called the Ford Mondeo. Here in Denmark it was a typical police car in the 90’s.
I bought my Contour SE V6 auto new in February 2000. I must say it has been the best car I have ever had. My son now drives it and it just turned 240K miles (I put 230K on it myself). I have only replaced the alternator and fuel pump. Still has the original water pump (early ones had the notorious plastic impellers). Some of my early mods were 16″ Focus wheels, performance lowering springs and struts, SVT grill, and replacing the resonator with a glasspack and installing a Magnaflow muffler. Picture is from circa 2005.
I had a 96 Mystique, V6 with manual. Second owner, drove it for close to 115000 miles before I ran into a bit of Ford design stupidity.
During that time, the car was a blast to drive. But it was the flakiness FoMoCo product ever.
Lift ring for reverse cracked. Had to lift a little pin by hand to shift into reverse.
Seat back got fatigued and cracked in a few spots. Junkyard to the rescue.
Under hood wiring was a nightmare. Somehow I was never aware of the problem until well after the warranty/recall was over. Parts were almost unobtainable by then.
Worst part of that was the wire that fired the AC clutch. It broke, and it was VERY difficult to splice on a new wire.
Alternator died. Three of four remanned AND new ones in town were bad. After we installed a bad one, we had the ‘new’ ones tested before leaving the store.
Arm that moved the flapper for ducts was replaced. Twice.
Grills for vents cracked.
Shifter knob cracked.
I repaired all of this. Loved it all along. It was with me when I got married. It brought my son home. It drove me home from my divorce. I would still be patching it up today, except I was driving home from work one morning and ran afoul of something not well know:
The 2.5 liter v6 had a tendency to spin rod bearings. The way I heard it, the manufacturing process wasn’t the best and allowed the cap to lose a little tension. Just enough to spin a bearing and send you home in a tow truck. I read this on http://www.contour.org 8 or 10 years ago, so I may be screwing up the details.
I could have found a 3.0, but I was broke (see divorce above) so I let it go to one of the charity junk haulers and drove hand me downs from brother and parents for a while.
Loved that car. Comfy. Economical. Invisible to cops. Good visibility. Great handling. Good acceleration. But too pricey, and the bean counters chose the wrong way to pinch pennies.
Fun fact about the Duratec engine: it was originally designed by Porsche, then when Ford bought the design and patents, Cosworth had heavy input into the Ford corporate design. And it spawned the Yamaha-massaged 3.4 DOHC V8 for the Taurus SHO, the Jaguar AJ V8 (descendents of which still power Jags and Land Rovers), the related Aston Martin V8 and V12 engine range (which is still powering Astons in further developed forms today), the Volvo/Yamaha transverse V8 in last decade’s S80 and XC90, and probably a handful of engine families I am forgetting. And, of course, it’s still kicking around at Ford in the older designs (Taurus, Explorer, Flex).
I don’t know about some of that. You’re right about the both the Yamaha V8s (for the early Taurus SHO and for the V8 Volvos), as well as the Aston Martin V12. Those are based on the Duratec architecture.
However, the Jaguar / Land Rover AJ-V8 family is unrelated. The Duratecs are a compact 60 degrees, while the AJ-V8s are 90 degrees. The Aston Martin V8s—up until the new DB11, which uses a Mercedes-AMG block for the V8 version—are derived from the AJ-V8 engine, and are thus also unrelated to the Duratec family.
Now, Ford Motor Company did have a Duratec-derived V6 engine series designated as AJ-V6 for the Jaguar X-Type, Jaguar S-Type and Lincoln LS; however, that engine has been discontinued. The current supercharged 3.0-liter Jaguar / Land Rover V6 actually is a sawn-off and de-bored version of their AJ-V8, with some balancing shafts since it’s at 90 degrees, just like the AJ-V8…which is not an ideal angle for a V6.
As for me, my 2014 Lincoln MKS has a Duratec engine, the 3.7-liter N/A V6. This engine is designated as “Cyclone”, but it’s an iteration of the Duratec series. Holy torque steer; this car has it in spades.
Motor-powered locks? Feh. Talk to me when you’ve had vacuum-operated locks (like my ’97 Jetta GLX and other older Euro cars). Now those are a pain, especially when the vacuum lines in the trunk get crushed by cargo.
I bought a 95 used in 2000 — SE V6, 5-speed, optioned just like yours w/ 50k miles. Put 62,000 miles on it and the only problem I had was it needed a water pump at 60,000. Was a blast to drive, and I would’ve kept it longer if a drunk driver hadn’t hit me on Christmas eve, totaling the car.
Chestnut! I love that color. Talking about colors. For some years they came in very vibrant colors.
I am currently driving one of these, a 1998 Mystique. Typical low mileage, a previously ‘owned by an old lady’ car. It’s a fun car to drive but I’ve read a lot about how they start to fall apart after 100,000 kms. Even though it’s just a four-cylinder, it’s the sport model. It’s an odd combination, with leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter knob. But has manual roll down windows. It’s just a stopgap vehicle.
See my comment below, with a mindful owner, his ’96 Mystique just rolled up on 245k miles with minimal fuss.
Ah the Contour. Had they priced it around the same price as the Tempo it replaced then they might have sold a lot more but as it was, the car was priced too high for what it offered and most folks bought ether an Escort or ponied up more for a Taurus. I had forgotten that these had motorized locks. The sound of them unlocking or locking was distinctive. My 2005 Focus had locks that sounded like that.
Did you get the car from Apple Ford or Academy Ford? Having hung out around Crapple…..er Apple Ford around that time, I noticed they did not keep many Contours in stock(though they had a butt ton of Aspires and Probes)
Those pictures of your car at your house bring back memories, It seemed there was a Caravan in every second driveway in the area where I lived.
My brother recently became the proud owner of a 241k mile single owner Mystique GS with the 5spd manual and 2.0L Zetec motor. Beige with hubcaps, but beneath the very low key and bland exterior lies a very satisfying to drive, very European feeling car! These things are totally underrated IMO. My brother got it for $500 from a customer who was having trouble selling it for anything on craigslist, quite simply no one seemed to be interested. The motor/transmission combination is really quite excellent, and the suspension tuning is a very impressive blend of little roll and good compliance. This thing is an absolute hoot on twisty central PA backroads. Also, compared to many new cars, I think the interior quality is frankly astonishing. Nice soft velour, soft touch dash and nicely trimmed door cards. The car was maintained well and has been stupendously reliable for the first owner, just normal age related things. Now with 245k miles, it’s finally going to need a new clutch, and has needed a few odds and ends (rear struts, a front lower control arm for a squeaky balljoint, oil pan gasket). Overall I find these seemingly underappreciated sedans much more interesting and appealing than any number of new cars.
I was always puzzled by these – such close European ties and manners yet a usual dose of Ford half-assery. Too bad since they were fun to drive, but to think in the price neighborhood you had both Civics and Accords….
I drove one of these POS re-badged Mazdas during a week’s vacation in California back in 2000. I’m only 5’11” yet even I couldn’t get enough legroom and the pedals were too close together. No height adjustment for the seat cushion, and there was no thigh support at all. After an hour behind the wheel of this car, I had a nagging lower backache that painkillers couldn’t kill. The automatic had odd shift points and slammed into gear on occasion. Driving I-5 and the 405 was a nightmare, as acceleration was leisurely (this car had a four-banger) and people in LA take no prisoners. (At least they don’t drive 80mph in the breakdown lane, as Bostonians do during rush hour on Rte 128.) Trunk room was minimal and the A/C was marginal at best.
This car barely was usable in southern California. No way in you-know-where it’d be satisfactory in southwest Florida, where temps in the 90s are the norm eight months of the year and so is the humidity.How this ever was considered an improvement over the Tempo is beyond me. We still have our V6 Tempo. Thank God we never got a Contour, or the Mercury Mistake for that matter.