It's powerful and accelerates quickly. The handling is superb.

In a word-quality. This is one of the worst cars I've ever owned. The cooling fan and switch had to be replaced shortly after the warranty expired. Then came the disc brake rotors, an EGR sensor, and the cruise control. My experience with the Contour has taught me never to buy a car during its first model year. My wife has never liked the ride of this car either.

I cannot in good conscience recommend the Ford Contour to anyone. My '95 was a piece of junk, but my brother has a '99 that he's absoluely crazy about.

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Our other car at the time was a 1995 Taurus GL. The cooling fan and switch on that car went bad within a few days of the one on the Contour. Coincidence? You decide.

* Excellant handling and acceleration and road manners generally
* Zero non-warranty repairs (other than routine maintenance - oil changes, etc.)
* Good visibility
* OK fuel milage (~25mpg)
* Convenient control layout
* Only one warranty repair - butterfly in throttle body was sticking - dlr replaced
* Only one recall (rear brake pressure control valves) - dealer handled quickly

* Underhood access
* Engine idle too high (750 RPM), & no way to change it

I would recommend the Contour (V6 only) to anyone looking for a fun, economical driving experience. The only more fun drive I've owned was a BMW 2002 (years ago!), which provided a similar experience.

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None (my other car is an SUV). Have driven a number of GM company cars (Grand AM, etc) and the Contour is a much better ride.

I rented a 99 SE Sport and drove it in the Sierra Nevadas in California and it was a great little car which influenced this purchase.I love the Duratec V-6. One of the smoothest engines on the planet with technology similar to the Taurus SHO V-6 by Yamaha. Pulls like a mule even with the automatic - I absolutely can't wait to drive an SVT!!! Has four doors which helps pass it off as a family car to the rest of my family ;). Absolutely superb, european handling even with the dated MacPherson struts in front. Keep in mind that I am an ex-Mustang SVO owner, who has seen 1+ G's cornering power. While this car is no SVO, I wished my SVO had this powerplant, fit and finish!!!

Perhaps the fact that I purchased it used for a bargain, instead of ever driving an SVT version. Car needs to have 200HP standard :) for a 3000lb'r

I paid below blue book and NADA value for this car w/65000 miles and I am EXTREMELY Pleased with this fact alone. The engine is a gem as well as the handling. My car doesn't have rear disc's but braking is still above average. Going to remedy that pretty soon with a few junkyard raiding binges (Watch out for 99-00 Mercury Cougar parts, they are interchangeable for the most part. There are aftermarket accessories to make the Contour competitive with Neon's and other small sedans on the Autocross circuit.
Dual exhaust can be fitted to regular cars, as well as anything the SVT model has broken ground for. I plan on putting a killer stereo system, improve the soundproofing Lexus-style, and a mild subwoofer system in the HUGE trunk.

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Mustang SVO - eh, NO but does have euro-handling and surefootedness, with a much smoother engine.
Taurus SHO - no crappy tranny here - the ATX is smooth as butter w/ no clutch even though I am giving up 50 horsepower, also 1000 lbs ;)
Honda Accord EX V-6 - this is what the car is replacing so I can lower my monthly expenses. The honda is much smoother but not for the money difference, and handling wise the 'Tour kicks Honda butt

Great for travleing and runs good on the highways.Had a one accident and it it with stood the crash better then the ford escort it hit.

The back seat is way to cramped with 2 kids.I have see to many recalls on this model and makes me wonder if it safe with my kids.

I don't think it was worth the price we paid for it.It was a used car from a dealership who used it as a rental car.I would never buy another ford contour if I was paid to.I really don't recommed anyone buying this car unless you want alot of repair bills on your hands.Like I said it stood the test of a crash over the escort it hit but the rest of the car is junk.

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Ford tempo

Fast, good pickup.

terrible car...overheats, air broke....is a complete lemon. Has been sitting in the yard for 2 years.

I dont recommend to anyone...Please steer clear of this mess.

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Ranger pickup truck

Very roomy interior. Plenty of room in back seats even with tall people in the front. Has "cab forward" design in front so it appears you're sitting farther back in the car.

It's a dog! The GL comes with the standard 4-cyl which sucks. The struts didn't seem to last very long...had to replace after 3 years. Paint job is not good. Have bubbles and peeling already!

I think I probably paid too much for this vehicle ($16,000). Although, it does have "sport" rims (alloy) and a nice champagne color. Handles pretty well and does good on the highway.

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'95 Ford Taurus - Taurus is much more powerful and worth the extra $$ if you care about it.

Awesome handling. Plenty of power. Feels as secure at 100mph as 60mph. Looks good and ABS works very well.

UNRELIABLE! UNRELIABLE!

I never went more than 2 months without needing to take this in for maintenance. I should have known something was up when the first rain storm I drove in 2 weeks after I bought it, I lost my power steering. Water was splashing up into the serpenteen belt and causing it to slip. When I complained to the dealer, they told me Ford made a shield to prevent this and wanted to know if I would like to make an appointment to have it installed. No big deal to them and it only got worse. As if an extremely unreliable car was not bad enough, Ford's ho-hum attitude was the cherry on top. I had also bought the extended service plan, but the only thing that it ever covered was a bad a/c condensor. We are talking about a $1700 plan here. Trying to get them to give me the required loaner car covered under this plan was like pulling teeth. I spent $1100 on repairs in the last 3 months, that were amazingly enough were not covered under this plan. Each time I would get it out of the garage, it would run good for a little while and I would think that maybe I finally got all the bugs worked out. Finally after the last problem (ignition coil), I got rid of this pig while it was still running. If Ford had maybe seemed concerned, even when I made comments to the service department that I was really getting tired of dealing with this, I would have maybe considered trading this in for a new Ford truck. As it is, that car was the last Ford product I'll ever own. I bought a Nissan.

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First new car I owned. Except for a 1969 Camaro I bought when I was 16, I always had trucks.

Its got a nice body. Real nice/new age. But its SUCKS inside. How can people afford to keep a SVT, with all the trouble that this car gives!

BAD O2 SENSOR, i think that ford is thinking of recalling this sensor. This car breaths! I mean BREATHS! after a nice run in the highway, this car needs a breather, i mean...turn off car, open hood, and look stupid!
Really, this car overheats, in houston...i think you need something like a toyota ONLY to survive. I sold this, and since then, i'm happy...because its less worry, even if i buy an older toyota, i'm pretty sure that will be in the shop less than this dumpster.

MOST HATED CAR IN THE WORLD! (jai's reviews)
Its a success in Europe, keep it there ONLY!

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corolla...although small, its fast, if you buy the RIGHT COROLLA< i had a 1.6 GLi, (can't get it in US), and it was FASSSSSSSST!
wonder why the 1.8 in the uS is not as fast as 1.6 there!

Handling
Engine

Reliability

I bought this V6 stick shift model because the test drive revealed a driver's car. That decision was probably one of my worst. The car was extremely unreliable. Here's a list of what went wrong.
1. Car stalled incessantly. ? defective PCV valve.
2. Car emitted a foul smell. no cause identified.
3. Car died on the highway nearly causing an accident. Electrical short.
4. Car seat motor burned causing a fire under the seat.
5. Plug wires gone after 30k mi.
6. Traction control malfunctioned.
7. Airbag defect
8. Gas tank needed to be replaced
9. Seat belt needed to be replaced
Car service was the worst I have experienced.
Now the Focus has a recall. The Explorer has a mess with Firestone.
I would never recommend buying another Ford product. If you want to buy American, try Daimler-Chrysler or GM.

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Honda Accord
Subaru Legacy

Looks, handles great, gas mileage(2.0 liter), front seat comfort, price.

Small back seat, quite a bit of road noise, loud at high rpm's, cd player.

I have driven this car for over 2.5 years (98 model) and it has been great to me. I haven't had any major problems at all. The cd player it comes with sucks. As does the premium stereo. Chrysler stereo's are much better. This car handles awesome. It's got a peppy 2.0 liter engine (although at times I wish I had opted for the V6). Gas mileage is great. Could have a bigger tank though. I replaced the stereo and have done nothing else. It's got 45,000 miles on it and is still going strong. I did break off the arm rest, don't ask. I would recommend this car for anyone looking for a reliable, great handling, good looking, fairly inexpensive sporty car that can tote around the entire family if you've got young kids to sit in the back.

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dodge daytona(2 of them), Chrysler Lebaron (2 of them). They all have good points and bad.