Zetec engine
handling
headlamps
exterior styling
front seat comfort
safety.

Underhood access
transmission
trunk
noise
taillamps
visibility
climate control
rear seat size
guages.

I was unable to find any new Contour's in my area but plenty of used program vehicles. I bargained the dealer to 11995 from 12395, 11995 being the price quoted to me in El Paso, TX. The dealer was very helpful and even allowed me to make out two checks for my down payment, holding the 2nd one until I got my next paycheck!

The Contour is the best handling car I have ever driven. The Zetec holds it's own, accelerates briskly (albeit noisily), doesn't even break a sweat at 90 mph. The brakes feel secure with the added bonus of ABS. The headlamps light the road extremely well in both low and high beam and the clear lens effect adds to the unique styling of the car.

The front seats feel very supportive and in conjunction with the tilt wheel, it is easy to find a comfortable driving position.

I appreciate the safety features of the Contour, such as the three point seatbelt for the center rear passenger and the Daytime Running Lights that were on the car, saving me the trouble of having them installed.

Ok, here are my gripes:

Underhood access leaves much to be desired. The engine compartment is crowded, making anything but routine maintenance impossible for the average joe. Requiring the owner to remove the headlamp assembly to replace a bulb is stupid.

The engine is extremely noisy, not a problem for me who has never owned a quiet car, but may be a problem for some.

The transmission seems to downshift a lot when climbing hills, racing the engine and adding to the noise.

I sometimes feel vunerable when changing lanes, due to the large blind spot created by the rear pillars and small exterior mirrors.

The cruise control switches on the steering wheel aren't lit like the window switches.

Program Contour's do not have tachometers.

It is way to easy to accidentally turn on the high beams when signaling a turn.

The trunk could have used a cargo net and a more secured release.

I think having a single bulb for each taillamp isn't a good idea. I prefer having separate amber rear turn signals. Pity that the Contour's didn't get the Euro-market Mondeo's taillamp treatment.

The A/C system sometimes gives up when accelerating and I seem to have to run the fan on high most of the time, barely coping with 100+ temperatures we have here. I think it's mostly due to the dark color of my interior.

And lastly the back seat is uncomfortable for three adults.

Overall, despite it's shortcomings, I really like this car. I would recommend it on these conditions:

You want a good handling compact car.
You appreciate unique styling.
You appreciate driving.
You cart around young children (three point belts for all).
You never do your own maintenance.

However, I don't recommend it if:
You do your own maintenance.
You carpool.
You live where it is hot and prefer dark colored interiors.

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I tested a Toyota Corolla but the handling wasn't as crisp and I couldn't find one with ABS. I also tried a Honda Civic. I liked the way it handled but I didn't like the fact that that they all came with CD players(I don't use CD's.) and it would cost me $300 dollars to get a tape player installed! And the fact that you have to order an EX in order to get ABS and none of the Honda dealers in my area stocked any Civic EX's with ABS.
The VW Golf/Jetta's felt superb but were WAY to pricey for me. The Chevrolet Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire has ABS standard, but I didn't like the feel of either of them.

The sleek look, roomy interior and the way it initally handled on the open road.

A year after I purchsed the car the heater switch failed, the air intake box cracked, the rotars warped, the "new 30 thousand mile" tires were bald, and the drink holders began sticking on the inside. And to top that off the steering wheel wobbles like it wants to fall off. This was definately a "FRIDAY" car.

I paid $13,995.00 for the car and I have invested over $2000.00 in repairs on it in just the short time that I have owned it. I would not recommend it to anyone, at least not the 1995 model. It waould make a good rental car, short term use of this vechile is definately recommended.

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1990 Buick Skylark, there is no comparison. The Buick was tops!!!!

the windows work. The car still looks great from the outside and the inside looks good

the brakes wear out fast, the cup holders aren't meant to hold anything except for a baby bottle (ford admits they were a bad thing however they would consider it to be a recall) the carpet comes away from the walls, the waterpump had been replaced twice,the engine is very loud, too many recalls the plastics inside the cabin is cheap, this just started when the air conditioning is on the power goes down, my passenger outer mirror stopped working, I am very upset with this ar it started with little things, now in the last two years she's been in the shop more than she's been on the road. I baby this car, do everything your suppose to do for your car to keep it up...doen't work, I have alot of highway miles. the only reason I have still have the car is it will cost me to trade it. I wouldn't get anything on a trade!!!! And there isn't any room in the rear seat

$22,000.00 with was too much that's with interest. Don't buy it forget this car, most of people which repaired this car at ford said this was a ford mistake get rid of it as the give me the bill

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This car I really have no words. I had a nissan 1989 Sentra and I didn't know how to take care of cars then I ran that car from the mid west (Kansas to Beaver Falls Pa by Pittsburgh 105,000 in 2 1/2 years I didn't have a 1/4 of trouble with that!!!

- handles very well in the city and on the highway
- responsive and stable (cornering, lane changes)
- good acceleration when starting and passing
- no reliability problems
- ABS, front wheel drive, CD stereo, power drivers seat
- very affordable sporty 4 door sedan

- side windows frost up in the winter (-25 C and colder)

Recommended, as you can see I bought a second one after the lease was up on the first one.

Fun car to drive arround town and on the highway. Have taken it on several 1000 km trips.

Very good car for young drivers, not to big, not to small. ABS and front wheel drive availabe (must in Northern Canada). Sporty enough for teenagers to drive (especially with the spoiler and CD player), but enough room and 4 door to take the family.

Little noisy on the highway compared to my Volvo, but certainly not unbearable.

Good quality and good value for the money.

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Test drove Sunbird, Mazada. Looked at a Camray and a Neon when I leased the original. Didn't even look at an alternative when I bought the second one.

The great gas mileage and the excellent visibility.

It has a very noticeble drop in power when the A/C is engaged

I would recommend this to just about anyone. Although I personnly wanted a truck this car has acctualy worked great. At 6'4" I thought yeah right but I have no problems with leg room or visibility I fit in this better than an Expedition! I paid $10,500 and Ford Motor Credit is great to work with. I got the extended warranty (5 year 75,000 mile) although I see no problems ever happening. Overall this is a great car.

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1993 Buick Skylark Limited, has very poor visibility. Test drove a Plymouth Breeze grossly underpowered

color, moonroof

lack of quality

Hard to recommend a car that has been in the garage as often as this one... worst car I've ever owned... no more Fords in my garage.
The Duratec 100K between tune-ups needed a $250 tune-up at 72K, check engine light has always flashed and I simply refuse to keep paying the dealer each time another oxygen sensor fails (4 to-date @ $85 each plus diagnostics), struts and coils BROKE at 70K miles, windshield cracked recently... while sitting in the garage overnight!!! and rust is forming over the passenger side of the windshield and this car is really baby'd. I have always taken extreme good care of my vehicles, but this one defies logic. The dealer and region are sympathetic... as they hand me yet another repair bill. I guess this is the new "world-class" Ford.

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Zippy acceleration, responsive handling, HUGE trunk, decent gas mileage considering the power, enough rear passenger room for my two pre-teens, and just darn nice looking!

Cup holders are very poorly placed - very difficult to reach while driving (I have to maneuver around the gear shift and under the dash, two obstacles that often knock my drink out of my hand), zero interior luxury, lots of road noise at highway speeds, and I can feel a lot of heat coming from underneath on long trips (making for some very warm feet, especially since A/C is panel only). For the price, however, I appreciate the emphasis on performance rather than luxury.

I paid 19,500 for a loaded (except ABS) 2000 Contour. I decided on the Contour after comparing several models I've rented, and I was pleased with the handling, responsiveness, layout of controls, and (let's face it, I'm a woman) the nice looks of it - it fits quite nicely into my BMW-populated zip code. I bought the Contour as my first "grown up" car, having just graduated from the single-parent, sub-compact, manual transmission economy class (Ford Aspire, which was a fantastic little car for me for five years and 100,000 miles).

I'm pleased with the gas mileage I've been getting (about 23 around town, 29 on the highway), and the 15-gallon gas tank gives me good distance between fill-ups. One note in case any of the people at Ford are reading: I've got quite a collection of scars and scrapes on the index finger of my right hand - every time I remove the gas cap, unless I'm thinking about it and very careful, my finger gets scratched by the fuel door catch.

With 19,000 miles in 9 months, I've put my Contour to the test, and it passes with flying colors. I spend a lot of time on the road with my kids (daily commutes and weekend road trips up and down the west coast), and I can't afford any downtime. The reliability rating of the Contour is a comfort, and I've had no problems with it so far.

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Contour wins hands down to its Chevy, Dodge and Mitsubishi competitors I've rented.

-Stiff Pedals
-Stiff Steering
-Flawless ATX
-Trunk Space
-Front Seating
-The fact that there is a SVT model so that you can add a lot of stock preformance parts although mine is a Zetec and not a Duratec
-The fact that there is a website www.contour.org with a lot of helpful people.
-pretty good gas milage for it's class

-The acceleration is a little laggy, but when you get into the high rpms it runs pretty smoothy
-Stock Stereo System
-Runs a little hot after long trips but ford claims that's normal

I bought this car in February for 11,700 CND. There were 50k Kilometres already on it. Only thing i hate about this car is that the stock stereo sucks really badly. I would recommend this car to any age bracket. There are many aftermarket and stock parts you can add to it. If you want the most performance for you money you should get this car.

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Focus runs basically the same as mine.. i think it's the same zetec engine. Civic the interior was too bland. Tercel everything was so lose. Jetta i liked the stiffness of that too but it was too pricey.

good handeling, great gas mileage. Seats are commfy, looks good. Love the traction controll.

Piece of Junk. Headgasket went after first month I bought it $1200.00 to fix it. Recalls are too many to mention. Idles like crap high and low. Dash falling apart. Miss fireing computer problems. NO leg room in rear seat. No trunk room or engine compartment. Temp to high. Indside lights suck. Doors constantly freeze shut. Gas door won't open all the time. Excessive tire wear.

car has given to many problems end up putting more money in it then its worth.

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My 1985 chevy suburban ran better then this junk does. DO NOT buy a FORD.

One of the best sedans to drive. There is simply no domestic competition; while the Stratus/Breeze and the Malibu leave you tired after 30 minutes, the Contour stays easy to drive and very maneuverable. The thick steering wheel is the best I've ever grabbed in any car. The transmission and the clutch operate smoothly (5-speed manual). The engine is more than adequate (V6) and still reasonably fuel-efficient. The exterior and the instrument cluster have a very European feel; after all Ford developed this car in Europe as the Mondeo, to compete with many cars including BMW 3-series and Audi A4. This is the car to buy if you want a BMW but can't afford one. Go for the V6/manual combination if at all possible; the competition doesn't even offer this setup.

The interior has been cheapened too much as part of Ford's cost-cutting efforts. Those inferior competitors from GM and Chrysler have a more pleasing-looking (though not necessarily more functional) interiors. It goes without saying that the imports (even the bargain-basement Koreans) have even better interiors. Mechanically, the top gear is too aggressive and keeps cruising RPM's way too high (V6/manual only), and maintenance can be a problem as some parts are hard to reach.

I paid $16K plus taxes; several promotional rebates (college grad, Citibank) added up to about $1,500 total. The price is excellent; go to a Toyota dealership and it's hard to get even a lowly Corolla for this price. Even without the promotional rebates, the price is still way down in Hyundai/Daewoo territory.

For young singles like me, and just-married couples with young or no children, this car will do very well. The driving dynamics are excellent, and most cars just do not compare. The infamous rear seat can hold my 5'8" frame fine, but if I were a six-footer, I would be very concerned. The lost rear seat space is made up by a huge trunk, which I love. The fact that this is seen by most people as a lowly domestic sedan works out very well, since in addition to the low purchase price, you also get low insurance rates that are downright obscene considering the car's performance. German performance, Korean sticker price, and the advantage of low domestic ownership cost - you can't beat the combination.

If I were to regularly carry several people around, I would pick the Honda Accord for its roomy and upscale interior, as well as the sophisticated image that the Honda brand exudes. But for solo driving, you cannot beat Ford Contour, period, especially since it costs several grands less.

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I drove a Plymouth Breeze rental quite a bit; Contour is far superior in performance, mechanicals, and functionality.