Great car, great styling. The engine and transmission have been great. The handling is smooth and sharp. Great feel through the steering wheel. Nice trunk. Women love this car!

Water pump (warranty), dashboard (warranty), average build quality. Inspect your car thoroughly before and after you take it to the dealer for work.

This is a follow up review. I've had the car for 45000 miles now. The car has been wonderful. It goes fast, turns well, rides well. Stops well. It had one problem. The fuel pump died at 35000 miles. It was replaced under warranty. In my town, the real problem is the dealerships. The first one where I bought the car crashed. I replaced all of the suspension pieces myself. When I told Ford about it they acted like maybe it did it. Can't really blame the factory. The second Ford dealer ran their lift into the lower panels and crushed them. They said "we never put it on a lift." The third one started putting in 1 quart too much oil on each oil change after the car's mileage went past the warranty. I complained to the service writer and the manager and they just shrugged their shoulders and told me to go away. Dear Ford, you built a great car. What you need to do is go to the top 50 dealers with the most complaints and pull their dealership license. That's right, tell them to sell something else. Stop tearing up your customer's cars. Many of these complaints are not really about how bad the car is, but how bad the service from the dealership is. Make an example of the worst 50 in your dealership body and the rest will get into line. I repeat, this is a great car. It steers, goes, stops and generally works well. I love the styling. It is so cool. I see new toyotas and hondas and nissans and I think how much better my car looks than these new, boring, same old look boxes. The build quality was so so. My friend's RSX is built much better, but this car has a better ride and the handling is only slightly less sharp. I like the tradeoff and my friend has said she would like to trade me. NO WAY. There was some road noise, I got rid of that with a dynamat trunk kit and a dynamat bulk kit. Now it is quiet and I can hear the radio much better. Also, I took out the cheesy spare tire cover and made a new one out of a nice plywood. I cut it into three pieces and covered it with felt from JC Whitney. It looks better than new and is quieter. I replaced the Goodrich KDW tires with Goodrich VR4 tires and now the car feels lighter on it's feet. It rides smoother and has only lost a tiny bit of traction at the limit. It still turns and accelerates better than any of the euro and japanese sedans that I care to run with. The motor feels stronger than when I bought it. This tells me that it was built with quality parts. If you can buy an SVT at a good price, you've got a great car. Just beware of the dealer.

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Mazda 626, Honda Accord and Civic, Chevrolet Impala.

drove me across the country with no problems decent gas mileage good sound stereo

cup holders don't work annoying rattle from dash mechanical defects

This car was good to me for the amount of money spent on it, but considering I just put in more for repairs then what I paid for the car, I am on a new car search. Fortunately, I have only had to replace: plug/wires starter timing belt door handle

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none...first "real" car

Pickup Smooth ride Overall price for performance

Tire wear (6 years, approaching third set of tires) WAY too many recalls That silly check engine light

Decent car that went through many recalls (sounds normal after what I have read here) Recent problems with the water pump left me challenged with either a huge tow bill or an attempt at driving while overheating the engine. Check engine light sporadically goes on and off and never seems to make you feel like it indicates anything important. Also had stalling when driving through puddles and the trunk must have a small leak. Overall a good ride with overall decent performance. Basically makes me feel like the car is great now, but what will happen in the next few months. Not terribly confident while driving all the time. Great pick up for this type of car. 165 HP 6 cyl engine is a great performer. No problem getting by people on the highway. Tends to work like a race cars some days, and more sluggish others, but I don't blame the car. Woodfield Ford is not the place to go for service. I service at Arlington Heights Ford and they are far more professional. Just the same, I wouldn't be terribly sad to see this car in someone else's driveway right now.

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97 Taurus SL Saturn

Acceleration, handling, comfortable.

Reliability, build quality, and parts quality.

Purchased this Contour new in October of 1999. It has been the subject of numerous recalls and other repairs. 2500 miles: New starter (left us stranded) 20000 miles: New engine (left us stranded) 22000 miles: Leaking trunk Dashboard warp Air intake valve (howling noise) Noisy rear shocks OEM tires were shot at 18k miles All in all, this hasn't been the greatest car and, if given the chance to purchase another one, I would never do it. And judging from the other reviews posted here, I'm not alone. This was my first Ford car and now I will never buy another Ford (are you listening, Ford?). I thought that the domestic automakers had really closed the quality gap between domestic cars and imports but I guess they haven't. It's no wonder that Honda and Toyota have done as well here as they have.

Seat Belts work

Horrible acceleration! Power windows are dying.

I bought this car used with only 70k. I have been threw 3 timing belts within 2 months. And the check engine comes on, I guess it wouldn't be a ford without that small light?! When the car moves it goes.

Power Handling large trunk comfort great mpg

Headlight lenses turn yellow

The Ford Contour is a good car, mine has not been a problem, eventhough I hear that its a pile of crap on wheels, I think it is a good car. The only thing I replaced was the cv boot. I have had the car for a year it has been very reliable. It has the 2.0 liter ZETEC great power, great handling. The cars handling feels like a BMW's. The interior looks okay but its nothing special. The only problem I had with it was during the winter the motorized door locks froze and when I tried to open the trunk with the keys the key would not turn. I do not blame this on the car but on the very cold weather we had in New Jersey this winter.

Smooth transmission sport ride nice color

Warped Dashboard recalls tires a/c fan leaking gaskets

I purchased a 1999 Contour Se with grand expectations which have greatly faltered. This car is junk. Right away, it has been in for 4 recalls (rotors,bushings,warped dash,a/c heater fan noise) and now with 48,000 miles on it, the check engine light came on and has had over $1,000 worth of work done to it. The OEM tires needed replacement after only 28,000 miles. I had the alignment checked 4 times and balanced and all they could say was "we see them last to 80,000 or even to 20,000". I wrote to Ford and complained and received (believe it or not) an extended warranty covering it for 5 years or 70,000miles! It is nice, but I have had it in for so much that I have had to take days off from work or alter my working hours to accomodate the car. Then, the dash board was recalled for warping and they were replacing them but my dealership was one of the first to get a big ugly "black strip" placed across your dash to hold down the dashboard. Now, it is rattling. This car has more paperwork on it in three years than my previous car, a Honda Accord (1988) that had 210,000 from 1988-1999. Like the new Ford ads say, "Have you looked at a Ford lately, Look again" I'm sorry, but I will be "looking away" from Ford and going towards Honda or Toyota

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Honda Accord

Price Handling Looks Features Power

Ride (for some who will find it harsh in SE trim) Space Reliability and quality

Since I purchased the final year of production, my Contour was deeply discounted (I think I got a $2,500 instant rebate off an already discounted price). Given that, my Contour has performed admirably and at the time,(and probably still today) there is no V6 5 spd sedan that delivers more for the price. I have been impressed by the Contour's combination of ride, handling and power. I feel that the tuning of the SE package is just right-- pleasantly Euro firm-- somewhat like a 3-series, but with less finesse (and a lot less bucks). The handling is outstanding (again I have not driven better at this price). The 2.5L engine is reasonably powerful, refined and economical, but is a little slower to rev up than some of the latest designs. Braking is strong-- my SE is equipped four wheel vented discs and stop on a dime. Reliability and some of the interior bits deserve a couple of demerits. The interior is functional, but a little plain and cheap. On the reliability side, in my three years of ownership, I have had the following problems: a broken A/C switch replaced under warranty, a leaking (cut) brake hose replaced under warranty, squeaking rear bushings lubed under warranty, a warped dash, and the occasional squeak and rattle. Not Lexus but certainly not that bad-- I've never been left stranded.

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Saturn SL2

none

everything

This car is a pile. It has done nothing but give me problems. And now it is completely worthless, so it is impossible for me to trade in without taking a $5000 loss. I am stuck with it. It is currently in the shop and they cannot figure out what is wrong with it. It had a problem with shifting sporadically and very hard, like enough to throw you back and give you whiplash and started jerking and shaking all the time. So I was told by Ford that the transmission had to be replaced. I had it rebuilt, and the problem was not fixed. It was a complete waste of money to rebulid it, and Ford doesn't care that I don't get my $ back. They have it now and cannot figure out what is wrong with it. Now they say the electrical system, and the throttle position sensor, or it is just grounding out. THey don't know. I've replaced the breaks, alternator, rotors, you name it. What a piece of junk. I'd like to drive it off a cliff.

Handling Mileage Acceleration Dependability

Cup Holder Moonroof (perhaps just overuse but still..) O2 sensors (it collects them as a hobby..)

My husband and I bought the 1996 Contour SE model new and have had it ever since. The check engine light is always on, even after the O2 sensor(s) have been replaced (multiple times-I think we've gone through at least 4 or 5 now). I've just learned to live with the fact that the CE light will always be illuminated. The car, for the most part, has run pretty well. As said in previous reviews, we've had to change the spark plugs/wires at about 60K. We replaced the water pump last year (about 90K). I think we're on our third set of tires and brakes, and 2nd set of rotors. The car now has 106K miles on it. The moonroof engine blew out about 20K miles ago, the power locks are dying, and the car creaks and groans a lot. It's beginning to feel downright geriatric. Other than that it's been a pretty good car. It's never stranded me and it is still responsive as far as the gas pedal and handling are concerned. I do agree with the cup holder sentiments-they really are awful-one wrong pull on the purse strap and the holder flies right into your lap!

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Ford Escort, Ford F 150...I think I've had it with Fords. We are looking at Toyotas, Mazdas, etc Frankly, they are at the same price point as many American cars right now. Ford should try to create a