I bought a certified pre-owned 1998 Contour in 1999 and owned it for 20 years, over 300,000 miles on the 2.0 ztek, automatic. It was a great little car, reasonable to perform the maintenance myself. Local Ford dealer had a $2000 trade-in incentive for a new Fusion so I took them up on that. The Fusion has been a great car so far.
The contour had a great powertrain . But those that didn’t have the under hood wiring harness replaced under warranty were the ones that many owners discarded because the cost was more than the value of the car if the customer had to pay it themselves. The wiring issue was very prevalent in the southern heat and humidity.
They get the Fusion just right and they discontinue it, although it lives on as the Taurus in the Chinese market with an all digital instrument cluster and info screen.
@@redneck4528 To be honest, I saw very few transmission or engine problems with the Contour. Most of the major problems were electrical, especially the under hood wiring harness.
I realise that this channel is going to be American-centric by definition, but I cannot overstate just how popular the Mondeo was and is in the UK. For one thing, our perception of what a large car is, is totally different from the USA. One last note - the CDW27 platform (which is what the Mondeo/Contour/Mystique are) also birthed the Mk8 Mercury Cougar (Ford outside the USA) which was a much better car than it deserved to be with a 2.5 V6 (or 2.0 I4) and FWD. I still have one - modified to ST200 spec - and I love it.
The Mondeo was sold here in Australia as well, a replacement for the Telstar & TX5, up until only a couple of years ago when Ford stop selling cars and just utes and 4WDs 😝
@@davidkane4300 Are we talking about that little Cougar that looked like Ford tried to build a Celica? Yuck. They should never have put the Cougar name on that.
When car shopping in '99, we looked at the Contour and the Taurus. The price difference was less than $2k. We went with the Taurus and drove it for 13 years.
Biggest problem is that for every year the Taurus was less expensive because Ford loaded on incentives to try to keep Taurus's top sales ranking. As a result most of the first owners of Contour/Mystique were fleets. Rental agencies refused to pay more than Escorts because the size was too small to rent for higher prices.
and yet here in Europe, the Escort (replaced by the Focus) was VASTLY smaller. the first Mondeos here replaced our Sierra, which you had a version of in the USA as the Merkur XR4Ti which was, in essence our Sierra XR4i with the V6 pulled out and a 2.3 Turbo lump in its place, as i understand it
I bought a five speed 95’ contour in 96’. It had 7k miles and I got it for only 12k. Great investment. That V6 could move, and the shifter was smooth as butter. I drove it for 12 years. It was running great, the issue became parts weren’t available and it was getting expensive. An engine liner tore and needed replaced (or so the dealer claimed) and they wanted 2k to fix. So that was the end of the line in 2008.
I had a 1998 Contour SE V6 5-speed. I loved that car, as it was the closest to owning a Taurus SHO I could get. Smooth V6. A lot more power than the 98hp Honda it replaced. Sadly, after I hit a horse with it, the drivers side window never worked properly again. Also, squirrels loved the spark plug wires. But I miss it.
I had a 1998 Ford Contour SE that I gotten in mid October 1999 to late May 2005. It was a good first car for me. I did wanted a 1999 Ford Escort before seeing the Contour. I have a friend that used to have one.
EU version Mondeo were very popular in Europe. In here it wasn't expensive. I had MK3 wich wasn't offered in the US. It was certainly bigger than the MK1 and MK2. I really liked it. Much newer Ford Fusion is European Mondeo and it seems to sell well.
It sold well... Ford, Chevy, Lincoln, and I think Cadillac quit making sedans. It's all boring and poor handling SUVs and trucks now. Everyone wants big, slow, less handling, less performance, less fuel mileage and just a more boring experience.
@@SonOfTheDawn515 I agree. But they quit selling them because people preferred SUV’s. I do think Ford should at least have one sedan though to compete with the Camry or Jetta.
Another car you didn't mention that was on the Contour platform was the 1999-2002 Mercury/Ford Cougar. I have a 2002 with 41,000 miles on the odometer. Too bad I live in an area that overuses road salt.
I always liked the Mercury Mystique better in terms of styling. I very, very briefly owed a Ford Contour years ago; I paid $600 for it. It ended up having a blown gasket that was gushing oil and a severed overdrive cable on the transmission that made the car rev very high whenever driven, especially on the freeway. I kept it for a week before selling it for $300
I remember reading in Car and Driver a test of the SVT model of this vehicle calling it an affordable M-3. Was always interested in driving one, but it was gone before I got the chance.
Worked on these for years at the rental car agency. Always really liked them but will never forget the one lot boy hassle. The ashtray was right in front of the trans shifter and you had to have the key to shift in neutral to vac out the ashtray!
We bought a new 95 Contour and it was a problematic car. Water leaks, trim issues, transmission failure (had to be replaced) Wheel bearing failures and A/C issues, all in 13,000 miles. We kept it a year and traded it off for a used S-10 Blazer.
Interesting to finally hear someone talk about that side of it. Mine was 140K miles when I bought it, but it only went maybe 5K more miles before the tranny just completely gave out on the freeway. Turned me off from Ford for life. Though that's shocking all that happened while it was brand new.
@@rushnerd They had "French" made automatics which were JUNK from the beginning. I worked at a Ford/Lincoln Mercury dealer and they always had issues.🤔🙄😬
I once saw an SVT Contour with an unusual modification: a teardrop shaped intake duct let into the front fender. Pretty sure that was a one-off custom mod.
The Mondeo was a truly world beating car in the UK. I had a MK1 diesel and it was lovely. The X-Type might have been a cynical marketing exercise but it was based on the best car in the family car market and one that handled better than any other car in its class. It was given an unjustified kicking immediately in the UK just because of its Mondeo base. Now the Mondeo is extinct in the UK and the Fiesta is about to join it 😔
I had an SVT with the manual transmission. I spooned some 225/55VR15s on to the stock rims (stock tires were 205/60R15s) and that thing was a blast. Surprised many a BMW or Saab owner that thought they were hot stuff.
The 626 had Mazda engines and transmissions. Different bolt pattern from the Fords. Mazda engines were better than the Fords. You could upgrade 626 Brakes from a Fusion.
I reckon it's about time we got an episode on the Ford Falcon and in particular the Australian version, over 56 years of rich history it should of been Fords world car!
Hugely popular in the UK. I had a '93 model. Massive improvement on the Sierra it replaced. For the 2000MY it was discontinued here for the New model which was a completely different car, well apart from the floor plan and drive train that was carried over.
I bought a 95 Contour in 96 , it was a dealers demo. As a salesman I put over 120,000 miles on it before I traded it in on a 200 Taurus. It was a great car, I could cruise I 95 at 75 mph all day in that car and I didn't have any problems with it either.
Nice video, I actually worked as a Ford technician 1994 to 2002. I remember those Contours and Mystiques when they were new off the car haulers. They were small and seemed cheaply built with lots of plastic in-spite of the price.
4:20 the Mondeo was also available as a liftback - which was also never sold in the US 1993 and 1996 Mondeo only: Sedan and liftback had a different rear end styling
I remember looking at a new one in 1999 and put off by the price. Taurus had better incentives. But between 2002 and 2010 I bought five Contours (two were bi fuel CNG/gasoline) from government auctions. $15,000 for all five three got wrecked one sold and one donated. Insurance and selling one netted $12k. Last one was gone in 2016. I drove one 25 states and two provinces of Canada.
I had a pre-owned 95 Contour in Red, and while it did have a few small issues, I really liked it. It was great on gas, comfortable to drive, and just an overall good car. And for some reason I absolutely loved the exterior styling. I would buy another one, especially if it was Red.
@@mbd501 Yeah I was like 9 when they came out and I remember these being really futuristic looking at the time. These stood out on the road like the original Dodge Neons did the same year, they literally turned heads. But I could see these being a failure since they were small and priced way higher than the Ford Tempos that they replaced.
The European Mondeo was the best driving and most complete car in its class. There was nothing truly exceptional but it has absolutely nothing wrong with it and was a top seller for many years. They also made the ST200 that was a fantastic performance car and far better than the SVT.
I had a 2000 svt contour, absolutely loved it. Svt gave it the aggressive look that actually made the car look good. I reluctantly sold it because parts were nearly impossible to find for anything drivetrain related because it was all specific to the svt model.
I always find strange that the Contour was described as very small, very low quality and very unreliable in the american market. The european twin brother, the Mondeo was a big hit. '93 car of the year, very good handling, very good safety, good overall quality...
And a major price reduction. You could buy a 94 Ford Tempo for next to nothing before these came out for 95 so I could understand people being put off by that.
I had a 1998 contour. Rear seat leg room was tight. It did handle well, though. I thought overall size was fine slotted in between escort & Taurus. I think price was the main issue. In the last few years of the Ford tempo the price had been reduced fairly dramatically, & the car was very attractively priced. I actually twice looked at a new tempo during this period. Something about it I just didn't like. I believe the new contour at market rate prices was a bit of sticker shock to customers at the time.
I had 2 Contour SVT models over the years . They were great driving cars with lots of power. But they certainly weren't very durable . Water pumps were a big issue as they were made of plastic and were very expensive to replace .
I had a 99 Contour with the v6 and 5 speed manual. It had some issues. The dashboard delaminated, it was replaced under warranty. The 3rd gear synchronizer quit at about 50k. I had an extended warranty and the transmission was rebuilt on Ford’s dime. Then at about 80k the hvac controls quit. In the spring of 2003 I traded it for a Toyota Tacoma. The 2.5 v6 was smooth and moved that car pretty well. But that car made me avoid new Fords until 2022 when I bought a new Mustang.
As others have said, the Mondeo was *huge* in the UK. The first generation's styling was certainly rather uninspiring, especially compared to the French competition, but I've never heard anyone call it the "Mundano".
The very first Grand Theft Auto game had a bland, slow saloon car called the Mundano. That was the first place I heard it called that but I was only 12 at the time. A friends dad got one and I remember thinking it felt like a huge downgrade from the Ghia Sierra sapphire he had previously!
When it was a time to trade Ford discontinued the Contour, which tanked resale value. I would have to trade into Ford Escape- cheaply made, or Ford Taurus- very ugly at time. For the price of Contour, you could buy Fords own Crown Victoria- superior car in reliability, drive and ownership cost. Contour resale value was horrible. Brand new it was $17000, at 2 years was $5000 and I sold it at year 6 for $3000 on private market. Because of poor ownership experience with Contour Ford lost me as a customer for 25 years as of today.
Bought a ‘96 Mercury Mystique the second year they were on the market. LOVED it. Put 24k miles on it in one year. Beige metallic with a pumice interior, it was gorgeous. Should’ve never sold it.
I know.Why did Ford switch from Cloning the Mazda 626 as a Telstar/TX5 to this.They switched briefly to putting a 2.0l into the Laser for a couple of years and calling it a sr2 which lasted till 2002.the excuse of dollar/yen was weak.
I bought a new 1998 Mercury Mystique in 1999. I got a great deal because the car sat on the dealership's lot for a long time. It was the best car I ever owned. It was only in the shop for regular maintenance such as oil changes or new tires. I never should have traded it in to buy a Ford Taurus when I did but the car was getting up in miles and I thought it was best to trade it in before it started having problems. I would have been better off keeping the Mercury Mystique.
Mother in law had a mercury mystique with the 170hp v6, I loved driving that little car. It seemed fast ASF. I think it had 275k on it before she traded it off.
I wonder how much of its failure was in part because it was so much similar in size to the Taurus? And conversely, whether the existence of the Contour in Ford dealers was partially responsible for the dip in sales starting with the 3rd generation Taurus?
I’ve been trying to find a SVT Countour for well over a year now, they’re very difficult to find unmolested. I would really like to see a video on the Ford Fusion in the future.
Learned to drive stick on a 98 mystique 6cyl. The power under the hood for a newbie driver was sick. I bought a 97 mystique later on, named her Helga...nothing stopped her. Loved those cars.
Huge flop...Ford underestimated the price sensitivity of this "size segment" buyers. The Tempo/Topaz was very affordable and well built for the money. The Contour/Mystique was literally "Taurus" money and plagued with quality problems. You also couldn't get the keypad entry on them, which lots of loyalist Ford owners demand.
I have been afraid of this episode. I’ve been looking for the SVT Contour for a few months. This will probably make it even more difficult to grab one when it hits the market.
When I first started delivering auto parts from a local mom and pop shop, one of the delivery cars was a 99 Contour. I thought it was pretty good. Although it had a faulty thermostat, until one day it stuck closed and it overheated
I was a supplier engineer for Dunlop Vehicle Systems that sold the jounce bumpers on the Contour shock towers. It was built for Ford's rental car market.
I bought a 98 contour in 03. Had it until it blew the crank seal in 13 at around 155,000 miles. It got me to and from work. Had to have the computer replaced to get it to pass emissions. Changing the alternator is a pain as you have to take the passenger side tire off and go through the wheel well to get to the bottom two bolts. The front passenger window motor went bad too. I was able to get inside the door panel and force the window up. Then i disconnected the switches.
Agreed! I had a 2000 Contour SVT. Very fun to drive but as you said, really shitty gas mileage for a small car with a 2.5 engine. At the time, I thought they should have just put in the 3 liter duratec and built up that with the SVT head, bump the hp up to maybe 230 and that SVT might have sold better.
I had one for a few years. It was the most comfortable car I ever owned to drive but had a lot of electrical issues. Eventually a friend who changed the timing belt killed the car.
The first couple model years of the contour burned to the ground because ford decided to go on light gauge wiring to save money. Worked a a ford dealership & had a regular customer with a svt contour w/ a pro charger on the 2.5L. That thing hauled ass.
I remember the Contour, and it was loved by blue-haired pensioners. Or in other words, this is the car the elderly traded in their Tempos for. The Mondeo was far more popular in the UK, and as I've noticed over time, they tend to be more easily satisfied than the US market. I think much of this has to do with it's automotive history in the 70's and 80's---slow, boring, and sometimes unreliable cars were common there, it's what people expected.
its more to do with the size of vehicles and the cost of fuel and taxes on cars here. as for more easily satisfied than the US market, whilst im sure its come a long way, some people used to import US cars to the UK and the general fit and finish of those were TERRIBLE compared to UK cars.
A friend of mine had a '98 Contour SVT, a nice performing car, but loaded with issues, such as the tempermental clutch and 5-speed transmission, and difficult to get at alternator - just to name a few... He had purchased it pre-owned outright with lower-than-average mileage in about 2003, but only had it for 5 years due to all the expensive repair and SVT-specific replacement part issues... Even with regular maintenance, it would be down or in the shop at least once a year for a major repair! He sold it to some kid who would have it totalled six months later from street racing!
European Mondeo was a premium, sporty, and comfortable. The US models were striped down econ-boxes. I think Ford would have had a winner using the Euro formula in the US market.
The biggest problem with the Contour was the guaranteed to fail transmission and a repair bill that wasn’t worth the cost of the car . It was a comfortable uninspiring car .
I drove a Mondeo estate diesel when stationed in Germany. Lovely little car; everything you needed (at the time, before we had our faces glued to phones) and nothing you didn't.
It was Ford’s first attempt at a worldwide car in that class. The Ford Focus would be such in the compact car category. Ford would eventually get one in the compact crossover SUV category with the Ford Kuga (known as the Escape in North America).
I had one of these a rental car for 2 weeks and it was the absolute worst at handling. It had about 100,000 miles on it when I had it. It had some transmission issues and it just was a rough ride for having that low of miles.
We looked at the Contour when my wife needed four doors. We test drove it and liked it, but the dealer wouldn't budge on the terms. The Nissan dealer gave us a sweet deal on an Altima that gave us great service for eight years.
The Fusion outlasted the Taurus? That surprised me. I know when they were still making the Taurus, the last generation seemed to become popular as police interceptor models on the level of the Dodge Charger which I think was due to the engine and drivetrain options used in the SHO model and presumably in interceptor models as well. Namely the twin turbo 3.5L V6 and AWD system.
@@CJColvin I would expect it to be more reliable but where it snows for more than half the year an AWD car is better to drive... especially if you need to chase people.
I had the automatic '99 Mercury Cougar with the same DOHC 2.5L V6 170 HP engine, it was a pretty fun car. Won a couple impromptu races with it. The transmission didn't hold up though.
The two worst problems…1) Blown Head a gasket (twice) and 2) Wire Loom insulation actually disintegrated and peeled away like a banana peel. Totally unacceptable.
I nominate the Mazda6 for a vid. When it came out in 03 it was great, offering multiple bodystyles, engines, transmissions and colors. It was a blast to drive. Unfortunately with each restyle mazda missed the boat and it ended being another victem of the suv tusnami.
Owned two 98's an LX and an SE,LX had the 6 SE had the 4,they were brilliant cars,probably the best "North American" car you could buy at the time,it's a pity the widebody Americans didnt like it :P
The Tempo was cheaper in transaction price than the post 1991 model year Escort. You wonder why they made the changes between the Contour and Mondeo. Mondeo had more room on the inside and was several inches shorter. They changed every panel over the Mondeo too.
![[#2024MAMA] ROSÉ (로제), Bruno Mars - APT. | Mnet 241122 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dgGqD28J6aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I bought a certified pre-owned 1998 Contour in 1999 and owned it for 20 years, over 300,000 miles on the 2.0 ztek, automatic. It was a great little car, reasonable to perform the maintenance myself. Local Ford dealer had a $2000 trade-in incentive for a new Fusion so I took them up on that. The Fusion has been a great car so far.
The contour had a great powertrain . But those that didn’t have the under hood wiring harness replaced under warranty were the ones that many owners discarded because the cost was more than the value of the car if the customer had to pay it themselves. The wiring issue was very prevalent in the southern heat and humidity.
They get the Fusion just right and they discontinue it, although it lives on as the Taurus in the Chinese market with an all digital instrument cluster and info screen.
Hard to believe you got 300k out of a CD4E transmission
@@redneck4528 To be honest, I saw very few transmission or engine problems with the Contour. Most of the major problems were electrical, especially the under hood wiring harness.
@@redneck4528 I know right. I had a 96 contour and a 99. Both didn't make it to 150k on the same transmission.
I realise that this channel is going to be American-centric by definition, but I cannot overstate just how popular the Mondeo was and is in the UK. For one thing, our perception of what a large car is, is totally different from the USA.
One last note - the CDW27 platform (which is what the Mondeo/Contour/Mystique are) also birthed the Mk8 Mercury Cougar (Ford outside the USA) which was a much better car than it deserved to be with a 2.5 V6 (or 2.0 I4) and FWD. I still have one - modified to ST200 spec - and I love it.
The Mondeo was sold here in Australia as well, a replacement for the Telstar & TX5, up until only a couple of years ago when Ford stop selling cars and just utes and 4WDs 😝
The same in Germany. Fords wide middle class offer (with Mondeo sedan, hatchback and station wagon, many engine options) was sold well.
Yeah, I'm surprised the Cougar wasn't mentioned... Basically a two door/Mondeo/Mystique (as it was a Ford in Europe and Mercury in the states).
@@davidkane4300 Are we talking about that little Cougar that looked like Ford tried to build a Celica?
Yuck.
They should never have put the Cougar name on that.
@@iFixJunk I couldn't call it little, but yes that thing's looks just didn't age well. It had the proportions of a four door, so it looked ridiculous.
When car shopping in '99, we looked at the Contour and the Taurus. The price difference was less than $2k. We went with the Taurus and drove it for 13 years.
was taurus reliable?
Biggest problem is that for every year the Taurus was less expensive because Ford loaded on incentives to try to keep Taurus's top sales ranking.
As a result most of the first owners of Contour/Mystique were fleets. Rental agencies refused to pay more than Escorts because the size was too small to rent for higher prices.
and yet here in Europe, the Escort (replaced by the Focus) was VASTLY smaller. the first Mondeos here replaced our Sierra, which you had a version of in the USA as the Merkur XR4Ti which was, in essence our Sierra XR4i with the V6 pulled out and a 2.3 Turbo lump in its place, as i understand it
You mean like it's mentioned in the video?
This car sold incredibly well in Europe. It was literally everywhere in the 90s and 00s.
'93 European car of the year.
same people decided they wanted bulky oversized, less practical crossovers/SUVs instead, or it would still be in production
You literally like this word.
@@jvdacosta1 If I had a dollar for every time I see "literally" in comments, I'd literally have several hundred dollars. Literally.
It was designed and manufactured in Europe. That’s why it has different engineering that American made Fords. Same with the focus
I bought a five speed 95’ contour in 96’. It had 7k miles and I got it for only 12k. Great investment. That V6 could move, and the shifter was smooth as butter. I drove it for 12 years. It was running great, the issue became parts weren’t available and it was getting expensive. An engine liner tore and needed replaced (or so the dealer claimed) and they wanted 2k to fix. So that was the end of the line in 2008.
I had a 1998 Contour SE V6 5-speed. I loved that car, as it was the closest to owning a Taurus SHO I could get. Smooth V6. A lot more power than the 98hp Honda it replaced. Sadly, after I hit a horse with it, the drivers side window never worked properly again. Also, squirrels loved the spark plug wires. But I miss it.
Hit a horse?????
@@Humblemango610 yep. On a dark, windy country road.
Wow
The Mondeo was one of the finest cars Ford ever made
Completely agree!
Had a Mondeo 2.0lt Ghia mk1 in Mallard Green with dark tan velour. Had it 3 years went to a mk2 2.0lt twin cam Auto Ghia X in Silver both good cars.
I had a 1998 Ford Contour SE that I gotten in mid October 1999 to late May 2005. It was a good first car for me. I did wanted a 1999 Ford Escort before seeing the Contour. I have a friend that used to have one.
@@robertwillis4061The MK3 was nasty
EU version Mondeo were very popular in Europe. In here it wasn't expensive. I had MK3 wich wasn't offered in the US. It was certainly bigger than the MK1 and MK2. I really liked it. Much newer Ford Fusion is European Mondeo and it seems to sell well.
It sold well... Ford, Chevy, Lincoln, and I think Cadillac quit making sedans. It's all boring and poor handling SUVs and trucks now.
Everyone wants big, slow, less handling, less performance, less fuel mileage and just a more boring experience.
@@SonOfTheDawn515 What about Muscle cars mate?
@@SonOfTheDawn515 I agree. But they quit selling them because people preferred SUV’s. I do think Ford should at least have one sedan though to compete with the Camry or Jetta.
@SonOfTheDawn515 Ford Should've made a V8 powered rear wheel drive sedan to compete with the Dodge Charger and call it the Crownvic.
But in North America, it competed with the Taurus. It would have been better to just re-brand the Mondeo as the Taurus.
Another car you didn't mention that was on the Contour platform was the 1999-2002 Mercury/Ford Cougar. I have a 2002 with 41,000 miles on the odometer. Too bad I live in an area that overuses road salt.
HA, some one babied a cougar?????
The Mondeo was a massive hit in the UK. It replaced the Sierra.
I have owned numerous Mondeo’s 1998 onwards, it was hands down by far the best car in its class in Europe.
I've driven mk2 (1998), mk3 (2007) and mk4 (2013) Mondeo. Great cars.
@@megashtyr1 ive driven them all, owned and lived with mk1, 2, 4 and now mk5.
Adding Chris Farley in the video was brilliant. 2 thumbs up adding some humor into this. 👍👍
I always liked the Mercury Mystique better in terms of styling. I very, very briefly owed a Ford Contour years ago; I paid $600 for it. It ended up having a blown gasket that was gushing oil and a severed overdrive cable on the transmission that made the car rev very high whenever driven, especially on the freeway. I kept it for a week before selling it for $300
I remember reading in Car and Driver a test of the SVT model of this vehicle calling it an affordable M-3. Was always interested in driving one, but it was gone before I got the chance.
Worked on these for years at the rental car agency. Always really liked them but will never forget the one lot boy hassle. The ashtray was right in front of the trans shifter and you had to have the key to shift in neutral to vac out the ashtray!
We bought a new 95 Contour and it was a problematic car. Water leaks, trim issues, transmission failure (had to be replaced) Wheel bearing failures and A/C issues, all in 13,000 miles. We kept it a year and traded it off for a used S-10 Blazer.
Interesting to finally hear someone talk about that side of it. Mine was 140K miles when I bought it, but it only went maybe 5K more miles before the tranny just completely gave out on the freeway. Turned me off from Ford for life.
Though that's shocking all that happened while it was brand new.
@@rushnerd They had "French" made automatics which were JUNK from the beginning. I worked at a Ford/Lincoln Mercury dealer and they always had issues.🤔🙄😬
I once saw an SVT Contour with an unusual modification: a teardrop shaped intake duct let into the front fender. Pretty sure that was a one-off custom mod.
The Mondeo was a truly world beating car in the UK. I had a MK1 diesel and it was lovely. The X-Type might have been a cynical marketing exercise but it was based on the best car in the family car market and one that handled better than any other car in its class. It was given an unjustified kicking immediately in the UK just because of its Mondeo base. Now the Mondeo is extinct in the UK and the Fiesta is about to join it 😔
And the Focus👎Ford should be ashamed...
I had an SVT with the manual transmission. I spooned some 225/55VR15s on to the stock rims (stock tires were 205/60R15s) and that thing was a blast. Surprised many a BMW or Saab owner that thought they were hot stuff.
Well to be fair they were hot stuff over a Contour
@@JasonFlorida Thank you for saying I am a better driver.
Saab
They only came in a manual with the SVT
Unless they were 4 bangers ur full of it. An i6 bmw of this era(e36)was competing with the 5.0's mustang gt's of the time.
These were referred to colloquially inside of Ford as the "Detour and Mistake" cars...
It's a shame the media demonized the X-Type. They were really good product. The contour SVT was awesome. And really should've had more exposure.
Nobody commented when VW platforms shaped Audi's model line....
@@paullacey2999 🎯🎯🎯
@Paul Lacey When you have the marketing budget that VAG has , you get to control the narrative.
Perhaps Ford should employ a better team …..
Yeah X-Types really went well especially the sills. 🤣
I had a Mazda 626 and it shared the same transmission with the Contour so I found out when it needed replaced.
Me to
The Fusion did as well.
The 626 had Mazda engines and transmissions. Different bolt pattern from the Fords. Mazda engines were better than the Fords. You could upgrade 626 Brakes from a Fusion.
This was the official car of every rental place that gave away the car you rented and this was the replacement
Lovely video. I think a Video on the Oldsmobile 88 or Oldsmobile 98 would be great. They are pretty uncommon to see anymore, at least where i live.
I'm still driving a 96 Mystique today. Bought it in 2003, I think it still has its original spark plugs. Relatively trouble-free car for me.
I reckon it's about time we got an episode on the Ford Falcon and in particular the Australian version, over 56 years of rich history it should of been Fords world car!
The Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan were better midsize replacements for the Contour and Mystique. Much better.
I got just under 100k miles on my Contour. No regrets.
Hugely popular in the UK. I had a '93 model. Massive improvement on the Sierra it replaced. For the 2000MY it was discontinued here for the New model which was a completely different car, well apart from the floor plan and drive train that was carried over.
I bought a 95 Contour in 96 , it was a dealers demo. As a salesman I put over 120,000 miles on it before I traded it in on a 200 Taurus. It was a great car, I could cruise I 95 at 75 mph all day in that car and I didn't have any problems with it either.
Any plans for the NM 12 Thunderbird? 89 to 97? I have three of them SC models.
Nice video, I actually worked as a Ford technician 1994 to 2002. I remember those Contours and Mystiques when they were new off the car haulers. They were small and seemed cheaply built with lots of plastic in-spite of the price.
4:20 the Mondeo was also available as a liftback - which was also never sold in the US
1993 and 1996 Mondeo only:
Sedan and liftback had a different rear end styling
I remember looking at a new one in 1999 and put off by the price. Taurus had better incentives. But between 2002 and 2010 I bought five Contours (two were bi fuel CNG/gasoline) from government auctions. $15,000 for all five three got wrecked one sold and one donated. Insurance and selling one netted $12k. Last one was gone in 2016. I drove one 25 states and two provinces of Canada.
I had a pre-owned 95 Contour in Red, and while it did have a few small issues, I really liked it. It was great on gas, comfortable to drive, and just an overall good car. And for some reason I absolutely loved the exterior styling. I would buy another one, especially if it was Red.
I liked the styling, too. Some people said it was boring, but I thought it was sleek and had nice lines. Mine was dark red - the color of red wine.
@@mbd501 Yeah I was like 9 when they came out and I remember these being really futuristic looking at the time. These stood out on the road like the original Dodge Neons did the same year, they literally turned heads. But I could see these being a failure since they were small and priced way higher than the Ford Tempos that they replaced.
@Paul Lunsford Thank u 😌
The European Mondeo was the best driving and most complete car in its class. There was nothing truly exceptional but it has absolutely nothing wrong with it and was a top seller for many years. They also made the ST200 that was a fantastic performance car and far better than the SVT.
I had a 2000 svt contour, absolutely loved it. Svt gave it the aggressive look that actually made the car look good. I reluctantly sold it because parts were nearly impossible to find for anything drivetrain related because it was all specific to the svt model.
When I sold cars for a short time, the Contour was what people with bad credit could only qualify for.
A very mediocre car that sold many to mediocre people. Win win
Had a late 98 svt and it was pretty kick ass when it worked
The Ford "Conflict" and Mercury "Mistake" as one local dealer used to call the pair....
I always find strange that the Contour was described as very small, very low quality and very unreliable in the american market.
The european twin brother, the Mondeo was a big hit. '93 car of the year, very good handling, very good safety, good overall quality...
That's because you guys have low expectations.
@@piggy310Not at all. Just different needs. The car was very good here.
A slightly longer wheelbase would have made big difference in sales.
The rear leg room was a bit tight.
Its wheel base is 3.5" bigger than the Camry of the time! Blame US ford for ruining the space of the car. The Mondeo has so much more room.
And a major price reduction. You could buy a 94 Ford Tempo for next to nothing before these came out for 95 so I could understand people being put off by that.
I had a 1998 contour. Rear seat leg room was tight. It did handle well, though. I thought overall size was fine slotted in between escort & Taurus. I think price was the main issue. In the last few years of the Ford tempo the price had been reduced fairly dramatically, & the car was very attractively priced. I actually twice looked at a new tempo during this period. Something about it I just didn't like. I believe the new contour at market rate prices was a bit of sticker shock to customers at the time.
I had 2 Contour SVT models over the years . They were great driving cars with lots of power. But they certainly weren't very durable . Water pumps were a big issue as they were made of plastic and were very expensive to replace .
Water pump cost me 40 bucks and a hour of time......
Really never had a problem other than that and a new alternator you must have owned horrible examples
I had a 99 Contour with the v6 and 5 speed manual. It had some issues. The dashboard delaminated, it was replaced under warranty. The 3rd gear synchronizer quit at about 50k. I had an extended warranty and the transmission was rebuilt on Ford’s dime. Then at about 80k the hvac controls quit. In the spring of 2003 I traded it for a Toyota Tacoma. The 2.5 v6 was smooth and moved that car pretty well. But that car made me avoid new Fords until 2022 when I bought a new Mustang.
It was also the platform for the Mercury Cougar 1999-2003
I never made the connection, but you are correct.
The "fastback", front drive, V6 Cougar.
I had both a base Contour and a nicer Cougar with the V6 and 5 speed. Loved them both despite their flaws.
And that was the biggest mistake ever. The Cougar should never be a FWD car. Ever!
Ended in 2002 actually.
@@johnnymason2460 I didn’t mind that the Cougar was FWD. For a front wheel drive car it was pretty crappy on snow and ice.
The last time I was in Italy I actually saw an escort convertible. I thought I was seeing things. Thanks Pat.
I had a 95 Mercury Mystique LS. Loved the 2.5L V6, traction control and ABS. Hated the flimsy cup holders and sensitive front wheel bearings.
I remember wanting a SVT Contour soooo badly!!
These were great little handlers. Arguably the best car Ford made in that era.
As others have said, the Mondeo was *huge* in the UK. The first generation's styling was certainly rather uninspiring, especially compared to the French competition, but I've never heard anyone call it the "Mundano".
The very first Grand Theft Auto game had a bland, slow saloon car called the Mundano. That was the first place I heard it called that but I was only 12 at the time.
A friends dad got one and I remember thinking it felt like a huge downgrade from the Ghia Sierra sapphire he had previously!
Never owned a countor but had five tauruses(1989-1994-1997-2000-2005)all were safe and reliable cars.thank you ford
When it was a time to trade Ford discontinued the Contour, which tanked resale value. I would have to trade into Ford Escape- cheaply made, or Ford Taurus- very ugly at time.
For the price of Contour, you could buy Fords own Crown Victoria- superior car in reliability, drive and ownership cost.
Contour resale value was horrible. Brand new it was $17000, at 2 years was $5000 and I sold it at year 6 for $3000 on private market.
Because of poor ownership experience with Contour Ford lost me as a customer for 25 years as of today.
Bought a ‘96 Mercury Mystique the second year they were on the market. LOVED it. Put 24k miles on it in one year. Beige metallic with a pumice interior, it was gorgeous. Should’ve never sold it.
Last model Fusion was also a Euro Mondeo which I believe was a success. Great video.
The Mondeo was a failure in Australia too, lasted until 2000. We did get the sporty ST24 model but these are very rare.
I know.Why did Ford switch from Cloning the Mazda 626 as a Telstar/TX5 to this.They switched briefly to putting a 2.0l into the Laser for a couple of years and calling it a sr2 which lasted till 2002.the excuse of dollar/yen was weak.
I owned a ‘96 Sport (I4 5-Speed), a ‘98 SE (V6 5-Speed), and ‘99 SVT. I loved driving all of them. I wouldn’t mind buying another one, to be honest.
Also the 2013 Fusion was shared with the Mondeo again 😃
I bought a new 1998 Mercury Mystique in 1999. I got a great deal because the car sat on the dealership's lot for a long time. It was the best car I ever owned. It was only in the shop for regular maintenance such as oil changes or new tires. I never should have traded it in to buy a Ford Taurus when I did but the car was getting up in miles and I thought it was best to trade it in before it started having problems. I would have been better off keeping the Mercury Mystique.
Mother in law had a mercury mystique with the 170hp v6, I loved driving that little car. It seemed fast ASF. I think it had 275k on it before she traded it off.
I wonder how much of its failure was in part because it was so much similar in size to the Taurus? And conversely, whether the existence of the Contour in Ford dealers was partially responsible for the dip in sales starting with the 3rd generation Taurus?
I’ve been trying to find a SVT Countour for well over a year now, they’re very difficult to find unmolested. I would really like to see a video on the Ford Fusion in the future.
Best car ever made in history
Learned to drive stick on a 98 mystique 6cyl. The power under the hood for a newbie driver was sick. I bought a 97 mystique later on, named her Helga...nothing stopped her. Loved those cars.
Huge flop...Ford underestimated the price sensitivity of this "size segment" buyers. The Tempo/Topaz was very affordable and well built for the money. The Contour/Mystique was literally "Taurus" money and plagued with quality problems. You also couldn't get the keypad entry on them, which lots of loyalist Ford owners demand.
The Farley and Ferrell clips were spot on!!🤣🤣🤣
I have been afraid of this episode. I’ve been looking for the SVT Contour for a few months. This will probably make it even more difficult to grab one when it hits the market.
Emphasis on when
When I first started delivering auto parts from a local mom and pop shop, one of the delivery cars was a 99 Contour. I thought it was pretty good. Although it had a faulty thermostat, until one day it stuck closed and it overheated
Hmmm, I always remembered the Contour/Mondeo being nice little cars. They were just overshadowed by the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord of the time.
I was a supplier engineer for Dunlop Vehicle Systems that sold the jounce bumpers on the Contour shock towers. It was built for Ford's rental car market.
The Contour SVT was the only model worth buying.
I bought a 98 contour in 03. Had it until it blew the crank seal in 13 at around 155,000 miles. It got me to and from work. Had to have the computer replaced to get it to pass emissions. Changing the alternator is a pain as you have to take the passenger side tire off and go through the wheel well to get to the bottom two bolts. The front passenger window motor went bad too. I was able to get inside the door panel and force the window up. Then i disconnected the switches.
Thank you so much for this! I had a '98 V6 5MT.
It was such a fun car to drive, but man did it get shitty fuel mileage!
Agreed! I had a 2000 Contour SVT. Very fun to drive but as you said, really shitty gas mileage for a small car with a 2.5 engine. At the time, I thought they should have just put in the 3 liter duratec and built up that with the SVT head, bump the hp up to maybe 230 and that SVT might have sold better.
7:41 the 5hp bump started with late model 98s as I had one. I used to blow the doors off of fools for the first 50-100ft in a drag race
I had one for a few years. It was the most comfortable car I ever owned to drive but had a lot of electrical issues.
Eventually a friend who changed the timing belt killed the car.
The first couple model years of the contour burned to the ground because ford decided to go on light gauge wiring to save money. Worked a a ford dealership & had a regular customer with a svt contour w/ a pro charger on the 2.5L. That thing hauled ass.
I remember the Contour, and it was loved by blue-haired pensioners. Or in other words, this is the car the elderly traded in their Tempos for. The Mondeo was far more popular in the UK, and as I've noticed over time, they tend to be more easily satisfied than the US market. I think much of this has to do with it's automotive history in the 70's and 80's---slow, boring, and sometimes unreliable cars were common there, it's what people expected.
its more to do with the size of vehicles and the cost of fuel and taxes on cars here. as for more easily satisfied than the US market, whilst im sure its come a long way, some people used to import US cars to the UK and the general fit and finish of those were TERRIBLE compared to UK cars.
A friend of mine had a '98 Contour SVT, a nice performing car, but loaded with issues, such as the tempermental clutch and 5-speed transmission, and difficult to get at alternator - just to name a few... He had purchased it pre-owned outright with lower-than-average mileage in about 2003, but only had it for 5 years due to all the expensive repair and SVT-specific replacement part issues... Even with regular maintenance, it would be down or in the shop at least once a year for a major repair! He sold it to some kid who would have it totalled six months later from street racing!
The problem I had with it was there was less rear leg room than the Tempo
European Mondeo was a premium, sporty, and comfortable. The US models were striped down econ-boxes. I think Ford would have had a winner using the Euro formula in the US market.
I guess the Contour SVT when introduced was supposed to appeal to Ford customers who also liked the Taurus SHO.
The biggest problem with the Contour was the guaranteed to fail transmission and a repair bill that wasn’t worth the cost of the car . It was a comfortable uninspiring car .
I drove a Mondeo estate diesel when stationed in Germany. Lovely little car; everything you needed (at the time, before we had our faces glued to phones) and nothing you didn't.
It was Ford’s first attempt at a worldwide car in that class. The Ford Focus would be such in the compact car category. Ford would eventually get one in the compact crossover SUV category with the Ford Kuga (known as the Escape in North America).
The Mondeo, at least the estate version, was everywhere in Germany in the mid/late 90s.
I had a 99 Contour with the 2.0 Zetec and a 5 speed manual. I put well over 300k on it before I sold it
I had one of these a rental car for 2 weeks and it was the absolute worst at handling. It had about 100,000 miles on it when I had it. It had some transmission issues and it just was a rough ride for having that low of miles.
I had a Jaguar X-Type for several years and successfully had the windshield replaced with a Ford Contour one. Perfect fit!
I had a 1996 Chrysler Cirrus and I loved that little car. Had the 2.5L v6 with the spring special package. Stone white with the camel tan interior.
I love that you put the clips from the Jackass movie in this. I remember watching it thinking "that car looks a lot like a Mondeo"
We looked at the Contour when my wife needed four doors. We test drove it and liked it, but the dealer wouldn't budge on the terms. The Nissan dealer gave us a sweet deal on an Altima that gave us great service for eight years.
The Fusion outlasted the Taurus? That surprised me. I know when they were still making the Taurus, the last generation seemed to become popular as police interceptor models on the level of the Dodge Charger which I think was due to the engine and drivetrain options used in the SHO model and presumably in interceptor models as well. Namely the twin turbo 3.5L V6 and AWD system.
I think both Taurus and Fusion got discontinued in 2019
The Crownvic was a much better built Cop car than the Taurus will ever be.
@@AVC-Works the fusion made it one more year
I have a 2013 and 2 2018 Fusions, all 3 have been great cars.
@@CJColvin I would expect it to be more reliable but where it snows for more than half the year an AWD car is better to drive... especially if you need to chase people.
I had the automatic '99 Mercury Cougar with the same DOHC 2.5L V6 170 HP engine, it was a pretty fun car. Won a couple impromptu races with it. The transmission didn't hold up though.
Loved the Mondeo. Hard to believe they launched 30 years ago.
Great info, as always. I very clearly remember Car & Driver praising these cars.
Pls pls do an episode on the Mazda 929.
When the Focus replaced the Escort the Focus was almost as big as the Contour. It was a good car, shame that it flopped.
The two worst problems…1) Blown Head a gasket (twice) and 2) Wire Loom insulation actually disintegrated and peeled away like a banana peel. Totally unacceptable.
I nominate the Mazda6 for a vid. When it came out in 03 it was great, offering multiple bodystyles, engines, transmissions and colors. It was a blast to drive. Unfortunately with each restyle mazda missed the boat and it ended being another victem of the suv tusnami.
The 6 is still being sold
@@Tool0GT92 But it was discontinued for North America in 2021.
@@carexpertandy I didn't realize that
I test drove, but didnt buy, a Contour but I really liked everything about that car.
Owned two 98's an LX and an SE,LX had the 6 SE had the 4,they were brilliant cars,probably the best "North American" car you could buy at the time,it's a pity the widebody Americans didnt like it :P
The Tempo was cheaper in transaction price than the post 1991 model year Escort. You wonder why they made the changes between the Contour and Mondeo. Mondeo had more room on the inside and was several inches shorter. They changed every panel over the Mondeo too.