The Ford Contour was a car produced for the North American market between 1995 and 2000; it fit between the subcompact Ford Escort and the midsize Ford Taurus. It was essentially a slightly modified version of the European Ford Mondeo but did not match its sales success. There was also a Mercury version produced, the Mercury Mystique.
The low-end engine available was a 2.0 litre inline 4, which was standard equipment on the base, GL and more luxurious LX models. Available as an option on those, and standard on the sportier SE model, was a 2.5 litre V6.
A higher-performance SVT model was introduced in 1998, utilising the same V6 but tuned to produce an extra 25 horsepower (19 kW). Improvements to brakes, suspension, tires etc. worked with the extra power to produce quite the sporty package.
The base and GL models were dropped in 1998, and by 2000 only a Sport (a renamed SE) and, by special order, the SVT were available.
Awards
The Contour was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1995 through 1997.
See Also
