The Contour was a derivative of the Ford Mondeo, a European-based “world car” that the company built and sold in the U.S. from 1995 to 2000. Said to be a mid-size car, it looked a bit like a smaller version of the Ford Taurus (IMO). The seller’s base GL edition looks like a decent second car that needs a bit of work to become a daily driver again. Located in Bellflower, California, this set of cheap wheels is available here on craigslist for $2,400. Another tip from none other than “numskal.”
Mercury also offered a rebadged version of the Contour they called the Mystique. These vehicles were the successors of the Tempo and Topaz and were produced on the CDW27 platform which began in Europe but was designed with the U.S. market in mind. The standard engine, which is also in the seller’s car, is a 2.0-liter inline-4 that produced a somewhat peppy 125 hp. This car has an automatic transmission as opposed to the standard 5-speed manual.
We’re told this auto is a “grandpa car” with 72,000 miles. The body, paint, and interior all look to be up to snuff and ready to go once the buyer replaces a bad motor mount (can’t let those go too long) and charges up the factory air conditioner. Of concern to California buyers is that the state smog certification is current. Though Ford sold a ton of these vehicles 25-30 years ago, you seldom see one running around these days. Mostly gone and largely forgotten today.
Buddy’s girlfriend had almost exact version of this, but the Mercury model as you mentioned Dixon. Unfortunately it was a total lemon 🍋. They glossed it the ‘Mistake’ lol
Had a 1995 GL. Total lemon. Car drove well when it was working properly but it ate suspension pieces, leaked coolant, and finally the auto transmission grenaded at 64k miles. I did all scheduled maintenance and never beat on it. The transmission shop that repaired it told me it was “throwaway design” and he has already seen upwards of 10 Contours and Mystiques in with bad trannys. I dumped it as soon as it was fixed.
This one is a hard pass….especially as a daily driver. Parts are likely impossible to get today.
I think there was an SVO or SVT version of this car. With the five speed it would be a lot of fun.
Rented the Merc version back in ’98. Sluggish, noisy, cheap plastic interior (which was “fashionable” back then). Would have been better with a V6.
Add says 71,000 miles odometer reads 73,918 either way they are junk I would suggest you run away unless you have that teenager you want to teach them hands on for auto repair this thing will educate them quickly.
I rented a Mystique (teal, of course!) for two weeks while working out of town in 1996, and really enjoyed the chassis, although the base engine (same as in the subject car) left a lot to be desired. Still, its high-revving and tossable spirit got me hooked on the idea of a smaller car vs. the hand-me-down V6 1986 T-Bird I drove at the time; so I got a 1993 Sentra SE-R not long after.
Once I needed four doors for taking clients out to lunch around 2000, I sold the SE-R to buy a 1998 SVT Contour, which was one of very few proper SE-R replacements with the appropriate door count. The Duratec V6 was tons of fun and sounded amazing, and it was a great-handling car.
I miss both of those…
Main reason you don’t see those running around is that Ford, in their infinite wisdom, used a soy based insulation on the under hood wiring. What didn’t fall off, after a nice under hood temp bake, was irresistible to small animals…
I enjoyed driving European pocket rockets during a trip there in 1995 so when I got back I bought a teal Contour with a V6, lower rocker cladding and a sunroof. It would run but the sports suspension, while making it corner like a champ, could be punishing on rough roads. I put over 100K on it before trading for a new car.
The Contour’s European connection provided one of its greatest strengths: excellent chassis dynamics. It also provided one of its greatest weaknesses: a rear seat area tighter than the smaller, cheaper Escort.
The automatic transmissions are junk on these.The 5 speed mauals will last much longer.I would be very wary of these contours and i’m not sure it’s even worth the asking price.
I can confirm that the 5-speed is built to last. I bought my 1996 Contour new, and I was surprised the dealer even had it. 181,000 miles, and no transmission problems at all. Still works fine, though it has become a little vague over the years. In the last 10 or 15 years, plenty of little things have quit working: rear-view mirror fell off, cupholder broke, glovebox has to be hit HARD to close, and a few others. All in all, though, I’ve had more than my money’s worth out of this car.
I always thought the contour was a nice looking Ford. The size was good too. I thought the mercury mystique was a much better looking version of the car though. I thought about buying the mercury when they came out, however the backseat room turned me off. It truly was cramped.
This seems to be the perfect subject car for Charles Atlas to post his trademark comment.
My son had a 5-speed Contour,he was living in Tucson at the time,filled it up and drove to Rocky Point Mexico and back to the border on that tank of gas.
Up until a year ago I had a 1995 Mercury Mystique with a V6 and 5spd, my dad bought it new and asked me to sell it for him about 10 years ago, I did some research and told him it was probably worth $1,500-$2,000, so he told me I could keep it. I drove it until late-2023 and had to junk it because a part I needed to get the check engine light to turn off was no longer available so it wouldn’t pass smog, which was needed to renew its registration. It was a good car, the seats were comfortable the fabric showed no wear, it handles well, had good power, but the windows on both front doors would stay seated in the tracks so you had to hold them when going up or down, the water pump failed 3 times in 140k miles (since new) and some other nagging issues. Overall, it did its job better than what I could have found for significantly more than I could have gotten for it. As for this car, the seller is asking too much considering the AC doesn’t work and it needs a motor mounts, his asking price is what you’d expect for something that needs nothing.
Steve R
Son had one with a LNG conversion, bought at auction for $500, had been owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. LNG tank took up 1/3rd of the trunk, but let you dirve in the HOV lanes in CA, switched from LNG to gasoline easily. Not a lot of LNG refuling places, a lot worse than finding an electric car refuel today. But was a terrible handling car on the open road, just fine in 35 mph freeway traffic. And back seat for a 4 door that claimed it was a back seat, was awful. Cheap to run, and, with about 100,000 miles, ran fine. So three stars, a mixed review.
Ford Contorture and Mercury Mistake