Ford Contour
 | |
Production period: | 1994 to 2000 |
Class : | motor car |
Body versions : | Saloon |
Engines: | Gasoline engines : 2.0-2.5 liters |
Length: | 4689 mm |
Width: | 1755 mm |
Height: | 1384 mm |
Wheelbase : | 2705 mm |
Curb weight : | 1254-1390 kg |
previous model | Ford Tempo |
successor | Ford Fusion |
The Ford Contour was one of the Ford Motor Company between mid-1994 and the fall of 2000 in North America produced sedan of the middle class .
The Contour was the US version of the first generation Ford Mondeo . His largely identical sister model was the Mercury Mystique .Though based on the popular European Ford Mondeo, Contour has been a sales disappointment for Ford base and GL models, leaving LX, sporty SE, and high-performance SVT editions. Mercury's Mystique shares Contour's
design, but offers no SVT equivalent.
The Contour was largely identical in technical terms to the European Ford Mondeo. Instead of the curved, raised rear end of the Mondeo, the Contour, however, had more angular taillights, which had been taken over by the last US escort series. The design of the front end was adapted in 1997 to that of the Mondeo.
The Contour was only available as a notchback sedan . For the hatchback and the wagon of the European Mondeo, there were no comparable model variants in the North American market, as those in the US are hardly in demand in this class.
Model History
In early 1994, the exclusively offered as notchback sedan Contour in the versions GL and LX debuted with two-liter Zetec four-cylinder engine (16V) and SE with 2.5-liter Duratec V6 engine (24V), each with MTX75 five-speed manual transmission or CD4E four-speed automatic transmission available.
In 1997, Ford took a cheaper new base model (without additional designation) in the program.
In the fall of 1997, the Contour received a facelift with a larger, chrome-framed oval grille and larger headlamps. The new front end corresponded to the European Ford Mondeo from autumn 1996, but was not identical. some features
• Six-way driver's power seat
• Power antenna.
• 15-inch aluminum wheels.
• Leather-wrapped steering wtrel.
• Leather-wrapped shift
• Fog lamps.
• Variable timed interval wipers
• Illuminated passenger visor
As early as 1998 accounted for the first introduced base model and the GL, but debuted the 145 kW strong, 235 km / h fast Contour SVT as a sports version with five-speed gearbox and a decidedly sporty presentation and features, limited to 5000 copies per model year.
A 125-horsepower 4-cylinder engine is standard on the LX and SE, with a 170-horsepower V-6 optional for the SE. The SVT has a 200-horsepower V-6. Manual transmission is standard, automatic is optional except on the SVT. New front seats add a claimed 1.2 inches of rear leg room and a half-inch of rear knee room for 1999. Traction control is a new SE option, the LX and SE suspension is revised in an effort to improve handling, and all models get a slightly larger fuel tank.
Since the US manufacturers put more emphasis on the growing and profitable SUV and pickup segments in the late 1990s, the normal car segment in the US declined overall and was also dominated by Japanese manufacturers, the model remained in the after-production Autumn 2000 initially without successor. With the setting of Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique also ended Ford's world car concept. In six years, about a million copies had rolled off the line.
STANDARD EQUIPMENT:
LX: 2.0-liter dohc 4-cylinder engine, 5-speed manual transmission, driver- and passenger-side air bags, air conditioning, interior air filter, power steering, tilt steering wheel, cloth reclining front bucket seats, console w/cupholder, power mirrors, AM/FM radio, digital clock, trip odometer, coolant temperature gauge, intermittent wipers,visor mirrors, remote decklid release, 185/70R14 tires, wheel covers.
SE adds: power windows, power door locks, cruise control, AM/FM/cassette, rear defogger.
SVT adds: 2.5-liter dohc V-6 200-horsepower engine, 4-wheel disc anti-lock brakes, leather upholstery, power driver seat, split folding rear seat, leather-wrapped steering wheel, tachometer, Premium sound system, remote keyless entry, floormats, fog lights, sport suspension, 215/50ZR16 tires, 5-spoke alloy wheels.
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT:
Sport Group, SE..2.5-liter V-6 170-horsepower engine, tachometer, cloth sport bucket seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, illuminated visormirrors, spon floormats, variable intermittent wipers, rear spoiler,body cladding, badging, fog lights, 4-wheel disc brakes (w/manual transmission), performance suspension, 12-spoke alloy wheels,205/60TR15 tires.
In Europe, a completely independent, new Mondeo generation had been developed, which was not offered in North America. Instead, Ford sat in the US on the larger Taurus , which was offered as cheaply as possible. It was not until mid-2005 that the Ford Fusion was again a successor of this size, but had nothing to do with the eponymous but smaller model in Europe.
