8/15/2023 0 Comments Ford contour svt![]() Poor aim on the fog lights and that inadequate "premium" sound system were other frequent complaints. The bolstered leather seats squeak as they rub against the console (one owner advised talcum powder), the cupholders don't hold cups (Ford used two designs in this period owners hated both), and the sill extensions can be knocked loose too easily. Most owners liked those gauges, but some of the other trim that distinguishes an SVT from a mere Contour SE drew complaints. SVT's tweaked motor offered 195 hp (200 now) and the sounds it makes as it sings to redline really make you want to use the gearbox and watch the needles climb the white-faced gauges. Not that the 2.5-liter Duratec is a problem, especially with the five-speed manual that is so rarely found in this class anymore. ![]() The extra thrust will help-a 0-to-60-mph time in the 7s is pretty entertaining (our 8.43 time was anomalous, a product of a hot day and a hyperactive rev-limiter), but the SVT's chassis feels like it would be happy with a powerplant that could shave another full second off that time. Our drivers really liked the steering feel and balance of the car.įor '99, there is yet another tire (a BFG), plus 5 more horsepower and 4 more lb-ft of torque, thanks to improved breathing. This E1 model is the car we tested at Pomona, and it did splendidly, circling our skidpad at 0.83 g and running the slalom at 44.0 mph. The '98-1/2 models (the E1) were stiffer, with different tires (still Goodyears, but upgraded to F1s), and respond to inputs more crisply, but oversteer only if provoked. The early '98s (called E0 cars by SVT) had soft, long-travel suspensions, and were tuned to deliver lift-throttle oversteer that some find entertaining. There are actually three variations on this theme represented in the 1998, '98-1/2 and '99 models for which we surveyed. If dealer attitudes were a problem, the car's attitude pleased our testers and keeps owners coming back for more. Negating SVT's efforts to put a sympathetic expert in every dealership, some buyers bought from alternative channels (both AutobyTel and Costco programs were mentioned specifically). More, however, reported encounters with high-pressure ignoramuses and back shops so indifferent that hostility would be an improvement. On the latter point, some owners told stories of sophisticated sales reps and customer-first service departments. These roots betray the SVT's leather-lined pretensions, becoming evident in trim that falls off, a stereo system that is almost universally reviled (and replaced), and dependence on a network of dealer sales and service departments that can be maddeningly spotty. Let us fuel their passion: The SVT Contour is a fierce wolf clad in fuzzy wool, a Goliath performer at a David price, the scrawny kid who yanks the sword out of the stone.Īs with a mythic hero, though, the SVT's greatest strength-performance for value-is the flip side of its downfall: It is based on a cost-is-the-primary-object family sedan. They will need one another if, as seems likely, the Contour leaves the U.S. They're gathering on the internet already (start at bemoaning the wider world's lack of appreciation for the one true affordable sports sedan. They decipher runes in search of the button you push to get companies that make six million cars a year to spit out a handful like this one that inspires such passion. Like other cultists-those who still pledge loyalty to the Lotus Cortina, the Mini Cooper and the BRE-tuned Datsun 510, for example-SVT Contour owners cluster in support groups of self-affirmation, praising the mysterious motions of corporate spirit that allow the occasional real driver's car to escape into the world. SVT's version of the Ford Contour is a hot little slingshot that has inspired a fervid cult of enthusiasts.
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