1991 Ford Tempo GL review from North America

Starter went out at 85,000 miles.

My father had a 1989 Mercury Topaz that drove up until 1997 when the fuel pump finally went out on him with 191,000 miles. He has quite a long commute and put around 100 miles a day on his car so it is amazing that he was able to put this kind of wear and tear on a car and still retain the stock engine along with the transmission and give him next to no trouble over all.

So when my sister, who is 2 years older than me, turned 16 my parents decided the best thing for her to drive would be the topaz's sister car from ford the tempo. She however did not like this car and abused it often by driving it to had and also subjecting it to hard braking, pretty much everything short of crashing the car. However with everything that she did to the car, it never gave her any kind of major trouble. After about a year she bought a 1997 Sunfire and decided to let the Tempo sit in a barn.

I, meanwhile was saving up money to buy either a 300ZX or a Mazda RX-7 and came to the realization that if I could drive the Tempo in the barn I could save money and buy a much better variant of one of these cars. So despite what my sister had to say about the Ford Tempo, I decided to drive it so I could save up more money.

But as soon as I turned 16 and got my Tempo, I could not see what she was complaining about. The car proved perfect for me as its lack of horsepower kept me from getting many tickets. Also, good handling that is so much more important to me than horsepower is well delivered in the tempo. Its 4-wheel independent suspension, along with Macphereson struts has proved to be more than enough to have a good time in. On extremely twisted roads I've been able to keep up with my friends' 1992 Camaro with no trouble. Also, it flat out beats up on my sisters Sunfire in handling. It off roads better than an S10 as I have rushed down roads in my Tempo that he can hardly drive in.

Also the cars durability has proved to be extremely good. Other than a starter, it has not needed anything short of the occasional quart of oil, where the Sunfire has needed much more than that.

Gas mileage is also extremely well. I can expect 25-29 miles per gallon with no problem.

My Tempo is also a high choice for along trip among my friends. The seats are very comfortable, and because of the cars low cost there is no worry if you spill something or burn a hole in the seat with a cigarette. The perfect situation for teenage boys.

True there are down sides. The design doesn't help me pick up many girls. It occasionally stalls on me, and doesn't provide the best pickup. Also I wish that I had either a all wheel drive or a V6 Tempo.

The verdict: If you prize high reliability and extremely good handling over looks the Tempo is perfect. As a first car goes it is highly recommended by me.