1998 Ford Contour SE review from North America

At 18,600 miles, the cover on the interior dome light broke off.

At 21,000 miles, the plastic surrounding the steering wheel opening in the dashboard broke off.

At 22,000 miles, the gas tank refused to accept any more gasoline. This was repaired under warranty.

At 22,000 miles (and immediately following the "repair" of the car's gas tank, mentioned above), the gas tank overflow shutoff valve failed. This was also repaired (though not under warranty; the dealer admitted having done a poor initial repair, so this second repair was free of charge).

At approximately 24,000 miles the car developed a creaking sound in the driver's side rear suspension. Replacement of the driver's side rear strut assembly failed to correct the problem.

The car received numerous recall notices. Most of them were minor (one warned me of supposedly illegible instructions on the sticker describing how to aim the car's headlights) but a few (for example, the one warning me that my rear brakes might be subject to corrosion which could lead to loss of control during braking) were rather worrisome.

The car, an SE Sport model with a 5-speed manual transmission, was entertaining to drive in that it was fairly quick and handled remarkably well. In fact, I would say that the car's handling prowess was its strongest feature: I always had the impression that the car's superb road-holding was making me a better driver. Furthermore, the driver's seat was comfortable even for 8-10 hour stretches, and outward visibility was good.

Factors in my decision to trade the car in after owning it for 3 years include:

The overuse (and seemingly exclusive use) of poor quality plastics throughout the cabin;

The poor readability of the instruments at night (their green lighting was very, very weak);

The poor sound system (although the car had a factory-installed CD player, at highway speeds the stereo system wasn't up to the task of drowning out the omnipresent wind and tire noise in the cabin);

The numerous recalls I mentioned earlier;

And finally, the incompetence of the mechanics (and the often inhospitable attitudes of the service managers) at the Ford dealerships servicing my car. In fact, my Ford service department experiences were so unsatisfying that I doubt I will ever again purchase a Ford vehicle.