1997 Ford Probe 24V 2.5 V6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Sports car in here somewhere

Faults:

Noisy CV joints and driveshafts.

Brakes all round.

Drivers seat leather looked awful.

Electrical gremlins, too many to list.

Usual wear and tear plus servicing.

General Comments:

You know the old phrase "Don't meet your heroes" well it might apply here. Not a car to get excited about, but when I was a kid growing up in the 1990's the Probe always looked a nice car to me, so I decided one day I would have one.

That day came in 2010 when I found this P registered 1996 24V Probe in dark blue (best colour and engine) in the Auto Trader ads. After a bit of haggling I got it for a good price and drove it home, safely checked out by my mechanic friend.

Planned to keep it as a second car, but ended up using it more than I thought. I put about 50,000 miles on it the 8 years I had it. Was too expensive to run as a regular car, 26 miles per gallon is just not practical. There was a smaller 2.0 4 cylinder engine that could manage 30 miles per gallon or a little more, but was slow and not really what you buy a car like this for.

The 2.5 V6 sounds great, but not quite as fast as you would expect. It was fun to drive though - the sound from the V6 was tremendous, and the handling was very tight. As per title of review, the car is almost as good as it could have been - there is a sporty car here, just not quite good enough to take on the likes of the Honda Prelude, VW Corrado, etc.

Interior wise it had the usual electrics and 1990's feel all round; I hated the steering wheel though, was ugly looking and ruined an otherwise decent interior. Vision all round was good, mostly glass everywhere. Outside this car split opinion - some hated it, but I loved the American look, though this car was not popular in the UK, and the Ford Capri had just gone out of fashion. Original 24V alloy wheels are gorgeous, avoid the 3 spoke on lesser models, they were pretty ugly.

In the end this car became too expensive to run, and with over 130K miles at about 20 years old I decided to scrap it a couple of years ago. But I enjoyed most of my time with it and I am glad I finally got round to getting one. Their value seems to go up and down these days, generally they do not hold value well, but I would say to anyone thinking about getting one, do not pay too much and find a nice looked after one to keep for summer fun.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th October, 2020

1997 Ford Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC All ALUMINUM from North America

Summary:

Sexy and sophisticated

Faults:

Many things have gone wrong with the car! But I love working on it.

Most recently the alternator, crank shaft pulley broke, brake booster, CV boot, transmission, and timing belt/water pump required service.

In the interior I've replaced the driver door panel and the passenger side power window switch.

I've owned 3 Probes; the V6 has what feels like a never ending power band, even with the automatic. It is a very rev happy engine, doesn't do much below 3k RPM. Since it's a 97, the last year of production, most of the defects were refined, but parts wear out and have to be replaced. I do all my own repairs, this the key.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW OR HAVE NO INTENTION OF GETTING IN THERE AND DO YOUR OWN REPAIRS, SHOPS WILL DRAIN YOUR WALLET! LABOR CHARGE IS A RIDICULOUS RATE PER HOUR.

Buy the factory shop manual on ebay, plus the Haynes manual at the auto parts store and READ it form cover to cover. Get a metric tool set and be a man!

General Comments:

This car has the best of Japanese mechanical engineering and Ford styling.

The GTS has the racing stripes that were only available in white or black. These are very elegantly designed, they're NOT just stripes that run the length of the car. In the front they are rounded off at the nose and frame the Ford oval like a mink coat. In the back they end short of the center reflector, with the engine "24V" "DOHC" specs stamped out. It is because of those details that the car looks expensive, and not just like YOU added the stripes to look cool. Mine is black with white stripes. It looks like a sport car wearing a tuxedo, SEXY as hell.

The interior I love. On the 97, and starting with 95, the door panels were solid. The leather interior is amazing; high quality leather all over the seating surface, sides and back seats are pleather. The driver's seat has pneumatic lumbar and the sides adjust to hold your ribcage in place. This is a lot of fun when you are taking the turns really fast, it helps you focus on the road, not on staying on the seat.

The Mazda 2.5l all aluminum V6 DOHC is smooth and quiet, but at past 3500 RPMs the sound is a thrill. It's a very sophisticated engine, all the car parts were made in Japan and shipped to Michigan for assembly.

Suspension is great; not too stiff, not to sluggish, and it corners great. The razor sharp steering has saved me from bad drivers!

Even the 16" chrome "swirlies" as they are typically described are better than you think. They are aluminum alloy dipped in chrome. This makes them lighter than regular chrome wheels that are made of steel.

I love driving on a sunny day or a neon lit strip, and seeing the "light show" the chrome swirls reflect onto the pavement.

In short this car is gorgeous, fast, razor sharp handling, and technologically and styled way ahead of its time.

Ford should have found a better name for the car. If they hadn't been using the name "Maverick" for an SUV in Australia, that would have been the perfect name for this car, because that is what is was, a Maverick. Ford's move into the small car performance left those that can appreciate it with this gift.

New car ads have no effect on me, because the perfect car was built for me in 1997.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 2nd July, 2009

15th Dec 2009, 12:29

Loved the review. I had my 97 Probe GT V6 for the past 9 months, and it still turns heads as if it's 1997.

I must say with the beauty comes probs (no pun). The biggest issue being the EGR Valve code 1195.

I was wondering if you encountered the same prob, if so what was your resolution.

Thanks.