1996 Ford Probe V6 review from UK and Ireland

CV boot split.

Boot struts gone.

Two front tyres.

Badly bodged stereo wiring from the previous owner.

Bit of side skirt coming off.

Tracking needs doing.

This is my second Probe. Had it for approx 6 months and used only as a second car.

Key's are weak on this car - get spare ones cut!

Central locking is playing up a little.

I won't bore you with all the negatives. This example is a little rough round the edges, but was a bargain in price, so imperfections forgiven. There are a few dinks on the car. However, from a distance it's still a stunner to look at.

The CV joint needs changing as it's clicky, but that aside, car drives without fault. It's got that lovely silky sound and performance to match. Lively at lower speeds, but hits a lethargic area for a while before picking up speed again.

Handles fantastic for a big car - love it!

It makes you think real hard what this car was designed for... big engine so you'd think it'd be nice and lazy on the motorway - it's not - it revs too high. But with cruise control on your don't notice it. 70mph upwards is slow compared to other cars of similar engine size.

From standstill this car feels very quick off the mark, and if you're being lazy will pull like a normal car in 5th gear at 30mph.. very good.

Handles nicely, but not on very tight bends, good for long sweepers.

So, it's not really a fast cruiser, nor a rally type experience car...

Seems to fit in well with the big Mustangs you see on the British motorways poodling at 50mph... they're quick and powerful, but no point driving it fast as it'll drain your fuel and not go that quick - so stay in the left lane and smile - you're driving a cool car!

Just needs a little extra something... maybe it's just the engine needs a few more guts to make it amazing - but think that's an okay compromise between power and handling (guess the 2 foot wide tyres help grip).

Bottom line is, it looks so cool all is forgiven. If you're after something very different from normal cars, this is it - not really been anything similar since?!