1993 Ford Probe GT review from North America

When I bought the Probe the paint was fading and now in some places the clear coat is coming off.

I got caught in a tornado storm and received hail damage and because of low visibility, ran over an utility pole which only broke a skirt piece and knocked the timing belt shield.

I do think one of the valve cover gaskets have a slow leak, but that can be expected on an eleven-year-old car.

Last, I melted the locking bands in the transmission which means I have to manually have to shift gears to get them to lock in.

Comfort: Not really a four person car. It's very comfortable for two tall people under 6'2" but that leave no leg room for the back until your under 5'6".

Engine noise: I have a "ricer" exhaust system in my car so it is louder that usual, but the noise level is at a bit more than comfortable at road speeds, but not too bad. At high revs, it gives a very nice vroom and rumble to please any car lover.

Body styling: This car was Ford's first car to shy away from the box type car of the 80's and bring it into swooping curves that give it a moving while parked look. If you also look closly at newer cars, they try and imitate the curves, but in my opinion unsuccessfully. After extensive research, I found many sites devoted to Probe lovers and many body modification guides.

Power: The stock Probe Gt has 165 HP and red lines at 7000 RPM's. In my case with a new air intake and exhaust, I bumped it up to 200 to 220 at about $500. It gets up to 60 in less than 9 sec. and gets up to 90 in a 1/4 mile. That's with my mods anyways.

Handling: The car has a 3 full spin turning wheel. (1.5 fully to the left and same for the right) The car is very touchy and has no give, great if you want to feel the road. With an extremely low center of gravity and each tire having 9.5" of tread on the pavement, you get great cornering ability.

Clearance: Watch where you go because it only has a 4" clearance at the lowest point.

Sound system: If your as lucky as me and get one with the premium sound, you don't really need an after market head unit. The prem. sound never came with a tape unit, only a CD player with a seven band equalized in the dash below the climate control and a very nicely power ext. amp in the passenger door that power the four speakers and a factory sub in back. The amp does have enough power to run two 12" 300 watt max speakers, but the down side is that it cuts out because of the inability for the the amp to keep juice.

Climate: I've always had a saying that the last thing to go out on a ford is the heater and boy does the Probe heat up quickly on those 0 Degree days. Same for the A/C which will help beat the heat on those 100 Degree days.