1994 Ford Probe 16V review from UK and Ireland

Occasional Misfire when labouring

Distributor failure

Back Brake discs and calipers needed replacement

Exhaust came apart on the car

Some dodgy electrical connections to the lights

Battery not holding charge

Air conditioning doesn't work.

As a rule, I'm not a Ford man (although I have owned two proper Fords) with two Sciroccos in my back yard, but someone gave me this car in Jan. It was suffering from neglect and had been used to drive across farmer's fields so it needed a lot of TLC and some basic maintenance.

There was also a dealer-only misfire problem. It is dealer only because the engine is actually a Mitsubishi engine and the body was made by Mazda. In the UK at least, support for performance Mitsubishis is very limited. However, quite remarkably, changing the battery from the mean 650A crank to a piddly little one from a Scirroco dramatically improved things.

I've been pleasantly surprised with the comfort. The seat adjustments are the best I've ever seen - tilt, pivot, lumber, even lower back. Absolutely great for driving too fast on old straight roads!!

The performance isn't breathtaking with the 2.0/16V with conservative gearing giving you a nice top end, but not overly great acceleration. It can labour a bit in 5th. I reckon the V6 or a turbo is required to make the most of the car.

For a time, it was a direct competitor with the Corrado and having owned a V6 Corrado, I can tell why it couldn't compete in on-road tests. It's a much heavier and cumbersome car because of its huge boot space and roomy interior.

It has a typical bouncy and light comfort orientated drive (especially if you like the VW ride) and really needs a suspension lowering kit and some low profile tyres to stiffen it up and help you engage the drive a bit more. I find the handling a little too light at times for a sports car.

That said, it is a fantastic shape and is just asking to be customised - plenty of space in the wheel wells for 17" alloys (18" on the back!!) and lowering of the suspension, a nice flat back end asking for an extravagant spoiler and typical Jap lights easily replaced with the performance style.

Equipment is great, but it lacks a fuel computer like comparable VWs. I missed that feature.

Engine bay is tight, making it difficult for the home mechanic fitting a Turbo (!) and the battery bay is so small it requires either the specialist part or a lower rated battery. This is a pertinent point as the battery failed in mine - keep it topped up with water!

Like many Japanese cars, I think its standard specification is a bit weak, but with a bit of customisation, you've got a mean motor!!