1990 Mercury Topaz L 2.3L (HSC) OHV from North America

Summary:

Old Reliable

Faults:

Module goes about every 2 years.

Interior Lights are shot since 110,000km.

Hand brakes are busted since 115,000.

Did motor and transmission swap at 120,000km.

Rusting at wheels.

General Comments:

This car is pretty reliable none the less, but has no acceleration, and is very low in horsepower. Parts aren't that expensive for it, and a simple tune up helps the performance of the Topaz. Anytime I change plugs, wires. cap. rotor, air filter, oil and oil filter this car runs so smooth, I love it for that moment, but I still love speed and performance which the Topaz does not deliver. The only thing to do now, or the only thing I want to do is get an Escort GT 1.8L Dual Over Head Cam 16 Valve Motor, and put the 2.0L Dual Over Head Cam 16 Valve Cosworth head along with the European Turbo. Then we'll see how good this motor will run in a Topaz.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th September, 2004

1990 Mercury Topaz XR5 2.3 Liter from North America

Summary:

It is a great little car

Faults:

I have replaced the front axles. I replaced the muffler, and tailpipe. I have replaced the alternator, and belt. I have replaced the valve cover gasket, and bolts. I have retrofitted the Air-conditioning System.

General Comments:

The car is reliable, and good on gas. It handles easily.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th June, 2003

22nd Jun 2003, 12:40

The XR5 doesn't even exist in 1990.. and certainly ddoesn't have a 2.3 engine!

22nd Apr 2004, 13:58

First of all, all Mercury Topaz models were equipped with a 2.3 liter engine, unless, of course, it was the 3.0 v-6 Vulcan engine. The 1990 XR5 did, indeed, exist.

If you don't know what you are talking about, don't talk at all.

19th Sep 2006, 14:22

Yeah, the Mercury Topaz XR5 2dr. definitely exists. I just saw a beautiful one for sale on Ebay with 51k miles and it was equipped with the 2.3L 4cyl.

1990 Mercury Topaz GS V6 from North America

Summary:

The worst car ever built, and I mean ever

Faults:

The automatic seat belt broke, and cost more to fix than the value of the car.

The headlights were yellow, I had to drive with them on bright.

The trunk leaks water. Pain in the butt.

Both the front and rear engine mounts went bad.

The transmission lurched with moderate pressure on the accelerator.

The accelertator sticks at the beginning.

It burns oil.

The AC doesn't work, at all.

The power door locks take 5-6 clicks to work.

The windows go down at different speeds.

The ignition does a weird go back and forth, I can't get the key in type of thing.

The battery cords are cheap and needed to be replaced twice.

The car can't start on a hill. It moans and groans till the cows come home.

Half of the display lights don't work.

The child safety locks should have been tested better. The kids can get out.

The cruise control, ha what cruise control, it wavers a staggering 10 MPH on a flat stretch.

General Comments:

Seats are uncomfortable.

Red interior, what were people thinking.

Built in speakers were cheap and worthless.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th May, 2003

16th Jul 2003, 13:22

A few of these comments could be blamed on the Manufacturer, but a number of them seem to be directly related to how well the car was taken care of and not as a result of poor design. I think this is a big stretch to call the Topaz the worst car ever.

7th Sep 2003, 23:20

The previous comment is ridiculous. The original review is right on the money.

5th Jan 2004, 09:13

I still own the '93 Topaz I bought in '97.

I experienced every one of the problems listed.

I "thought" this was normal car wear, but my experience with my '90 Mazda 626, says otherwise.

Both have the same mileage, while the Mazda only needed the timing belt replaced at normal intervals.

For luck I am able to repair the Topaz myself.

Other problems I had were the harmonic balancer (about 120,000 miles,) and very poor steering and braking on wet pavement.

Definitely would not recommend.

Thank you for this site.

26th May 2005, 00:31

I Just Bought a 1990 Topaz. It runs fine except for two problems.

First, when making a left hand turn the car down shifts, if accelerating to fast.

Second, my drivers side brake calipers have been destroyed, but it is an easy fix.

2nd Apr 2006, 19:10

Hello everyone, I'm an owner of a 1990 topaz. I was wondering what is the difference between a topaz L and a topaz GS? is it in how much horsepower they pack or what?