when it comes to cheap affordable performance oriented starter cars...the ford contour svt is easily on the top 3! cheaper than a miata and faster than a 240sx this car has been kept on the down low for years...until today!
I had a 99 SVT and loved it!!! Autocrossed, road coursed, and ran it pretty hard. Ended up giving it to my son in "05, who drove it 5 more years. 200,000 miles before he sold it. I put a Roush suspension upgrade,Shawn Highland headers, and true dual exhaust. I loved the sound at 6,500 RPM!!!!
As a owner of 2 of these, I can attest they are wonderful cars to drive, a little temperamental to upkeep though. Definitely a great car to have fun with.
Same. Had the “low caffeine “ version, the regular 2.5l V6, ‘99 vintage. Wife like the SVT, but didn’t want to learn to row your own. Only real issue I had with it was the doggone Ford fuel pump was crap. First one crapped out at 12k miles. Ford refused to issue a recall or TB for it, even though it was a known issue with other Ford/Mercury makes with the Duratec 2.5. After the 3rd replacement from Ford dealer, I had independent garage replace it...lasted 5 years till I traded car in. Had it 12 years, 190k miles.
My dad had the contour sport for a few years, it handled awesome. Contours as a whole are pretty rare these days. I have a feeling my Fiesta ST will end up like the contour.
Honestly, SVT was going crazy back in its days, if you ask me. The SVT Focus almost has the same amount of power as a stock Fiesta ST today. And I’m almost sure it weighs rather similarly. Rather impressive for so long ago.
If you hit something hard enough to cause the "loose the legs thing" then you hit something hard enough to kill you. The result is your next of kin can save on your funeral costs by using a shorter casket. LOL!
I own the european counterpart of it, the Ford Mondeo ST200, and it's an amazing car. I absolutely love it and unless you need any special part for it, you're good to go. Mine just stands in my garage the last 7 years, since I actually needed all those years to find a replacement engine for mine.
Totally legit car, I own a SVT and a Contour SE / Mystique hybrid. The engine maintenance is indeed a total bummer, AC compressor or alternator replacement is often over a grand unless you DIY. Pre 1998 wiring harnesses tend to disintegrate. Very comfortable to drive even for a big guy, great seats. No other car around this price range handles like my old 951. Bulletproof engine unless you track it and then it needs something to keep oil pressure up. Its so cheap that people throw them away and buy another instead of replacing parts and thats a shame. 2.5L Duratec is plentiful in yards put 3.0L found in other Ford products is an easy swap.
It's stupid tho. I can change the alternator in 2 hours. Book time is 6. They're not that bad to work on if you know what to do. And personal opinion the 3L swap ain't worth it.
Had one and almost traded it in for a wrx until the test drive ...I kept my s.v.t..it felt faster to me. Totaled it a month later. Nice car. Oh and the synchronizers suck in the gear box still fun
I had a 2000 contour svt years ago. It was definitely a nice ride. I was in a hurry to get back to work from a cut short vacation. Was cruising along at about 100 mph and a ford windstar blew by me lol.. he must have had that van matted to the firewall. So I got behind him and we held about 120 mph to 130 mph on the free way for about an hour straight. It was always incredibly smooth on the highway. Had a nice sound for a V6. Wasn't too fast out of the hole. But it was definitely great at highway speeds
@@sabrehawk-427 well.................you’re not wrong. For what they are/were, tho, wasn’t bad either. Just greatly disappointed they deviated from the SHO power formula with the latest version. All previous SHOs had equal or greater hp as the 5.0s. Then this 3.5l tt V6....only 365 to the 5.0s 400/440+ hp. 😫 Why Ford....whhhyyyyyy😭😭
In 1999, I was 19 at the time, and I bought my first car. It was a 1998 Ford Contour SVT! I absolutely loved everything about that car and I still miss it to this day in 2023, hence my watching this video! Leather interior, heated seats which were amazing during the winter, electronic everything, I had a six disc cd changer in it, roof top, and let’s not forget to mention that Special Vehicle Teams motor!!!! That thing would move and everyone was always telling me, I love your car! Missing those days!
I have an ‘02 & ‘04 focus svt. My wife daily drives the ‘04 and the ‘02 is a project/donor. Very peppy and fun to drive and I’ve had 11 mustangs over the years. Not as fast as most mustangs but power/weight was fun as hell and they have six speeds. 170hp stock @ 2700 lbs.
I had one of these for my 2nd car when I was 17 years old. Learned to drive stick in it. Had it painted a BMW blue, also had an intake/tune and a Borla catback exhaust. I loved that thing. Those 2.5l V6 can sound really good with the right exhaust.
I had a 99 stick that I bought for $2200 with 40k miles from an old lady schoolteacher friend of my stepmother (also a teacher) back in 2004. All I did was throw on cat backs, black rims, lowered it 1.5”, tinted the windows and de-badged it. People would chase me down to find out what it was. Straight up Civic/Intergra/Prelude killer. Very under appreciated car.
Great upload L. Honestly I don’t remember these vehicles. Yeah my panther platform has a highway tendency of cutting one’s head off if flipped 13 times and stuffed under a guardrail at 120 mph !! Dangnamit!!! ✌️
I was in HS when these came out. Kids thought they were a big deal..like a baby SHO. You can put the 3.0 duratec block in these with the 2.5 heads & manifolds for a few extra ponies.
I used to be part of the ceg contour enthusiast group when I had one. A real popular modification was...... It came with a 2.5l by making around 200hp ish People discovered you could take the 3.0l heads off the 24 valve v6 Taurus. And put them on the 2.5l block from the contour and make a little extra power that way
Raced those back in the day with my 99 si with stock 160 hp. I was faster on the highway speeds, but from a dead stop the ford was faster. The 2 door civic wieght was 2,800 and had a 8,200 red line from the b16a2
I remember going to the dealership when I was young with no credit and no cosigner. I had hopes of driving away in a brand new Contour SVT. Instead I drove away in a goddamn Chevy Corsica. 😒
@@serratoanthony yeah we would race my cousins blue corsica one time we blew a tire out going 75mph almost died... oh and I remember Reverse went out and we would make sure we parked at a slope so we can roll backwards.. or we would push it when we couldn't lol
I had a 2000 SVT Contour and it was a really fun car with handling and top end speed surprisingly, (it wasn’t a quarter mile car) but the only downside to the car was maintenance which was very high due to the layout of the frame and engine positioning.
After a short time these cars fall apart unless you stay on top of them. The Ford Escort 2 door from same era could handle great also, both older and the refresh versions.
Mannnnn! I had the chance at getting 1 before, but I messed up and settled for a 79 Lincoln instead!!! Yeah! Kicked myself in the 🐎4 dat😂😂😂😂😁had some good ole times in da Lincoln town car, it was home once!🤗
I still have my 99 black /cream interior 99 contour svt. She's at a 195,000 miles but still smooth and quick. I just changed the starter, battery, oil, and the alternator. The starter was a pain but every thing else was straight forward. The mechanical key is research ,research, and research before doing any job
I drove a 98 Contour SE lol 😂 stick shift 2.0 4 Cyl. It was ugly puke green but it got me everywhere I needed to go, the ac and radio worked and it was free.... One time I was in a bad driveway and tore open the flex pipe and it was loud af basically open header lol sounded like a race car 🏎 I sold it for 450$ lol 😂
Slept on? This doesn't exist in my out here (literally) lmao no one here knew...how do I know? I checked car registration by make, model/trim and year and there isn't a entry at all XD This is my first time seeing this car thanks to this video!
I didn't sleep on it, I had 1. My brother had one. My friend had one. And now I have a 2014 Regal GS AWD that reminds me a lot of it...I wish I could find another good Contour SVT just for fun...also it only bumped it from 195hp to 200hp...either way this was a very fun car, I got rid of mine when my wife saw it on our first date and said it didnt' look like any special and I got upset
I didnt have the SVT version, I had the standard 2.5 V6 Mondeo (same car) in NZ. Worst car Ive owned. try replacing the alternator without taking the engine out, try replacing the auto that will s**t the bed with out removing the engine, try replacing the known faulty head gasket that will fail. oh yeah, that y join that connects the 2 exhaust manifolds is so restrictive Im amazed exhaust gets out, they just crush the pipes and stuff them in.
@@bigdaddymemegod2093 same car different name. My car was actually made in belgium, they are exactly the same car with different names, and the steering wheel on the otherside.
They area actually quite easy to work on if you know your way around the car. Alternators, which everyone dreads, can be done in about 30 minutes if approached the right way.
@Derek Gardin I had both Contour SVT bought new in '00 (its last yr) & Focus SVT (precursor to Focus ST) bought 1yr old. Had no problems w/either! They had good power for their respective sizes. Both were ton of fun. Ford has a nack for making affordable high tech performance vehicles. Now own 19 Ranger XLT FX4 crew cab w/2.3L RS rally race car motor. Lots plans for new truck👍
@Derek Gardin Shit idk, I've ran my 03 Focus SVT as my daily driver for 2 years now going on three. It's been a great car. Love it in every way. Keep MAF clean, correct plugs, 93 octane, good oil and she purs man! It was well taken care of before I bought it too. Maybe the problem is is that so many of them were owned by young kids that beat the living hell out of them and didn't buy good parts for maintenance.
@@atx-cvpi_99 nah...go big or go home! There are/were 2-3 companies that were selling, and/or installed, Complete 5.0/5.4sc kits that included rwd conversion. Was more so for the SVT Focus, but would also work for non SVT Focii as well. Blow them ricers minds when you boilin the rear rubber!
Just bought another 98 t-red harness under fuse box melted the rest of harness has been changed I'll sell her for a $1,000 with another motor and trans
Go get a Acura cl type s. Comes in manual or automatic. Can be found for 2500 with a 260hp v6 VTEC engine. Nobody ever talks about this car so they’re cheap.
My older cousin had one of these back in 1998 (I was 13 he was 21), he used to whip the Honda/Acura kids asses all the time in our area. He had it brand new black on black, all murdered out, tinted everything. Then after a few years he got some weird booger dark green confetti looking shit put on it, it was horrible after that. He was going to sell it, and I was 16 at this point I had just had my dream car sold out from under me (87 Fiero GT) a couple days before, and he asked if I wanted to buy his car he knew how much I liked his car, and I told him "You mean that Fuglyass booger?! Only if you knock off that nasty green paint, or else reduce the price so I can afford to get it painted back to black, otherwise I don't want it.". In hindsight I should of just bought it. 😢
I loved this car because ford force fed it a v6 and in today's age that's like Nissan putting a v6 in the sentra or a Toyota corolla v6 its awesome sauce!!
my sister had an SE version man that thing was fast what saw 2 the end of it she ran the car totally empty of gas she didn't want it to fix it so she traded it for a Mazda 6 2 6 not a bad trade though being that the 6 2 6 was Manuel but I still missed that get up and go of the Contour
I thought my 1995 Contour 2.0/ATX was the last one still running. WAS running! Last week it started jerking violently on the road and then refused to crank (uh-uh-uh) although the lights come on and the fuel pump runs. Any ideas besides junking it?
Basically a US version of the European Mondeo ST200? Decent enough cars. Not class leaders but still quick and good handling. They still make very good money over here
The suspension was the best part. The hole emissions system and wiring harness plus the interior with the dash that warped so bad it will break the windshield are the problem.
I'm a proud owner of a 194000 miles black & gold 99 svt contour. I've replaced a few batteries,oil changes,spark plugs ,filters, & tires.I still enjoy driving the crap out of it
These were the years of high school for me...alot of street racing and cars were so similar in power was super fun...I had one of the faster cars in high school was tuned up 78 Pontiac Phoenix coupe everyone confused it for a nova but slightly pointed front end and Pontiac badges my bro had if not fastest car definitely in the top 3...his turbo Porsche 944 was eating fox bodies 5.0s for lunch....most kids had hondas few neons and miatas,turbo eagle talon some sunfires...only 4 muscle cars mine a old 76 camaro a 70s mustang and my friends c10 with a 454...lots of fun street racing going on
I've owned dozens of Contours, they don't have issues during accidents. These things are crazy safe, you'll total other cars before totaling a Contour - rolling these over doesn't even prevent them from running like new! The only thing that can kill Contours is owner-abuse and rust.....
Back in the day I smoked this car it was (stock) with my stock ford taurus S.H.O. that was (stock) an 🔥 burned it off the line and in the long run by 6 car lengths for 3 miles strait to the next light. TODAY beefed up with some good shit added to that S.V.T that thing would be king for sure .. Fast ass car for a fact
Mine had electrical issues and Everytime I got it into the power band it felt like it was gonna fall apart, and it still would run after you shut it off until you turned the lights off, but man was it a fun cheap car.
Actually all 2.5 - 3.0 Duratec engines were originally a Porsche design. Ford purchased the block/crank design from Porsche when they realized they were way behind on aluminum block design. Porsche was happy to sell it because it was a extremely difficult engine to build by hand as all Porsche engines are. Ford of course made it a little cheaper, and a lot more reliable. And with the automation on their assembly lines doing things exactly the same they could make it work. What made this motor special was a higher compression ratio (domed pistons) and more aggressive cams with and a factory more aggressive tune-. Also the lower intakes were polished as opposed to just a regular piece of cast aluminum.
It may have been co developed with Porsche but its not a Porsche engine by a long shot!! Its actually a mazda engine with ford parts and Porsche recommendations on how to get more power out of it.
