The supple Contour from Ford is a little sluggish
with the Zetec 2.0-liter engine, so go for the 2.5

I have a European, narrow twisty road, tight suspension, four-on-the-floor background, and my automotive writings are so coloured, ahem, colored. You guessed it, United Kingdom heritage is involved. I started driving on the narrow, twisty roads of Antrim and Donegal counties in wet, green, Ireland, before spending 10 years on the Roman roads in England's Yorkshire. Add another 30 years of motoring in these wonderful United States and you've got the picture. But enough about me.

    The Ford Contour also has a European background. It’s almost the same car as the Ford Mondeo which is sold in Europe and which some of you may have driven if you rented a car from Hertz in Europe.

    For this test, I chose a five-speed, four-cylinder Contour with all of the neat stuff: a/c, electric windows, power door locks; but with no power seats, no cruise control (the way it came, OK by me), and no moonroof. I like a moonroof. Contours don’t normally come with moonroofs unless you’re buying the top of the line or you custom order your car. You can always get one installed locally, although the factory-installed moonroofs are really best.

    The Contour is a nice car to drive. It’s great on corners, firm and supple. It is a little short on power with the Zetec 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine in the test car, but adequate with the five-speed. I wouldn't have it with an automatic, though — too sluggish. I would insist on the optional all-aluminum Duratec six-cylinder 2.5-liter engine, if, heaven forbid, I chose an automatic transmission.

    The six-cylinder with the four-speed automatic transmission is a nice quick combination, although the car does not feel as well-balanced on the road as the four-cylinder. You can have the six-cylinder with a five-speed, but the magazine road testers say the stick shift doesn’t feel as good or work as well with the six-cylinder as it does with the four-cylinder.

    Confused? It’s really quite simple — there are only two really good motor/transmission combinations. For my taste, the four-cylinder/five-speed; for automatic aficionados, the six-cylinder/automatic combo.

    By the way, the six-cylinder engine in the Contour, which was designed with help from Porsche and Cosworth of Indy car fame, does not have a timing belt to replace or fail — it has a timing chain, good for the life of the car. Also, no tune-up is needed for 100,000 miles. Fuel consumption, as measured by the EPA, is 24 mpg (city), 34 mpg (highway) for the four-cylinder with the five-speed transmission, and 21 mpg (city), 30 mpg (highway) for the six-cylinder with the four-speed automatic transmission. Road testers measured in overall combined city/highway driving around 28 mpg with the four-cylinder/manual transmission, and 23 mpg with the six-cylinder/automatic transmission.

    The Contour is a fairly small four-door car, certainly not for five large people, or for that matter five normal-sized people. But it is a kick to drive. The colors are fairly limited, and I didn’t find one that I really liked, although the white's OK.

    The wholesale or dealer invoice price for the basic four-speed/four-cylinder combination with a/c, power windows/door locks and cruise control is about $15,000, and the suggested retail price is around $16,500. The top of the line Contour SE model with six-cylinder/automatic transmission, a/c, power seats, windows, door locks, upgraded leather upholstery, factory moonroof, traction control, and anti-lock/four-wheel disk brakes has a dealer invoice price of $20,547. The suggested retail price is $22,640.

    The Mercury version (Mercury Mystique LS) top of the line wholesale/retail prices for a similarly equipped car are about the same as the Ford Contour. The approximate prices shown do not include a $600 rebate from Ford (which may expire at any time).

    The Mercury Mystique is really no different from the top of the line Contour except for the badge, the colors and a little bit of front-end styling. Actually, the colors are the same for both cars; they just have different names.

    A unique feature of these cars is their MicronAir filtration system which is designed to help allergy sufferers by removing airborne dust particles and pollen from the air circulated into the cabin. This might be the right car for people with asthma.

    Four-wheel disk brakes with an anti-lock system are available, as is a traction control system.

    By the way, the suspension was designed with help from Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart. If you haven't heard of him, never mind; just enjoy his work. Get the five-speed with the four-cylinder engine and have fun. These are sweet cars.

    Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 54 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that were the predecessors of today’s ABS braking systems. These days he's driving a 1980 Mercedes 240D and also owns a 1990 Honda Civic wagon and 1987 Mercedes 190E.