When the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique made their debut,
there were only two criticisms: bland exterior styling
and limited rear seat legroom. And the complaints about tight rear seat
space came primarily from the automotive press, as distinct from owners.
Nevertheless, Ford has addressed the roominess issue, as well as the
exterior appearance, with a number of revisions that will be in Ford and
Mercury showrooms this spring as 1998 models. And to add additional sizzle,
there will also be a sportier edition of the Contour, called the SVT Contour.
We've been impressed with the performance of the V6-powered versions
of these small mid-size sedans since the beginning. But the SVT version
turns the heat up even more, and is one of the hottest numbers in its class.
Since the updates to the mainstream members of the Contour/Mystique
lineup entail only modest changes to all-around performance, we chose the
SVT Contour as our test subject for this report.