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MM Retro-Write-Up: 1995-2000 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique
IN A NUTSHELL: Can you say Ford Mondeo, American-style?
^^^SVT version^^^
^^^^ This was the factory-color I liked, although not the best photo of it.
^^^SVT interior^^^
Following the explosive success of the original mid-size Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable sedans and wagons in the mid/late 1980s (although I was not among the biggest of Taurus/Sable fans), Ford planners attempted to duplicate that success, in a slightly smaller package, with the Contour/Mystique, which, size-wise, by American standards, was about on the border between compact and mid-size. Unlike the U.S.-designed/produced Taurus/Sable, the Contour and Mystique were closely-derived from the German-designed Ford Mondeo, which was a highly-respected car in Europe. Ford, a decade before, had previously tried marketing German-designed sedans/hatchbacks in the U.S., with the Merkur products (XR4Ti and Scorpio), which were sold out of Lincoln/Mercury dealerships, but had little success, as these products were unreliable, suffered from poor marketing, and ultimately were not accepted by the American public.
With the Mondeo-derived Contour/Mystique, Ford hoped to avoid the mistakes made with the Merkur experiment, and, for the most part, did….although neither one was as popular as the triplet sedans that would follow them…..the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ. The Contour and Mystique, sold from 1995-2000, were, in the U.S., offered only in a four-door sedan version. Ford marketers (correctly) felt that a wagon version would be redundant, as Ford’s own Explorer/Mountaineer SUV and Windstar minivan were (then) grabbing up most of the customers who were interested win that more-versatile type of vehicle, and the compact Ford Escape crossover, then upcoming on the horizon, was expected to draw even more of those customers.
I was a big fan of the Contour and Mystique, in general preferring the Mercury version, but also having a lot of respect for the Contour. Like the German/Opel-derived Buick Verano and Regal sedans that would come along more than a decade later, the Contour and Mystique were well-crafted and used quality materials inside and out….there was little of the typical Detroit-style shoddiness and cheapness in the design. They were well-styled, and the design was simple and functional. The sheet metal on the bodies was FAR thicker, stronger, and more durable than what was prevailing on most vehicles at the time. The doors felt (and shut) like they were carved out of a block of Rocky-Mountain granite. The interior was not plush in the usual sense of the word, and lacked such luxo-touches as wood-tone trim or carbon-fiber, although some later-model Mystiques did get a trim-option of a wood-tone lower dash. But the layout was functional, the controls easy to use/decipher, and, as previously mentioned, quality materials were used. Only one thing seemed really odd, but, IMO, was only a very minor issue…..for some reason, the key-unlock switch for the trunk-lid, with a black rubber ring around it, was set very far to the right, almost on the edge of the lid, and not in the middle like with most vehicles.
Under the hood, unlike with the later Buick Verano/Regal, the Contour/Mystique pretty much shared the same gas-engine drivetrains with the European versions….although the European 1.8L diesel was never sold in the U.S. There was a N/A (Normally-Aspirated) 2.0L in-line four of 125 HP, a N/A 2.5L V6 with 170 HP, and (on the Sport-Oriented SVT models), a N/A 2.5L 95-200 HP high-output V6. A five-speed manual or four-speed automatic was offered…most of the American sales, of course, were automatics, except for the SVTs, most of which were equipped with manuals. My next-door neighbors, who seem to be solid Ford-fans (they have a recent Expedition and an almost-new Bronco Sport) also have a silver 1999 Contour SVT, almost a quarter-century-old now, with the standard dark-blue leatherette interior and a 5-speed manual. The solid doors and sheet metal on it still shut like a bank-vault, although there is some body rust and separation now along the lower-body fairings. One more year and it will qualify for reduced-cost Virginia Antique-Vehicle license-plates.
Being German-derived, of course, the Contour/Mystique showed at least a modicum of Germanic road-manners, and certainly did not float or wallow down the road and bob up and down over bumps like the Ford/Mercury slush-mobiles of two decades before. That is not to say that the ride was harsh, but you generally felt the road under you, was the tires were doing, and the steering responded in a crisp and responsive way. The SVT models, of course, were a little firmer in the suspension, tighter in the steering, and had higher-performance tires. I looked at and evaluated a couple different versions of the Contour/Mystique, liked them, and considered a purchase…I especially liked the light pinkish/orange Coral color that was offered at the time, although that color did not last long on the option-list, and most dealerships did not keep it in stock or order any. But, at the time, I was even more interested in the Saturn S-series from GM and their unique space-frames/thermo-plastic body panels, spin-off transmission filters, and extremely customer-friendly sales/service procedures. I ended up ordering a 1999 Saturn SL2 sedan instead.
The Contour/Mystique definitely did better in the American market than its ill-fated Merkur predecessors had done, although not as well as the Ford planners had hoped. As is usually the case, the Ford version outsold the Mercury, and no Lincoln version was offered like with the later Fusion/Milan/MKZ-Zephyr triplets that replaced them. The Fusion-based triplets were very reliable…according to Consumer reports, among the most reliable vehicles from an American-Brand manufacturer, but, IMO, at least, did not have the same rock-solid feeling and construction inside and out that the Contour and Mystique had. But the Fusion-based triplets also lasted much longer in the American marketplace…they were among the last sedans that Ford sold in the American market before dropping all passenger-car vehicles (except for the Mustang) in favor of Trucks/SUVs/Crossovers. Not only the Contour/Mystique, but, except for Cadillac, most Ford and GM-brand sedans, in the U.S., are now just a memory, and Mercury itself no longer exists.
And, as always, Happy Vehicle-Memories.
MM
__________________
IN A NUTSHELL: Can you say Ford Mondeo, American-style?
^^^SVT version^^^
^^^^ This was the factory-color I liked, although not the best photo of it.
^^^SVT interior^^^
Following the explosive success of the original mid-size Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable sedans and wagons in the mid/late 1980s (although I was not among the biggest of Taurus/Sable fans), Ford planners attempted to duplicate that success, in a slightly smaller package, with the Contour/Mystique, which, size-wise, by American standards, was about on the border between compact and mid-size. Unlike the U.S.-designed/produced Taurus/Sable, the Contour and Mystique were closely-derived from the German-designed Ford Mondeo, which was a highly-respected car in Europe. Ford, a decade before, had previously tried marketing German-designed sedans/hatchbacks in the U.S., with the Merkur products (XR4Ti and Scorpio), which were sold out of Lincoln/Mercury dealerships, but had little success, as these products were unreliable, suffered from poor marketing, and ultimately were not accepted by the American public.
With the Mondeo-derived Contour/Mystique, Ford hoped to avoid the mistakes made with the Merkur experiment, and, for the most part, did….although neither one was as popular as the triplet sedans that would follow them…..the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln Zephyr/MKZ. The Contour and Mystique, sold from 1995-2000, were, in the U.S., offered only in a four-door sedan version. Ford marketers (correctly) felt that a wagon version would be redundant, as Ford’s own Explorer/Mountaineer SUV and Windstar minivan were (then) grabbing up most of the customers who were interested win that more-versatile type of vehicle, and the compact Ford Escape crossover, then upcoming on the horizon, was expected to draw even more of those customers.
I was a big fan of the Contour and Mystique, in general preferring the Mercury version, but also having a lot of respect for the Contour. Like the German/Opel-derived Buick Verano and Regal sedans that would come along more than a decade later, the Contour and Mystique were well-crafted and used quality materials inside and out….there was little of the typical Detroit-style shoddiness and cheapness in the design. They were well-styled, and the design was simple and functional. The sheet metal on the bodies was FAR thicker, stronger, and more durable than what was prevailing on most vehicles at the time. The doors felt (and shut) like they were carved out of a block of Rocky-Mountain granite. The interior was not plush in the usual sense of the word, and lacked such luxo-touches as wood-tone trim or carbon-fiber, although some later-model Mystiques did get a trim-option of a wood-tone lower dash. But the layout was functional, the controls easy to use/decipher, and, as previously mentioned, quality materials were used. Only one thing seemed really odd, but, IMO, was only a very minor issue…..for some reason, the key-unlock switch for the trunk-lid, with a black rubber ring around it, was set very far to the right, almost on the edge of the lid, and not in the middle like with most vehicles.
Under the hood, unlike with the later Buick Verano/Regal, the Contour/Mystique pretty much shared the same gas-engine drivetrains with the European versions….although the European 1.8L diesel was never sold in the U.S. There was a N/A (Normally-Aspirated) 2.0L in-line four of 125 HP, a N/A 2.5L V6 with 170 HP, and (on the Sport-Oriented SVT models), a N/A 2.5L 95-200 HP high-output V6. A five-speed manual or four-speed automatic was offered…most of the American sales, of course, were automatics, except for the SVTs, most of which were equipped with manuals. My next-door neighbors, who seem to be solid Ford-fans (they have a recent Expedition and an almost-new Bronco Sport) also have a silver 1999 Contour SVT, almost a quarter-century-old now, with the standard dark-blue leatherette interior and a 5-speed manual. The solid doors and sheet metal on it still shut like a bank-vault, although there is some body rust and separation now along the lower-body fairings. One more year and it will qualify for reduced-cost Virginia Antique-Vehicle license-plates.
Being German-derived, of course, the Contour/Mystique showed at least a modicum of Germanic road-manners, and certainly did not float or wallow down the road and bob up and down over bumps like the Ford/Mercury slush-mobiles of two decades before. That is not to say that the ride was harsh, but you generally felt the road under you, was the tires were doing, and the steering responded in a crisp and responsive way. The SVT models, of course, were a little firmer in the suspension, tighter in the steering, and had higher-performance tires. I looked at and evaluated a couple different versions of the Contour/Mystique, liked them, and considered a purchase…I especially liked the light pinkish/orange Coral color that was offered at the time, although that color did not last long on the option-list, and most dealerships did not keep it in stock or order any. But, at the time, I was even more interested in the Saturn S-series from GM and their unique space-frames/thermo-plastic body panels, spin-off transmission filters, and extremely customer-friendly sales/service procedures. I ended up ordering a 1999 Saturn SL2 sedan instead.
The Contour/Mystique definitely did better in the American market than its ill-fated Merkur predecessors had done, although not as well as the Ford planners had hoped. As is usually the case, the Ford version outsold the Mercury, and no Lincoln version was offered like with the later Fusion/Milan/MKZ-Zephyr triplets that replaced them. The Fusion-based triplets were very reliable…according to Consumer reports, among the most reliable vehicles from an American-Brand manufacturer, but, IMO, at least, did not have the same rock-solid feeling and construction inside and out that the Contour and Mystique had. But the Fusion-based triplets also lasted much longer in the American marketplace…they were among the last sedans that Ford sold in the American market before dropping all passenger-car vehicles (except for the Mustang) in favor of Trucks/SUVs/Crossovers. Not only the Contour/Mystique, but, except for Cadillac, most Ford and GM-brand sedans, in the U.S., are now just a memory, and Mercury itself no longer exists.
And, as always, Happy Vehicle-Memories.
MM
__________________
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