Overview & Reviews

Designers sculpt and adjust interior seating to make more leg- and headroom in the backseat. Five new colors are available and improvements to shift effort on manual transmission models make the 1996 Contour more competitive.

User Reviews:

Showing 21 through 30 of 68.00

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  Black Beauty - 1996 Ford Contour
  By My Black Beauty - January 15 - 2:00 am

  One of the best cars ever! I love it, but very cold weather starts are a bit of a challenge. Styling is phenominal, plus the five speed V6 is very potent. This is my first manual, so learning wasnt too tricky.

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  My Contour - 1996 Ford Contour
  By tjimler - September 12 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car several months ago and have enjoyed it immensely. It has had no serious problems, just regular maintenance. It is a joy to drive and I get a lot of comments on how nice it looks. The 5-speed takes a little getting used to, but makes the ride much more enjoyable than an auto. Overall I would give this car 5 stars for a cheap, fun, good looking ride.

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  1996 Ford Contour GL - 1996 Ford Contour
  By wmagon - July 30 - 2:00 am

  I originally thought that I was got a great deal on this car off the Ford B Lot, but am starting to question it. I purchased the extended warranty, which covered the total cost of the "blown" engine ($5500 at the dealer) at 58K Miles, but since then, there has been a vibration in the steering wheel (motor mounts ???). The car is in the shop now needing a new battery and accessory cable plus distribution box. Estimate given was over $1,000 for the repair. Overall though, its been a very nice ride and great ergonomics/human factors.

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  Good and Bad - 1996 Ford Contour
  By mikemc - July 8 - 2:00 am

  The Contour I purchased has great mileage and the car is extra clean however there are some problems worth mentioning.The Contour has a history of blowing the timing belt around 80,000 miles as well as air conditioning problems around 50,000 I havent had thse problems but I did have to replace the relay,radiator,and fan in the motor before ever driving the car.The other problem that I had was the design of the cup holder in the middle console.It broke and now Ford is replacing the whole item with a new item for 80.00

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  Good dependability even with annoyances - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Carter - June 14 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our Contour used in 1997. It has been dependable overall. The feel and performance is good. Even with 110,000 mile the 4 cyl engine has some pep. Majority of problems have been electrical in light switch (recall), heater blower switch (recall) and bad door light switches (on third one so far) to name a few. Other items was broken front coil springs (again a recall) and annoying belt squeal that wont go away even when replaced. Ford has been very good at identifying and replacing recall items. Ford needs to establish a better electrical design team to eliminate the vast electrical problems. They fester as small but annoying items.

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  dependable - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Hunt - April 29 - 2:00 am

  My wife and I bought our 96 contour with 45k and drove it to 98k in 2 years. The car was dependable but seemed to have a ghost, blinker blinked fast occasionally, interior lights sometimes worked, died if went in reverse and braked quickly sometimes, the front wheel popped when turning all the way a direction, rear made a rubbing noise over bumps, med/hi worked on blower if turned slowly. Shifter coming out of drive into park was rough. No major problems just routine things.

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  Ok car - has a lot of little problems - 1996 Ford Contour
  By RELLA - March 25 - 2:00 am

  I got my contour back in 98, it had 30,000 miles on it. Within the first month I had to take it in for the recall on the heat blower switch. Then I had to have new rotors put on it a couple months after that. It seemed to run good for a while. Now the latest is that I have no dash lights, the right hand blinker doesnt work, the heater switch doesnt work again and it runs loud. But it is pretty reliable as I havent had any major things go on it.

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  I got a good one - 1996 Ford Contour
  By CaliSE - March 20 - 2:00 am

  Contour SE MTX w/80,000 mi. The car has been great fun, I have been pleased with the reliability. The car has had 5 dealer visits in 6 years wor recalls or non-warranty repairs. It gets 27 mpg on the highway. I found the OEM Firestone Firehawks sub-standard in every possible way and replaced them with Dunlop SP4000s and have been very happy.

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  Overall Value - 1996 Ford Contour
  By Pmac - March 7 - 1:12 pm

  My Contour has treated me well. The heater switch failure was recalled and the cupholder was redesigned (97) to not spill on your passenger when taking left hand turns. After 96, Ford made 15" wheels standard for a smoother ride and eventually the 6 cylinder was standard. Why Ford discontiues a car if all the bugs are worked out, I dont know. Maybe the Engineers are bored have to "Focus" on some other problem. My Contour still handles and runs well at 92000 miles.