Ford Contour / Mercury Mystique 1994-2000

The Ford Contour and its rebadged Mercury variant, the Mercury Mystique, are North American versions of the first-generation Ford Mondeo, marketed for model years 1995-2000 as a four-door sedan, replacing the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz. Production at Kansas City Assembly in Claycomo, Missouri, and Cuautitlán Assembly started on August 15, 1994.

Derived directly from (and developed together with) the Ford Mondeo Mk 1, the Contour and Mystique shared the Ford CDW27 platform with its European counterpart. In contrast to the first Ford "world car" (the 1981 Ford Escort), the Contour was redesigned slightly to better suit American demands. The three shared major systems, including body structure, powertrain, and suspension.

While officially classified a mid-size car, the Contour was among the smallest sedans in the segment, with its interior dimensions becoming a point of criticism.

The Contour and Mystique shared two engines with the Mondeo, a 125 hp 2.0 L Zetec inline-4 and a 170 hp 2.5 L Duratec V6; the 1.8L turbodiesel of the Mondeo was never sold in North America. A five-speed manual transmission was standard with both engines, with a four-speed automatic offered with as an option.

The Ford Contour was produced with three trim levels: base-trim GL (1995-1997), a higher-content LX, and a sporty SE trim. The 2.0L engine was standard on GL and LX versions, with the 2.5L standard on SE-trim examples. As a running change during 1996, a "Sport" option package was introduced for GL and SE-trim models. The Mercury Mystique was produced with two trim levels: standard-trim GS and higher-trim LS (with a "Sport" option package available for both versions); from 1997 to 1999, an undesignated base-trim Mystique was offered.

[SIZE=1]Source: Wikipedia[/SIZE]