I was in traffic when this dual(coffee-can sized)exhaust, ford contour svt pulls right up on my ***. He rode me for like a mile in medium traffic. I tried to pull away from him, but I didn't have enough room. Then he found a spot and blew right by. I was wondering if they are fast, or ricey but trying to look fast. I never got a clear shot at trying to race him.

 

200 @ 6600 RPM
169 @ 5500 RPM
5-speed only
3129 lbs

handles better than a maxima. Probably a close race.

 

everyone I have ever run I have beat.. I've noticed they all have Mustang envy.. they allways want to race..... Allways.. F*cking fords...

 

Just this past weekend, I was going to a target store and I was on route 1 when a silver ford contour svt come out of no where with its high beams flashing at me. I wasn't going slow either, in any case, I moved over to the center lane from the left land and took a look at it (dual exhaust) and the works-- but it is all bone stock. At the next light light before the mall...we are at the light and we are off, and he has a good half a car ahead--and by the time I get to the mall-- we are at about 65mph...and I thought "damn--this sucker is fast." I guess with times like this, I'd trade for a 5sp than an auto. =)

 

I ran into a regular contour on the highway the other day.. weaving through traffic like a maniac.. Cut me off while I was going into an exit lane.. Then moved all the way to the left lane.. then cut back into the beginning of the exit lane.. I catch up to the contour and get this.. It was a chick driving. She was a maniac. I tailed her for a sec.. and we came past a small tunnel.. I'm next to her.. she looks over.. My lane is free.. But her lane isn't.. She was in the middle.. I was in the left.. she looks to the right lane and is about to punch it there.. I downshift and punch it.. =) Boy does the max sound mean with intake and y-pipe while in a tunnel. hahah!! Later on I got caught in traffic and the chick blew by me.. when it opened up again I punched it and caught up. First time a chick really gave me a race.. I'm sure if we had more open road I would have whooped her.. But I must admit.. that contour.. Even though not SVT seemed to handle quite well. I walked past her in some turns just because I have good tires and suspension items.. I think a stock maxima, especially non SE would have trouble keeping up.

ZuM

 

Contour SVT's will keep up with a stock Maxima 5sp. It'll win against an auto Maxima. I've seen magazines (don't remember which ones) post 0-60 times of 6.9 to 7.1 seconds for the Contour SVT. Other Contours should be no competition.

 

as to what the heck is this ford contour svt. Sorry to sound a bit naiive--but I never thought Ford could have built a car like this...
It was fast--and my stock Maxima had to push it to break even with it. *damn*
At least I can smile and say I have a more reliable engine?

 

Try this link:
http://www.caranddriver.com/FrameSet/0,1350,_sl_NewArticle_sl_0_cm_1633_cm_438_1_17_cm_0 0,00.html

It has info on the Contour SVT.

 

now I don't feel so bad that it seemed pretty darn quick.

 

They are 0-60 in the low 7s, so a 5-speed Maxima will beat it, and a modded one will kill the Contour SVT. One of the mags did a direct comparison between the 4th gen Maxima and the Contour SVT and they said that the Maxima SE did pretty much everything better, in addition to being bigger, more luxurious, and having better build quality. Surprise, surprise.

 

I have a 97 Maxima SE 5sp with Stillen intake exhaust and
a Y-pipe, I've race 2 different SVT's and got like 2-3 car lengths on them before shifting into 3rd...Easy kill for
a SE 5sp....I must agree...people driving SVT's drive like
jerks...After backing off from the slaughter of a race
both these drivers kept their foot in it and passed me
pissed off.....Those SVT drivers can't beat the torque
of the VG...1st and and 2nd gear are no match...At about
60mph its hard to pull away by much more than a 1/2 of
car length I think because they have slightly better aero
dynamics and its a smaller car...They do handle well...

The 1st guy I raced (5sp) I was behind at the light...when the light turned green and he jumped on it and I almost rearended they guy...(I was amazed that the SVT didn't pull harder from a stop in 1st and 2nd)as I shifted into 2nd I actually completely passed him..I believe the SVT is rated
at 195HP and like 175 lb-ft of torque) the problem with the
SVT is they are heavey for their size..I think they weight
like 3000 lbs which is almost as much as a stock Maxima

Plus in 4-5 years that thing will fall apart and they have
****ty resale value.....

Tmeyers-Colorado

 

The new ones are 200hp.

 

In my house I drive a 96 Max SE 5spd, and my wife drives 98 Contour SVT (98 was 195HP, 99+ 200HP). The car is nice (no additional "...for a Ford"). Not as fast as a Max from the butt-dyno, but it revs fast and can move. It looks,sounds, and in some cases feels faster, but the wieght is surprisingly close and we all know that the Max has more torque. The size of the Max is the detriment in this comparison.

stock vs stock, handling isn't close. I _quickly_ made up an excuse to go get FSTB,RSB,eibach+tockico. Brakes on the SVT are the other big noticeable item. It can _STOP_. Maxima now has a notably stiffer ride vs SVT.

The SVT has a sweet rumble, but to me, it gets annoying, and convinced me that if I ever redo my air-path (intake,y-pipe,cat,exhaust), silence is the high priority, even at the expense of some HP.

The car does draw attention, mostly because "normal" contours are so bland as to be invisible. People first turn from exhaust note, but double take because it can't be identified at first glance. BMW owners (3 series) _do_ gawk at this thing, but I think it has more to do with my wife than the car .

I have absolutely seen jerk SVT drivers, but not all are like that. Yes, a lot do have Mustang envy, but they have to haul the kids!

 

I've encountered 2 of them and in both encounters they lost to my '96 5spd Maxima SE.
I'm including the URL to my roadkill post from June '00.
http://microwave.ph.msstate.edu/pipe...ne/011513.html