Faults:

I had to replace a water pump that should have been replaced when I bought it. (The timing belt was old and needed to be replaced, so I only agreed to buy it if they fixed this. They should have replaced the pump at this time too, but didn't.)

The cup holders break easily due to the thin stems.

My dash clock light went out.

General Comments:

This car is definitely a bit quirky, but not in a bad way. It just kind of has it's own personality.

All of my passengers have commented on how smooth the drive is.

It's roomy and decent on gas.

It's a nice-looking car and both the interior and exterior stay in great shape.

It never comes close to overheating.

The engine is strong and healthy and has lots of "oomph".

It was very affordable!

Faults:

Almost from the get-go this car went through brakes and wheel bearings. The front rotors warp very easily.

The rear door hinges were very noisy.

The serpentine belt developed a terrible squeal with the air conditioning on while idling. No one could ever fix the problem.

Like someone else here who reviewed their Contour, I too broke a coil spring at 80,000km or so.

The power doors locks stopped working at 120,000km.

The automatic transmission failed at 170,000km and required replacement. I needed to get my money out of it so I kept it for another year until I unloaded it cheaply, and bought a Mazda Protege5.

I also know that there were a couple of recalls that I'm forgetting, and other nickel and dime things.

General Comments:

This was my first "new" car (it was a demo) and my first front wheel drive car after owning a 1984 Buick Regal. It was faster and got better fuel economy than the Regal ever could hope to.

It was a good looking little economy car until about 50,000km when stuff started going wrong.

I wanted a 5-speed 4 cylinder with the sport package, but had to settle for an automatic without the sport package. I was really upset when the transmission that I didn't even want failed.

The body held up really well and had very little rust when I sold it. It was a nice royal blue metallic colour.

I used to think that It was fun to drive and handled well until I bought my Protege5.

I don't miss it at all, but I think that I just managed to barely get my money out of it.

Faults:

Like most others, the back doors sound horrid. Water pump burst, new timing belt. (of course) Passenger side window moves as slow as a snail. Windows fog easy. Left front speaker shorts out, so I have to turn it up real loud. Cup holders broke before 20k miles. Back light behind clock burnt out. Alternater went out. I really hate how the temp gauge spikes up and down. That's just because the fan only turns on before it hits the redline. I forget which seal blew, but it leaked oil... really bad. All this really happened about 100k miles. Most of it.

General Comments:

Well for the most part, it's a pretty good little car. Me and my girlfriend were rear ended by a import, and there was nothing left of the import. The only thing we had to replace was the rear fender and paint. It's really quick for its size. I've beat a bunch of show offs, and they had decent V6 or smaller V8. The car will go 130 m.p.h+ believe me sometimes its necessary. I drove it real hard for a long time. Moved 2136 miles down south with it in the intense heat. I am surprised only this much is wrong with it after all the abuse I gave it. A really good, small family car. I'd hate to see it go.