1994 Ford Probe GT 2.5L 24v V6 from North America
Summary:
An American built leader in a pack of Japanese contenders
Faults:
The transmission decided it didn't want to work anymore about a year after I got it. All said and done, this cost me about $1200. Woopie!
After about 3 years of ownership, the timing belt decided it had had enough as well. This repair cost $800. Woohoo!
Also, randomly likes to get hot. This is due to the coolant going God-knows-where every once and a while, but I haven't been able to quite figure out where this is yet.
General Comments:
When I was looking for a car, I knew I needed one that I could hang on to for a while. I eventually ended up getting a Probe GT. I'm not a huge fan of the slush box automatic that can't quite figure out what gear to be in half the time, but the rest of the car is near perfection. The seats are comfy, good looking, and 8-way power ajustable. The interior is refined and quite stylish- just like the rest of the car. The engine is lively- especially above 4500rpm. I won't tell exactly how fast I've seen this car do, but I can tell you it is well over twice the posted limit in most places. The backseat isn't very useful to anyone over 6ft. tall, but for short people it works out great. The handling is great! It goes where you want, when you want and doesn't make a commotion about it. ALso, for a sports car, this thing has a massive trunk. I have 4 subwoofers and a 1200-watt amp back there and still have plenty of room for all the groceries I'd care to haul. Another plus about this car is the fact that it's a real head turner; one person actually mistook it for a Porsche!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th September, 2004
3rd Nov 2005, 23:02
I don't know the history or millage of this particular probe, but timing belts don't usually snap for the heck of it.
Timing belts in the Probe are suposed to be changed every 100,000kms, they don't last for ever. Luckily the Probe engine is non interference which reduces the damaged caused if the timing belt happens to go.
2nd Feb 2006, 17:14
OK first all the car was not made in japan... to the first comment it is a Australian car...
7th Apr 2006, 03:28
Ha Ha Ha, uhhhhhh, wrong.
26th Jun 2005, 15:17
The Probe is a leader in the pack of Japanese contendors alright, but that's only because it IS Japanese. At least all the stuff that matters is Japanese. They were assembled in the U.S, but the powertrain and everything mechanical was shipped over by Mazda. Every part on the Probe except for interior and body is interchangeable with the Mazda MX-6, and most parts and whole powertrain of the Mazda 626. You don't think Ford would have actually built a 2.5L 24V DOHC motor that outperformed most V6 engines not German, and only put it in ONE car in their lineup... do you?