1998 Mid-Size-Sedan Comparo: Which $20K Four-Door Is the Best of Seven?

Time for a new family hauler? We compare seven of the leading candidates—Dodge Stratus, Ford Contour, Honda Accord, Mazda 626, Nissan Altima, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Toyota Camry. View PhotosAaron Kiley|Car and DriverFrom the December 1997 issue of Car and Driver. Nose to tail, the parade of seven sedans, each sprouting a tiny chrome antenna from its roof, steered into the Lost Shoe Inn's lot for maybe the dozenth driver shuffle of this testing day. "Wha' kinda car are those?" called the voice from the front step. There we were, immersed to our cerebellums in the confusion of choices brought to the family-sedan market by seven of the world's leading carmakers. And somebody thinks he's seeing assorted colors of the same car. Minds strained to compose a single-sentence reply. Finally, one of us responded. "They're all different." "Oh," came the apparently satisfied reply, "they're all different cars." Whoa! Nothing like a midafternoon reality check to remind us of the consumer's dilemma. When the big auto companies on the planet squint their eyes and focus on the same task—What does America want in a $20,000 family sedan?—we shouldn't be too surprised when the offerings, at a glance, all look pretty much alike. See all results for used 1998 Ford Contour for sale near 24222 23 Of course. They're seven shots clustered around the same target. But some are closer to the mark than others. That becomes obvious in a side-by-side comparison. We test drivers learn how each responds to the same bump in the road, then move on to the back seats to discern which cars hurt which parts of the anatomy. When the time comes to vote on them, each car has left a distinct impression. The group here includes seven familiar model names that would likely be on the shopping list of any family seeking a four-door priced at about $20,000. Three of them are fresh new designs for the 1998 model year: the Honda Accord LX, the Mazda 626LX, and the Nissan Altima GXE. Two others were new for 1997: the Olds Cutlass GLS and the Toyota Camry LE. The remaining two—the Dodge Stratus ES and the Ford Contour GL—are the graybeards of the group, new way back in 1995. See all results for used 1998 Ford Contour for sale near 24222 23 Which of the candidates packs the qualities you require? Read on. We've always liked the Contour for its quick, sporty responses, but the newer models in this class are making this veteran look bad, particularly for interior space. The Contour's back seat has always been tight on knee and head clearance for adults. That was tolerable when the other choices in the class weren't much better. But the new Accord's rear-passenger accommodations rival a Taurus's, and the Camry's aren't far behind, making the Contour's seem plainly inadequate. The newer entries cast doubt on the sportiness of the Contour's responses, too. Compared with the others', the Ford's brakes are touchy, and the steering is overly quick, almost abrupt. Down bumpy-bumpy roads, the wider tires that came with this car's Sport package and its suspension tuning cause small but unwelcome directional wiggles, and the ride has side-to-side motion we call "head toss." The Contour's ride was judged harshest of the group. The mood of the interior is generally off-putting. One staffer described the ultra-busy dashboard as "an eyesore." The fold-down armrest between the seats stops in a too-high position for all staffers but the one who sits bolt upright behind the wheel. The seat is a "butt pincher," too tight between the side bolsters for even the narrow-body of our group. And the ignition switch, as the key is inserted, has the junkiest feel we've encountered in years. One high point is the plush Saks Fifth Avenue feel of the leather-wrapped wheel. We've often complained about the old Ford radio no longer used in the current-generation Taurus and Escort, the one with the small buttons tight against each other, making them hard to operate while driving. The Contour still uses the old radio. HIGHS: Costco price, great road grip, compact dimensions don't hog all the garage's lawn m0wer room.LOWS: Back-seat space inadequate for this class, fuel filler chokes easily, front buckets are butt pinchers.VERDICT: An affordable runabout for the two-passenger lifestyle. At the track, the Contour's pavement grip, at 0.82 g, topped all others by a wide margin. Braking was nearly a topper too, just one foot longer than the best-of-class Accord (this was accomplished without anti-lock brakes). The 11.9-second acceleration to 60 mph was slowest of the bunch. Fuel economy at 22 mpg was poorest of the group on our test trip. As we said, the Contour is falling behind the pack. 1998 Ford Contour GL125-hp inline-4, 4-speed automatic, 3020 lbBase/as-tested price: $15,180/$18,565C/D TEST RESULTS60 mph: 11.9 sec1/4 mile: 18.9 sec @ 74 mph100 mph: 40.7 secBraking, 70-0 mph: 179 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.82 g C/D observed fuel economy: 22 mpg The Cutlass i

1998 Mid-Size-Sedan Comparo: Which $20K Four-Door Is the Best of Seven?

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