1998 Ford SVT Contour A mid-size marauder. By Sue Mead, New Car Test Drive .com

When the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique made their debut,

there were only two criticisms: bland exterior styling

and limited rear seat legroom. And the complaints about tight rear seat

space came primarily from the automotive press, as distinct from owners.

Nevertheless, Ford has addressed the roominess issue, as well as the

exterior appearance, with a number of revisions that will be in Ford and

Mercury showrooms this spring as 1998 models. And to add additional sizzle,

there will also be a sportier edition of the Contour, called the SVT Contour.

We've been impressed with the performance of the V6-powered versions

of these small mid-size sedans since the beginning. But the SVT version

turns the heat up even more, and is one of the hottest numbers in its class.

Since the updates to the mainstream members of the Contour/Mystique

lineup entail only modest changes to all-around performance, we chose the

SVT Contour as our test subject for this report.