1998 Ford Contour SVT 4dr Sedan
The engine loves to be revved and sounds wonderful while doing it. The shifter action and handling are the best from any fwd American car yet. Sure, its low 15 second 1/4 mile time is respectable, but this car's strong points are its handling and highway cruising abilities. Not that it's slow in a drag race either; just drag racing wasn't its intent. The Contour SVT was easily the best handling fwd sport sedan ever available in America until the recent Mazda Protégé, but still beats that car in acceleration. The car is not perfect, but it does what it was made for very well.
Glorious engine sounds. Wonderful, flat cornering. Understated yet aggressive SVT styling. Many people- even car enthusiasts, don't know what it is. A driver's car- you need to love all aspects of driving to understand this car's mission, not just full out drag racing.
No oil pressure gauge or voltmeter. No limited slip differential. Some cheap interior parts. Often held down by the "Contour" stereotype, or the car SVT shouldn't have made based on raw acceleration numbers. Atrocious resale value.