Probing the Ford (Ford Probe)

Name: huddro

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Product:	Ford Probe
Date:	11.01.01 (5798 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap to buy and maintain

Disadvantages: Not the best fuel consumption

Although an older Ford, the Probe still manages to carry itself against the more modern sports coupes available on the market. Usurped by the Cougar the Probe is a not often sighted car but if you are in the market for a more affordable fast sports coupe read on:

The Car

My 2.5 litre V6 is the 95 model, in black, it looks great…from a distance, the biggest problem with the Probes being the paint used. Unfortunately the paint jobs are not the most sturdy and prone to chipping and scratches check the finish very carefully, find a good one and you are laughing. Black suffers from this the most followed by the metallic blue. Go for silver if you can.

The wheels are alloy 5 spoke. The 2.0 litre version gets 3 spoke alloys that have been likened to looking at the top of a walnut whip, not the most attractive feature.

The visibility all round is fantastic as there are no rear quarter posts. The windscreen is very prone to stone chips though and it is rare to find a probe that hasn’t had the windscreen replaced. On earlier models this is not too much of a problem but on later models a heated front screen was fitted so make sure the replacement is heated also.

The doors on this vehicle are massive and when in tight parking spots it can be difficult climbing in and out of this car. A friend of mine reckons it is the most awkward car to get into and he drives an MR2!

The rear tailgate is very heavy and the gas struts have to cope with a lot of strain expect to replace these, and probably find out they need replacing when the lid hits you on the back of the head…ouch!

Lifting the tailgate reveals a boot large enough to house a family of four and their dog! Whatever you want to carry this car will haul. With the rear seats folded down you could almost move house.

The car has some excellent touches such as moving the door handle triggers the lock to illuminate and the ignition key h
ole to light allowing easy insertion of the key in the dark.

Interior

The interior is sumptuous leather although for some reason Ford chose to use a light grey finish. Although this provides and airier feel to the cabin it can start to look shoddy in cars with a higher mileage.

The dashboard is clearly laid out and illumination superb. All the switches are in the right place and easy to reach. A very nice touch being the Japanese designed air flow, instead of a clunky knob to turn to redirect airflow, or a lever to slide you simply select the desired airflow from an array of buttons. Why more manufacturers have not gone down this road is beyond me as they not only provide the functionality required but look superb as well. The only downside to the Japanese influence is the reversal of the indicator and windscreen stalks compared to European designed cars.

The seats are very comfortable and supportive with the drivers side having any number of lumbar and bolster combinations to hug any shape. The rear seat is also comfortable but legroom is at a minimum and if the driver is any taller than about 5 foot there is no legroom at all.

Mechanics

At the business end, lifting the bonnet reveals the Mazda designed V6 levered in with hot spoons. Mazda I hear you say, well this car is based on the Mazda MX6. There is no room to work on anything. Checking the oil, water, and windscreen washer fluid is easy but for anything else plan to spend some time.

The V6 provides a fantastic response although the accelerator is somewhat heavy, along with the clutch meaning that you can have a full workout in heavy traffic. Figures for this car state a 0- 60 mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 137 mph.

A Bosch immobiliser is fitted by Ford as standard. This cannot be removed so bear this in mind when fitting a third party alarm immobiliser you will end up with 2 key-pads. The engine management computer can
be wired to think the immobiliser is still there but I have found nobody who can do this and Ford do not recommend it. Please note make sure the distributor/immobiliser have had the repair noted in Ford technical bulletin 124/2000 dated 12-10-2000. These cars suffer from a fault especially the 93 to 95 models whereby the car will cut out losing power steering and braking. This is due to the distributor ignitor module failing. This causes the distributor to draw too high a current causing cooking of the soldered joints in the immobiliser if left too long. The bulletin mentioned above lists the repair required at the Ford dealer.

The V6 does tend to drink oil and excess smoke reveals that new valve seals are required. This is so common on these vehicles that I do not think I have seen one on the road that does not smoke a little. If you are prepared to check the oil regularly and keep it topped up this will have no ill effect whatsoever.

Check the ignition leads very carefully to ensure their heat guards are intact. The close proximity with the rocker cover means they are prone to scorching and you cannot just nip to Halfords for a replacement set these are very specific leads available from Ford or Ford supplied stores.

Driving

Starting the car produces that satisfying deep V6 grunt and driving this car is an absolute pleasure. For toddling round town the car is light on the steering, provides great visibility, and a dream to park alas as I mentioned earlier the clutch is fairly heavy. It is on the open road that this car comes into its own; punching the accelerator pedal shoots the car forward with a more than impressive acceleration. The thick tyres, 225/50 by 16, hold the road like glue and the car corners superbly with very little body roll. If you can get the back to slide out you are a maniac!!!

Long journeys are a dream set the cruise control on the motorway and just point the Probe where you want to go.
There is very little tyre and wind noise and the factory fit speakers provide a decent sound. The air conditioning keeps you cool on those hot summer days.

Petrol consumption is not the lowest in the land but at 70mph I can get a fairly decent 23 to the gallon that is not the worst for an engine and car of this size. Servicing costs safe reasonable and the insurance fairly cheap. (Younger drivers get a quote first!)

Conclusion

For someone who loves that sports car feel but needs a boot big enough to carry a house this is the car for you. Fast responsive with sleek good looks.

Take the usual precautions when buying though, get the car inspected by the AA or some other equivalent and an HPI check for finance is definitely a must.

Driving this car is great fun and very involving the steering provides nice feedback and the ride is smoother than a cashmere codpiece (thanks to Black Adder there).

For some really useful information visit the ford Probe owners site www.fordprobe.co.uk the guys here are really helpful, they provided the technical bulletin number for the fault mentioned.

Overall if you have around 3500 to 4500 and want a bigger fast car then the Probe is the one for you, either that or you could have a 1.0 Saxo..the choice is yours!


Update 6th June 2001
Well I finally traded in the Probe against an MX5 and can you believe after about 18 months I got back on trade in exactly what I paid for the car £3,500. There are not many cars on the market that you can do that with. My total motoring costs with this car can be no more than about 250 excluding insurance

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