When was the Ford Contour made?
The Ford Contour was produced for the 1995 through 2000 model years.
It was Ford’s mid-size sedan in the United States during the late 1990s, developed alongside its European counterpart and sharing a common platform with the Mercury Mystique. The model’s six-year run ended as Ford refreshed its lineup in the early 2000s and shifted strategy for mid-size sedans.
Production window
Below is a concise timeline of the Contour’s production, highlighting its model-year span, platform ties, and discontinuation.
- Model years produced: 1995 through 2000 in North America (and in select markets under the Contour name).
- Platform lineage: Based on Ford’s European Mondeo platform; closely related to the Mercury Mystique.
- End of production: Discontinued after the 2000 model year as Ford reorganized its mid-size sedan lineup.
These points summarize the Contour’s six-year run and its place within Ford’s broader strategy in the 1990s.
Design and platform
Mondeo connection
The Contour shared its engineering underpinnings with the European Ford Mondeo, aligning it with Ford’s global strategy to use a common platform for multiple markets. This allowed the Contour to offer competitive interior packaging and handling characteristics typical of mid-size sedans of that era.
Market positioning
In the United States, the Contour served as a modern alternative to aging two-door or older mid-size offerings, often paired with its sister model, the Mercury Mystique. The two-sedan duo represented Ford’s effort to streamline its mid-size sedan lineup in the late 1990s.
Legacy and what followed
After the Contour’s end in 2000, Ford continued to evolve its mid-size strategy, eventually introducing new models in this segment in the following years. The immediate direct successor in the U.S. market was not a one-for-one replacement, but Ford later resumed emphasis on mid-size sedans with later models such as the Fusion in the 2006 model year and beyond.
Summary
The Ford Contour existed from 1995 to 2000 as a Mondeo-based mid-size sedan sold in North America, alongside its Mercury Mystique sibling. Its six-year run reflected Ford’s 1990s approach to standardizing platforms across markets, before the model line was discontinued as the company refreshed its lineup for the 2000s.
