Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Would you trade a 2.5L Contour for a 3.0L Taurus?

My mom has proposed for me to trade her my 1998 Contour LX V6 105,000 miles for my Dad's 1999 Taurus GL 3.0 105,000 miles. Her plan is to trade my Contour in (less money owed) and get a new vehicle. Aesthetics aside, would this be a good deal? I would not pay any more money. My only hang up is the fact that I really love my Contour. What kind of mods are available for the 3.0.? Are there any ground effect kits for the Taurus. Maybe I could make an SHO clone?
Anybody with higher mileage 3.0 insight is greatly appreciated.

thanks
JG

An

Is it the 3.0L Duratec V6 or the 3.0L Vulcan V6? Big difference. Vulcan is less powerful and not similar to the Contour's V6.

How can I tell them apart?
Please don't say that It will say Duratech right on top of the engine because I going to pop the hood right now.

How much power diff?

JG

60hp power difference. 140 vs 200! It will say right on top of the engine.

You could do an engine swap and put the Yamaha SHO V6 in it (3.2L).

I figured that...It is a lowly Vulcan. Aside from not seeing the big Duratech label like in my engine compartment, on the serp. belt routing diag. was a 3.0-2V label. Crap...
That Yamaha conversion would kick butt, but its probably out of the question.

know anything about body kits?

JG

Nothing wrong with the Vulcan. My aunts 96 Taurus has a Vulcan and I drove it a week when my beater car broke down. It seemed to have plenty of power. It just had to downshift to get it.

does the Yamaha SHO engine fit in a contour? im guessing no, since nobody ive seen on here has a 3.2 L engine......

No, it's been researched. The engine is way too big and the motor/tranny mounts are totally wrong. Try searching for it, I think someone did some bigtime researching on it.

Depends what you want out of the car... I've got a 98 Taurus LX 3L Vulcan (wife's car) and a 98 Contour SE 2.5L Duratec MTX for myself. They're completely different machines. Which one is better for you? Well, if you're looking to carry five or six people and are looking for more comfort and a smoother ride, the Taurus is the way to go, no question.... it's a bigger car, so I don't worry as much about her getting into an accident, and it even gets a hair better gas milage on the highway although 2 or 3 mpg less around town. It's a comfy cruiser for long highway trips. The wife loves it. If you're only going to carry 1 or 2 people and you'd rather have the handling, braking, and acceleration, then the Contour has a big advantage.... it's great for tearing up and down the hills and twisties around here. That's not to say that either car is all that bad at doing what the other car's better at... The steering, handling, and braking on her Taurus are a lot better than you would expect on a family car that size. And the Contour isn't an uncomfortable ride (although it's just not going to carry as many people as the Taurus will), it's got a big trunk, and the crash safety record is decent. So I guess it's a matter of priorities... both are nice cars for what they're intended to do. My wife would tell you take the Taurus, I'd tell you to take the Contour, and we'd both be right. Given that both cars have comparable miles and are in comparable condition, the answer to the question depends on your priorities... What are you going to use the car for? How are you going to drive it? Is performance or comfort more important to you? Also, you mentioned that your Mom wants to do this becase there's enough equity in the Contour that she can use it as a trade on a newer car- doing her a favor may be a priority, too.

I leased a '96 Taurus for 2 years '97-'99. Overall not a bad experience, but I was a little let down because it was not as reliable as my '91 Escort I had at the time.

BUT! I would take my Mystique over the Taurus for my daily driver any day.

I just like the size, equipment, etc. more.