Well, that is easy to say now. The SVT Contour is a 1998 vehicle. How many vehicles were availible with 200Hp, stick, 4 doors for $23k then? The 240Hp Altima and 255Hp Maxima are 2003 models.
FWIW, the original 2.5L Duratec delivered from Porsche developed 250Hp N/A. Then Ford got their hands on it and marketing put their feet down. So, we end up with an average 170Hp standard. Enough to be fun, but hardly exceptional.
