Ford Probe 24V > Reviews (2)

How much do you reckon that car in the picture is worth? That's right, the sexy red sportscar with the pop-up headlights. Ten, maybe fifteen grand?
It does, after all, come with a powerful V6 engine, ABS brakes, alloy wheels, air conditioning, electrically adjustable heated leather seats, CD player and the kind of stylish good looks that can snap knicker elastic from fifty yards away.
It's gotta be worth at least £5K, right?
If you ask me, (not that you did ask me, but hey!) the Probe is probably the best looking car Ford have ever made and believe it or not, you can have one, in nice condition, with service history, low mileage and all the toys - get this - for as little as around two grand!
It's true, for what would barely cover the deposit on a brand new, bog-standard Mondeo, you could own outright a sleek, trendy, high-performance sportscar.
Still not cheap enough? Well check this out, barely a fortnight ago I saw with my own eyes at a car auction near Whitchurch, two Ford Probes for sale. Both were 1996 M-registered, both were in good nick, one was a 16v and one was a 24v, both had MOT's and one even had tax, have a guess how much?
The hammer came down at £1600..... FOR THE PAIR!
TWO Probes for sixteen hundred quid - I nearly shat!

Now you're probably thinking to yourself, why are they so cheap? What's wrong with 'em? Well nothing really. They're not exactly the best cars in the world, only an idiot would say that, but strictly speaking there's very little wrong with them either. It's certainly true, commercially at least, that the Probe was a humungous failure and its production run lasted a mere three years. It even became known as the 'Forgotten Ford', a name that's not totally unjustified. There are around three million opinions on Ciao UK, wanna know how many are about Probes? Well, including this one, er.... one, but just because nobody's got one, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad car. It's failure was more to do with what type of car it was, rather than how bad it was. We live in an age where the government wants us all to drive around in watercress-powered SMART cars and mini-MPV's, so running and insuring a Probe with its hefty 2.5 litre engine was never going to be cheap. Anyone who could afford to buy and run an impractical 2 door coupe could get an MR2 or Mazda MX-5 for the same sort of money so the Probe never really took off, meaning that second-hand values plummeted. Bad news if bought a new one but great news if fancy picking one up now.

Okay, so it's not exactly practical, the boot isn't very big, it's only got 2 doors and the back seats are pretty useless unless you're the size of a Hobbit but who really cares about practicality in a car like this? If you want something practical, buy a van. And besides, with decent Probes going for less than two grand, it's perfectly feasible for Mr Average to own one of these ASWELL as his sensible 1.8 Mondeo. Well, why not? Some people pay two grand for a telly. Or a decent holiday. And a holiday only lasts for a fortnight.

And you can't do 130+mph in a telly...

Ok, realistically you can't do 130mph in a Probe either, not without getting pigged, but the car itself is more than capable of it. Behind the wheel, the big Ford offers plenty of highly enjoyable motoring. The 24 valve version, which has the same 2.5 litre, V6 engine as the Mondeo can haul some serious tarmac. It has around 160BHP, goes from 0-60mph in just over 7 seconds and on to a top speed of about 135mph, pretty impressive. It's easy and comfortable to drive too, nicely weighted power-steering, a slick gearchange and good all-round visibilty make it a doddle to handle around town. At low speeds the engine behaves very placidly - smooth and unintrusive but with a pleasing low hum emanating from under the bonnet and the twin exhaust.
Out on the open road however things get a bit more exciting. Put your foot down and the car surges forward with plenty of 'oomph' and the engine note has a nice 'throaty' rasp to it but remains very smooth and refined. Perhaps a little too refined - I used to have a 2.9 Sierra XR4x4 which was, in all honesty, an aggressive, all-out thrash machine and I was hoping for similar characteristics in the Probe but somehow it just didn't quite live up. On paper at least, the Probe is a quicker, more powerful and more agile car but because of its softer suspension, its more refined engine and its quieter cockpit it doesn't *feel* as fast as the old warhorse. Despite having permanent 4 wheel drive, the XR4 did have a tendancy to slip and slide a bit if you cornered it too hard but that's part of the reason it was so much fun. Throw it into a bend and momentum kicked the back end out but then sheer power brought it back into line again. Get the hang of it and the XR4 was like a dirty great big go-kart, with a bit of practice you could fling it into any corner with the carefree abandon of someone who's just been granted eternal life.

The Probe on the other hand is far more composed and sure footed. With its more advanced chassis & suspension it has loads more grip than the Sierra, but where will you be when the grip runs out? In a ditch, that's where. Lose control of a Probe on a twisty, slippery road and you've precious little chance of regaining it. As I said earlier though, under normal circumstances it's generally a very easy and enjoyable car to drive. Motorways and long, sweeping A-roads are its strong points, if you need to cover a long distance then the Probe eats up motorway miles the way a hoover sucks up string.

Of course, if you're somewhat heavy with the right foot then you'll pay for it in running costs. Under normal driving the fuel consumption is quite reasonable, between 25 and 30mpg, but too much enthusiasm can soon reduce that to single figures. It takes just over £40 to fill the tank (60 litres) and that usually lasts for about 300 miles. Spirited driving will also eat away at your tyres with alarming speed, especially the back ones, and they don't come cheap either.

The 16" 205's cost at least £30 each, more like £50 or £60 if they're a quality brand name tyre, and brake pads have a tendancy to wear out rather quickly too.

If you're going to look into buying one of these cars, then watch out for the usual collection of Ford-isms that you find on Escorts and Fiestas. Leaky sunroofs and rotting door sills are fairly common, as are exhaust mountings that have a habit of working themselves loose (resulting in an annoying, rattling sounds). The dashboard, although attractive and stylish, isn't exactly precision engineered. There's always one or two blown bulbs in the instrumentation and you may find bits of trim squeaking or coming loose at the edges. Also, if you're inspecting one of these cars in daylight, remember to check that the pop-up headlights do actually pop up, otherwise you could be in a right pickle if it suddenly gets dark half way home. As with all Fords, it's always worth replacing the cambelt every 20,000 miles or so because if that breaks, repair bills could cost well over £500.
Otherwise, the Probe is a fairly straightforward car to maintain. Because it shares so many mechanical components with more common Fords - Mondeos, Scorpios etc... spare parts are generally cheap and widely available. If you do find yourself struggling to locate that all important 'spring-hanger bush' from a Ford main dealer or scrappy, then it's worth knowing that nine times out of ten, the equivalent part from a Mazda MX-6 will do the job just as well (they are basically the same car underneath).

Body panels may be a little more elusive, though. The Probe was originally an American car and most of the panels are plastic, all-in-one things that cost a bomb and are increasingly rare these days because they don't make them anymore. However, having plastic panels means that they're not going to succumb to rust so shouldn't need replacing unless you damage them.

As with many of the old fast Ford's, the value and desirability of a particular car can depend a great deal on its colour. Black, navy blue and metallic red (as in the picture above) are the colours to have, preferably with the grey leather interior (the alternative 'velour' trim looks very tatty very quickly) but British racing green and bright red ones hold their value well too, provided they are kept in tip-top condition. There was a range of peculiar, pastel colours that were available too, sky blue, mint green, lilac, champagne, pearl etc... but, at the risk of sounding sexist, these colours were designed for the girls and they're not as highly sought after today. I personally think they look quite smart, certainly different and a lilac Probe with a fit blonde at the wheel looks great but if you're a bloke, you're better off sticking with the stronger, darker colours. Girls, by all means buy a sky blue one if you want to, they'll be cheaper than the black ones but don't expect to be able to sell it on afterwards and no matter who or what you are, never, EVER buy a white one (yuck!

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One final word of warning - insurance. It's expensive. 2 litre 16v versions are insurance group 15, V6 models are a group higher so if you're under 25 I wouldn't even bother trying (perhaps I should have mentioned that earlier?). I'm 28, with 2 yrs no claims bonus and (until recently!) a clean licence and they still want 700 quid a year to insure me for a 2.5. How extortionate is that? Still, I keep coming back to that original purchase price of two grand and I figure that, even with the insurance and the fuel and the maintenance, I'm still better off than Mr Average Mondeo Man and have a helluva lot more fun too.

To summarise then the Ford Probe is a very good car. Not a great car, not by any means, but at these ridiculous second-hand prices there's no doubt that it's an absolute bargain. And look again at that picture at the top of this page. Just look. Is it not a seriously sexy piece of kit? I mean, it's got pop-up headlights, surely the coolest things in the history of cool things? Come on, admit it, you want one don't you?
Ok, if I'm being perfectly honest I still prefer the big, nasty Ford muscle cars of old - the XR's, the RS's and, of course, the Cossies - but that's because I'm a hooligan who likes driving everywhere sideways and the Eighties fast Ford's were just sooo much fun.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Probe, I like it a lot, but I don't love it in the same way I used to love my old Sierra XR4x4 (oo-er... is it me or did that sound really pervy?). However, with those looks and with that level of comfort and performance, it will keep me more than happy until I can one day afford my ultimate dream car....

.....A 2.8 Brooklands Capri

(and if you know anyone who's selling one, give me a shout)