1997 Ford Probe Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Ive had my 1997 Probe for over four years now, and the fact that Ive had it so long (for me its long) speaks volumes about its appeal. For the princely sum of $1500 AU dollars, I snapped up a low kay, silver 5 speed manual Probe, albeit unregistered and in need of lotsa TLC. Been an ongoing love (and some hate) affair since purchasing. From the American skin to the Japanese mechanicals, its the perfect poor mans sports car. It looks the part. No doubt about it. Even after 25 years it still turns heads, and rightfully so. Back then it looked futuristic, and these days it looks unlike any other current copycat manufacturers cars. Despite its rarity and unknown status, the Probe is starting to gain traction. Just looking at sale ads will affirm this. From a rare but relatively cheap car, to a rare but now much pricier car. $15 K AU dollars for a low mileage clean example is not unusual these days. Hang onto these babies. The suspension in mine is getting a bit long in the tooth now but make no mistake - with a decent (yet budget) set of tyres (my car wears Laufenn Gfit AS) it handles brilliantly, despite its front wheel drive configuration. Mechanicals in the KL configuration were (and in my opinion still are) brilliant and way ahead of their time, despite no VVT. It puts its modest 125 kilowatts to good use with 5 well spaced gears (mine is the manual) and 16 inch/225/50 wheel/tyre combo. The cabin is so not Mazda MX6. It looks better, and has a more sporty and comprehensive gauge cluster. I do however have my qualms about the car too. The console and various bits inside are made of cheap plastic - a big let down to the remainder of the car- they also rattle if not secured or have broken pins etc. The shape of the seats can influence their wear, and so the drivers seat can suffer from uneven wear from entering and exiting on the door side bolster. Theres only room for one cup holder, and thats annoyingly in the centre of the front console. Expect coffee burns from shifting gears and tight turns. The cars braking system leaves a lot to be desired. Despite having ABS and four wheel discs, the discs are severely undersized for the weight and dynamics of the car, and you know about it as you stomp on them after a spirited drive. With a bit of mechanical knowledge, you can convert them with a front disc and caliper conversion from a Mazda 6, consisting of larger diameter disc/caliper, and you can still fit the 16 inch swirlies fine. The larger diameter Mazda 6 brakes however require a 17 inch wheel... Also, they can be confusing (and costly) as my journey with the distributor in my car can confirm. One day it decided not to start and many checks confirmed it was the coil (which is built in the distributor) Order a coil, fit it, start it and it ran, but poorly. Order a whole distributor. Same thing. Changed other things (spark-wise, fuel-wise, electronic-wise) A bit better, but still rough. Until lotsa brain racking and internet searching finally uncovered that this Mazda engine has two different distributors, and each time I unwittingly got stuff for the wrong type (KF34 being in mine) ..over a grand AU in various parts and a correct whole new distributor, it purrs again. Another area to pay close attention to is the cooling system, with the hoses and fittings for the oil cooler in particular. I had to replace a leaky one, and the only way to get to it by removing power steering pump (out of the way, not off) and alternator...only to be greeted by a connector pipe that was severely corroded. Consider changing all cooling system hoses in them, if you havent done so by now. Also switch to full synthetic oil throughout mechanicals. Ive used full synthetic since beginning of ownership and 33000 kilometres later, it still has the same if not better power now. Its still smooth too. The motto here is, look after it and itll look after you. Unique looks: Check. Good torque and power: Check Awesome handling: Check Comfortable/Usable but tacky interior: Check. Jun 15, 2022