1998 Ford Contour

midsize car / 4-door sedan

1998 Ford Contour 4-door sedan
1995 Ford Contour shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 1995-2000 models

Tested vehicle: 1995 Ford Contour GL 4-door

The Ford Contour and the Mercury Mystique were introduced in the 1995 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

Despite excessive intrusion into the footwell area, the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

Footwell intrusion produced a gash almost 14 inches long in the metal floor. The dummy's right foot finished wedged in a pocket created by the intrusion.

High forces on both legs contributed to the likelihood of lower leg injuries.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CF95010
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 18
Left (cm) 29
Center (cm) 32
Right (cm) 20
Brake pedal (cm) 23
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 7
Right (cm) 8
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 9
Rearward (cm) 4
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 5

Driver injury measures

Test ID CF95010
Head
HIC-15 268
Peak gs at hard contact 22
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 22
Maximum Nij 0.29
Chest maximum compression (mm) 35
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 3.0
Femur force - right (kN) 3.4
Knee displacement - left (mm) 2
Knee displacement - right (mm) 6
Maximum tibia index - left 1.72
Maximum tibia index - right 1.59
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 3.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 72
Right 52

About the original moderate overlap front test