which years are best? - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

10-08-2001, 09:35

im new to the tempos/ and topaz' , but i am looking into a reliable winter car. which years are best? 4 cylinder or v6? do they have the vulcan 3.0? what about the awd tempo?
all info is appreciated
thanks

Trey · 10-08-2001, 23:05

An awd is hella cool....if you can find one. I've got a frien who drives a V6 Tempo back and forth to work every day for the last 3 years. It makes a helluva lot of noise (possible AC problem?) But it has yet to break down. The definition of reliable to me. Just make sure that when you are looking for a car, all of it's regular maintnance has been done. It's a good sign that the car was taken care of, and has many more good miles ahead of it.

XR5TopazBri · 10-10-2001, 19:36

Well, to be quite honest I would steer very clear of the AWD model. It is put together quite badly with problems from the universal joints at the rear... very problematic.

THe 4-cylinder cars are very bullet proof. I've had mine for over 130,000 miles and it is still goign strong. The automatics can be a bit of trouble, depending on how well it was maintained and how hard it was driven.

The V6 is a very sweet engine. My next car will be a 92 GLS V6 with a 5-speed... the second Tempo/Topaz to be mine. =)

Tim · 10-10-2001, 22:11

92 XR5/GLS/LTS are the best cars out of the bunch..you want power and reliability go with a 92+wiht a V6 and 5-speed...yes the auto's are very troublesome...jsut ask brian that one... he he...but a well maintained one will last...but for gas mileage a 88-91 2door wiht a 5 speed will be unreal on gas and you can make it fast....ask guillermo on tis one as his old XR5 would smoke a V6 tempo topaz...just look for one that is well maintained and in decent shape and was taken care of...I got lucky wiht my 92 XR5..one owner and she kept it up..needed brakes for safety and it has 160,000 kms...but in very good condition...anyway that is my two cents.....and check out the floor...they are famous for falling out...