1995 Ford Probe Review: Road Test

Moreover, the base Probe blends a smooth city ride with good highway manners. From inside, you won't be bothered by much wind or tire noise, and the engine settles down to a muted hum at cruising speeds.

We have to say, though, that our Probe GT test car was much more fun to drive. The 2.5-liter V6 offers sparkling performance with minimal loss in fuel economy (the EPA figures for the V6 are 21 mpg city/26 mpg hwy., but the real-world difference between Probe engines is less) and a big gain in flexibility. The manual transmission is our first choice for the GT; the automatic, though perfectly acceptable, dampens the car's sporty nature.

A couple of minor points detract from the GT's fun rating. First, you have to accept the engine's preference for high-rpm operation. At low revs, it feels sluggish (one good reason to avoid the automatic transmission) and doesn't come alive much below 3000 rpm. And the clutch in our test car was annoyingly numb, making slip-free shifts difficult.