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NEW YORK — Ford Motor Co. has tested numerous automotive designs in its attempts to ascend to the Level Beyond Ordinary (LBO).

In the early 1980s, the company broke with Detroit’s boxy tradition and introduced cars with rounded corners, the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz being the best examples. In the mid-1980s, Ford went further, unveiling the aerodynamic Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. Roundly condemned at first, those cars eventually set a new world design standard, drawing imitators as diverse as Toyota and Volvo.

Emboldened, Ford took even more radical steps in the mid-1990s with redesigned Taurus and Sable models that were so sexy, they offended the sensibilities of many of the company’s mainstream buyers. Undaunted, Ford followed suit with the flippantly sensuous Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, compact cars that attracted a mixture of buyers — but, alas, not in sufficient enough numbers to keep the design experiment going.

That is why, I suppose, we have this week’s test car, the reworked 1998 Mystique LS sedan, an odd conglomeration of avant-garde and excruciatingly conservative styling that attempts to attract progressive buyers with the front end while clinging to the more conservative types with the rear.

I am not sure how this advances Ford’s LBO quest, nor am I certain about what it will do for the company in an increasingly competitive marketplace. But, politically, it appears to be a stroke of genius. Imagine! President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich rolling along as a single unit, always headed in the same direction with the same goal — to get us where we going safely and on time, while having some fun in the process.

Now, that would be extraordinary!

Background: The Mercury Mystique and Ford Contour, mechanical and structural twins, always have been good cars — tightly built, generally well laid out, fun to drive and economical to operate.

They had a few bothersome faults, such as rear seats that were designed only for short people, and rear doorways shaped for adherents to the Jenny Craig diet.

The 1998 Mystique — and presumably the new Contour model, which I’ve yet to drive — tries to address those problems. Though built on the same 106.5-inch wheelbase as its predecessor, the new Mystique has a bit more headroom and legroom in the rear. But, still, those back seats handle two people far better than they do three.

Like the previous model, the new car also is front-wheel-drive. But the driving feel is different. In the old car, I felt up-close and personal with the front hood, which presented no obstacle to my forward view of the road. In the new car, I felt yards away from the front end of the hood, an elongated thing that obstructed my view of the road.

Besides fiddling with the front-end — longer, wider, more stylish — Ford also beefed up the suspension of the new Mystique. The old car did well enough in curves and over bumps. The new car practically hugs the co rners and smooths out rough roads, even with its 13.9 cubic-feet trunk stuffed with cargo.

The Mystique still comes in base GS and upscale LS dress. The GS gets a standard 2-liter, 16-valve, in-line four-cylinder engine rated 125 horsepower at 5,500 rpm, with torque rated 130 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm. A five-speed manual transmission is standard on the GS. A four-speed automatic optional.

The tested LS gets a hummer of an engine — 2.5-liter, 24-valve, double-overhead cam V-6 rated 170 horsepower at 6,250 rpm. Torque is rated 165 pound-feet at 4,250 rpm. A five-speed manual transmission is standard. A four-speed automatic is optional.

Standard brakes on both the GS and LS include power front discs/rear drums; although, when equipped with the five-speed manual gearbox, the LS gets power discs all around. Anti-locks are optional.

Of course, dual front air bags are standard, as are steel-reinforced doors. A rear, built-in child-safety seat is optional.

Mercury Myst que LS

Complaints: Obstructed forward vision. Hood gets in way of view of the road.

Praise: Excellent construction quality. Generally comfortable interior. Highway competitive.

Head-turning quotient: Sexeee . . . ahm . . . huh? What the heck happened to the rear end of the car? And, geez, Ford, did you have to put that totally fake wood-grain stuff around the center console?

Ride, acceleration and handling: Triple aces in all three categories. Rivals anything from Toyota or Honda. Excellent braking.

Mileage: About 24 miles per gallon (14.5-gallon tank, estimated 336-mile range on usable volume of regular unleaded), running mostly highway with two occupants and nearly 300 pounds of cargo.

Sound system: Electronic AM/FM stereo radio and single-disc CD player. Ford Premium System. Quite decent.

Price: Base price is $17,270. Dealer’s invoice price is $15,750 on the base model. Price as tested is $21,060, including $3,225 in options (automatic transmission, 15-inch diameter alloy wheels, Premium Sound System, anti-lock braking system and leather-faced seats) and a $535 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: You might get a better buy with the Contour. You’ll certainly get a better buy if you go easy on the options. Compare with Toyota Camry, Mazda 626, Honda Accord, Chrysler Corp.’s “weather series” (Cirrus, Stratus and Breeze), Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen Golf, the Chevrolet Malibu and 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass.