Beatfreak, I'm here to agree with you:

Mazda is what holds the car together, but Ford truly helps out a lot more in the second generation. Ford being a company known for the Mustang, and the Mustang being known for its inability to round a corner, it surprises many that the Probe GT handles as well as it does. It shouldn't.

The fact that the Mustang, with its live rear axle, can handle even as well as it does, is indicative of Ford's capability at tuning suspension. When given a proper platform (In this case, the Mazda GE chassis.), their true brilliance shows.

The near-perfect power delivered by the Mazda KL-DE engine, with its massive torque (for the class), gives the Probe GT the ability to best all other 1990's-era sport compacts in a straight line, save the Integra GS and some varieties of Diamond Star Motors vehicles, although it is rather weak by today's standards.

However, it goes unchallenged in handling, even in a class that was known for its ability to take a corner at speed. With some fatter tires (Using the wheels from an American-specification RX-7 FD3, popularly known in the Probe community as "FD's", lightens the wheels by nearly ten pounds each, and adds an inch of width to the tires.) and a stiffer rear end, the car becomes unbeatable in a corner.

Truly a machine to be reckoned with, if I may say so myself.