2007-04-10 13:49:29 · 19 answers · asked by LOLA P. 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Mercury
Ford dropped the cougar line for the 1998 year but there was such a cry from the cougar fans that ford brought the name back . The trouble is they stuck the name on a crappy model they had just made that had nothing to do with the older cougars . It was a turd with the famous cougar name that fooled the public . The 1997 and older cougars are great cars .
2007-04-11 11:35:40 · answer #1 · answered by 1diputs 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Let's put it this way: Contours are fine cars. It's when it's converted into a 2-door coupe that problems started to appear, and existing problems exacerbated.
You'd think that the crowded engine bay would get some relief from the conversion. Wrong. Contour/Mondeo family's engine bay is one of the busiest and crampiest in modern design esp. with the 2.5L Duratech V6 installed. The transmission dipstick is HIDDEN under a bundle of wires. ARGH! Cougar: no change.
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with a FWD sports coupe. Mitsubishi Eclipse is FWD. There are others. However, it's simply the WRONG car for the brandname. Mercury has always been the "Buick" of Ford, so to speak. It's the mid-tier for people who's ready to go up a notch from the plain (Chevy and Ford) but not ready for deluxe (Cadillac and Lincoln) So how do they fit a two-door sports car in the lineup? When there's the T-bird the Cougar cousin makes sense. But there's no equivalent Ford model. And later reskinning made it look like a very sad Contour. :P
It's not a "bad" car, but you can do better in that category.
2007-04-11 22:55:10 · answer #2 · answered by Kasey C 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I've got a 99 cougar with 120k on it and its been nothing but routine matinance. There were some electrical problems with the car ex: part of my instrument panel didn't light up at first, my dad hit it and it's been fine ever since, also ive heard of check engine lights coming on for no reason
the car is georgeous, quick, drives well in the snow, and the insurance is cheaper than a taurus (ours was, that's what sold my dad on it). The car is tough, I've been rearended 5 times in the last 4 months (my friends say it will keep hapening until i get my first speeding ticket) and there is no damage besides a few scratches. LOVE my cougar!
2007-04-12 18:06:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Despite what people believe the latest Cougars arent bad cars. You just have to know what problems to expect in them (check out www.teamneco.com and www.newcougar.org-theyll tell you all the normal problems and how to fix them easily and cheaply if possible). Almost every problem that these had could be easily fixed by swapping a part or two. Also they are very easy to increase the power. Between the 3.0 L Duratec parts and the 2.5 SVT Duratec parts there are tons of ways to go to increase power without having to resort to FI.
The last ones built off the T-bird had problems, but if taken care of could run for quite awhile--I would be wary of these though, they take a lot of pampering to keep in good working order (just like a Grand Am, and just as hard to find one that was pampered).
2007-04-12 01:29:21 · answer #4 · answered by Showtunes 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the rear wheel drive cougars share almost everything with the thunderbirds and are basically solid cars the downsized front wheel drive cougar shares everything mechanical with mystique/contour these were thoroughly mediocre cars. if it has the v-6 engine, the insulation will fall off the engine wiring harness [a 1500 dollar part if it is still available] the 4 cyl version is probably your most reliable bet
2007-04-18 13:23:52 · answer #5 · answered by hobbabob 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My friend has one and she likes it. A couple of things here and there, but nothing significant.
Since the newest Cougar you can get now is still probably 4-5 years old, I'd stay away from them because they'd be used cars with a lot of miles.
If you're looking for a nice car from Mercury, check out the Milan. Its super reliable, V6 power, all-wheel drive, and GPS.
2007-04-10 17:53:01 · answer #6 · answered by eaglefox200 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
depends on what year you are lookg at
i own a 1997 cougar 30th ann. edition never done anything to the car but normal maint. and on the odo is 228,988 miles and will still give camaros and mustangs a good run for there money
2007-04-14 16:40:01 · answer #7 · answered by bowhunter6778 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Last cougars are 2 door contours. Too much wiring trouble, and hard to find anyone to work on them.
2007-04-11 00:22:20 · answer #8 · answered by kayef57 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The old ones from the 60's and 70's were built on Mustang platforms. After that they were built on Thunderbird platforms. The latest version was much smaller and wasn't as popular.
2007-04-10 14:15:26 · answer #9 · answered by maxinebootie 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I don't think so.These cars from skoda are so good: 1.Skoda Octavia 2.Skoda Superb 3.Skoda Laura
2016-05-17 06:41:30 · answer #10 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋