Mercury Mountaineer

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.11 of 5, 9.00 votes

Price Paid:  $28000.00 from Autoway lincoln Merc

Year / Model Reviewed:
2005 Mercury/Mountaineer

Strengths:
Styling, gadgets, comfortable interior, powerful (V8)

Weaknesses:
Poor interior fit. Many rattles & squeeks.

Summary:
Lured by the "Family Price", looks (all black) and gadgets (sat radio, auto this and that, etc.), and an attempt to buy American I traded my 2003 Nissan Pathfinder for a Mountaineer Premier. Big mistake. This heap is riddled with rattles and squeaks and they are iincreasing almost daily. Took it back to the dealer to fix a particularly annoying one but there are too many to tackle and I know it will be a losing battle to correct. I feel that this situation is indicative of American auto manufacturers poor guality and does not bode well in their efforts to regain market share. Never again!

Price Paid:  $33000.00 from Germain Lincoln Merc

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 Mountaineer Luxury Pkg

Strengths:
Enterior and Interior finish. Handling, cornering, acceleration,and down right goor looks.

Weaknesses:
Seating adjustments were a little too weak, Would have appreciated if the seating would have been more adjustable. what saved me was the fact that the pedals were all adjustable. Never thought that would have made a difference. But. I still sat way too high for my liking.

Summary:
Well folks.......I did it last night. I left a deposit on the 2004 Mountaineer, after taking a test drive. Loved the way it handled, and accelerated. The exterior "fit and finish" was terrific, so was the interior. I opted for the burl wood interior that totally made the interior look like a super luxury SUV. Orderd this one with the AWD & V8. Couldn't believe how many options were standard on this vehicle. The bootm line was the 0% financing for 5 years, along with the various other incentives that Mercury offered. And to think i was jsut about to buy the new SRX from Cadillac.

Similar Products Used:
Mercedes Benz "M" series SUV. Ford Bronco

Price Paid:  $28000.00 from Mitchel Mazda Lincol

Strengths:
Effortless steering! Tires run great in heavy rain. V8 power. Dual-zone air-conditioning, power leather seats w/memory, power adjustable pedals w/memory, premium sound w/in-dash 6 CD (good bass), third row seating (and access), and steering wheel buttons for air/sound/cruise. Passengers love the rear overhead A/C controls. The V8 has plenty of power for hills and passing. Auto-dimming mirror is great. Wife loves the handy entry assist handle and running boards to get in! I also like the larger rear-hatch window, which we use more than the lift-gate.

Weaknesses:
Only one major one, really, although not unexpected: the V8's gas mileage. Averaging 15.8-18.8. Expected a little better since I don't consider myself heavy footed on the gas. Transmission clunks when putting it in gear, but the book warns you about that (learning mode). Brake pedal is a little spongy, although braking is good. I wish the antenna was power so I wouldn't have to remove it at automatic car washes. Also, it puzzles me why we are charged $60 extra for the roof rack cross members. Why would you have just the roof rack rails w/o the cross members anyway?

Summary:
I bought the Luxury Pkg and I am really enjoying it! Third vehicle I bought from this dealer, plus rebates, got me a great price. Had a tough time choosing between the Explorer Eddie Bauer and Mountaineer. But, the styling and third-row seating helped sway me. To me, the styling is better, more refined, than the Explorer. Fit and finish are outstanding. It is fairly quiet, with little wind or engine noise (except while accelerating). The V8 has plenty of power for hills and passing. Visibility is excellent forward, but when backing up it is harder to see. I've had no reliability problems although I have put only 2500 miles on it so far. I really like the dual-zone A/C, since I like it cooler than my wife, when I'm driving. It drives really well, and the new suspension is very smooth. Much better than the older Explorers and Mountaineers. Braking is good, and you don't get that feeling that it's hard to stop, but the pedal is a little spongy. OK, as a pilot, I really like the message center, which gives me gas mileage, miles to empty, trip OD, systems status (fuel, low fuel warning, oil pressure, oil change due warning, electrical, engine temperature), and has a compass! Very comfortable 2nd row seating. Your family will love you for driving them it!

Similar Products Used:
'98 Explorer Eddie Bauer, '01 Mazda Tribute (I enjoyed the Tribute, but found the cargo space was too small, and it was noisy).

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $30050.00 from leith mercury

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 mountaineer premier

Strengths:
towing, power, appointments,

Weaknesses:
gas guzzler and now expensive brake work!

Summary:
pretty good. the tires lasted to 45000 miles. when i went to replace i asked that the brakes be inspected. i walked out w an additional $630 taken from my wallet. seems they say all four rotors had to be replaced, cld not be turened down. this was explained as they have gone european style, softer rotors for better braking. anybody agree no way to re use rotors for this or maybe also on eddie bauer explorer?

Similar Products Used:
ford explorer XLS, Ford taurus

Price Paid:  $31000.00 from Springfield Lincoln

Strengths:
Wife loves the keyless (Keypad) entry - to the point where she will now only consider another vehicle if it has that option. We tow a boat and this does a better job of towing than the '97 Explorer (V-6) or the '97 Mountaineer (V-8) that we previously owned...the stability is much better and the rear-end doesn't sag while towing like the other SUVs did. The redesigned suspension handles the bumps pretty well...it's not as 'jiggley' as it's predecessors. She likes the exterior looks and the center console/storage compartments.

Weaknesses:
Transmission - we've had it serviced several times now - shifts very rough at times, especially under load (towing or going uphill). Noisy engine, noisy ride in the cabin. Some instrument panel items aren't well lit or are not lit at all. I hate the wiper blade lever - especially for the rear window - very awkward to get to. 3rd Seat does not lay flat - causing cargo area to be sloped toward the rear hatch - items tend to fall over or slide toward the hatch. Gas mileage is not that great, but it's a heavy vehicle. We average around 16-17 MPG of combined driving.

Summary:
We have the 4.0L SOHC V-6. This is my wife's primary vehicle and she would be writing a very different review. She tells me that she 'Loves" this SUV, but I can't understand why. If she were rating it, she would give it a 4.0/5.0 - I'm not that generous. It's a descent SUV but I have wished that we opted for something different almost since the day we picked it up.

Similar Products Used:
1997 Ford Explorer V-6 (not the SOHC version) and 1997 Mercury Mountaineer V-8