second hand cars

Like the rude awakenings that often follow love at first sight, the visual fantasy of an automobile doesn’t always square with the physical realities of living with it. Our long-term Mercury Cougar V-6 is a case in point. We were seduced the first time we saw it as the MC2 concept (C/D, September 1997), and we freely admitted we’d been "smitten by its distinctive elegance." And throughout an extraordinarily long time with us — 18 months–we never tired of its daring good looks. Nor, for that matter, did passersby. Although the Cougar was no longer a novelty when the odometer finally ticked past 40,000 miles, from beginning to end the logbook was full of notes reporting covetous stares, particularly from young women. Darrell Behmer’s radical design is wearing well. This is arguably the coolest ride to wear Mercury badges since the division was established back in 1938, and its CDW27 underpinnings (the Ford Mondeo and Contour and the Mercury Mystique) help to give it a level of agility that’s commensurate with its aggressive good looks.

But (here comes the pain-in-the-butt asterisk) this beauty had a personality trait that made it a not-so-pleasant traveling companion, particularly on long trips. From day one (with 242 miles on the clock), the logbook began collecting uncomplimentary observations concerning the driver’s seat.

380 miles: "Haven’t gotten comfy in the seat in 42 miles."

519 miles: "Even with the lumbar in the flattest setting, there is this big beast poking my back."

818 miles: "Seat bottom is concave, leaving a gap at butt level with the seatback."

3500 miles: "A curse on the moron who designed the lumbar setup for the driver’s seat."

There was more of this — much more, and more caustic. And the net result was that the Cougar became a sort of pariah. With the exception of Uncle Fred Gregory, who likes a lot of extra lumbar support, no one wanted to drive it on long trips, and so it languished at times, falling steadily behind schedule in mileage accumulation. We’ve heard the $895 leather seats are better padded, so that might be money well spent.

One other persistent complaint showed up in the Cougar’s logbook. The 2.5-liter Duratec V-6 engine, an otherwise spirited performer, invariably required a few seconds to idle down at stoplights, a trait we’ve observed in other encounters with this engine since its 1995 introduction. Keeping the engine turning at 2000 to 3000 rpm for a few seconds when the car comes to a halt undoubtedly takes care of any unburned hydrocarbon problems, but it’s distinctly annoying, and we note that other manufacturers manage to meet emissions standards without this technique.

Aside from these two drawbacks, the Cougar got good reviews from its tenants. The car logged respectable 0-to-60-mph runs of 7.7 seconds at the beginning and conclusion of its 40,000-mile run. In the final test session, top-gear acceleration improved about one second from both 30 to 50 and 50 to 70 mph.

The car was also consistent in braking performance–188 feet from 70 mph when new, 186 feet with 40,000 miles on the clock, with fade ratings falling between "moderate" when new and "light" at the end of the test. Our Cougar was equipped with ABS, and if we’ve seen better stopping distances in this class of car, we’ve also seen considerably worse. Skidpad performance slipped from 0.85 g when new to 0.83, an acceptable index of tire wear.

Shift quality of the five-speed manual gearbox drew mixed reviews, some calling it "notchy," others finding it to be at least average. Comments about handling were varied, too, although most found the Cougar acceptable as a small sporty hatchback.

The only control component that came in for consistent carping had nothing to do with vehicle dynamics. Seems the radio’s volume knob took numerous turns to achieve any really audible change. The only other design shortfall to be noted was more serious: the teardrop shape of the side mirrors complements the Cougar’s cheeky styling but detracts from their usefulness as mirrors.

Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/00q2/1999_mercury_cougar-long-term_road_test