The sporty look along with the numerous amounts of safety features are a big plus. The sport coupe is loaded with many options and plenty of room to play. The Cougars also hold their value well.

The only weakness that I have had is with the CD player. The 6-disc player does not recognize the burnt CD's and when ejecting the CD it gets stuck...big pain!

I have owned my car for less than a month and already love it!! I don't love the payment, but thats another story...
The Cougar handles well on the road and is very sporty, but classic at the same time. I think that if you are searching for the right car for you, this is it!

Looks, engine (V6 manuel trans), 6disc cd player, power group, and sports group offer good things in the interior, i like the 16inch wheels, but want the 17, but that will be easily cured when i buy new wheels..

sound system, wheels

so far so good,, I almost get as many rubber necks as I do when I drive my Jeep Cj ( a jeep thing) but this Black Cougar is the next best thing, and I love driving my cat, and with the 5 speed, it is just getting better, I just hope I don't have any problems( but I do hear a little chirp in the right rear speaker when I have the radio playing, but I plan on putting in my own complete audio system in my self)

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i had a 92 eclipse,( sucked ass ) was looking at a 2001 eclipse spider gt, and toyota cilica gt,, but i bought the Big phat Cat!!!

What can I say....the head turning shape and color of my zinc yellow limited edition cat. Hugs the curvy roads in W.V. like a dream. Good gas mileage, and good power for a V-6.

Well, first off, I bought this particular car because it is " a limited edition". Mercury claims to have only manufatured 500 zinc yellow cougars in 2000. Well, guess what..... they have brought the zinc yellow paint back in 2002 models which they also claim to be "limited edition". Now that I have that off my chest I'll get to the other stuff... 1. This winter I was leaving work, and as I was pulling out on to the highway my breaks went out. I took it to the dealer and was told "you are just not used to the breaks yet". "Take it out on a patch of ice and stomp the breaks, so you can get a feel for them". Umm I think not. The problem persisted and no answer has been provided as to why to this date. (I noticed that some people said they had a recall on their brakes, but I haven't received one) 2. My airbag light comes on and flashes, and won't go off. Of course this never happens when I take it to the shop. So I get another smart ass answer.... "Maybe you could make it flash for us". Well, if I knew how to make it flash, I could make it stop. Couldn't I ? 3. There is a "cracking" noise somewhere around my dash whenever I hit a bump. (I havent had this checked out yet, but I can't wait to hear another good explanation). 4. Whenever I turn my defroster on, my radio stops working. (Haven't had this checked either).

Overall, I really like my cougar. I am really disappointed to find out that the zinc yellow is coming back in 02, ...but such is life. I wish my local service department would work with me a little more, and I would probably like my car even more. Any tips out there, let me know.

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Haven't really tried out anything similar.

Did trade in a Ford Zx2, which I loved.....OOps

The car handles great and looks sleek. I've seen more people notice the car and ask me about it. I love the driver seat with the lumbar support. It's great for long drives.

I have had so many problems I don't know where to begin. The day I bought it I discovered that the CD Changer didn't work. I've had that replaced as well as the speakers and radio because depending on what bumps you hit in the road the speakers come in and out. I have recently discovered that without the key in the ignition, the radio will still turn on and off. I had to have the transmission replaced at 24,000 miles. The display light in the dashboard went out. There have been 3 recalls on the car to date and was told when the third recall was fixed that there is fixing to be a fourth which may have something to do with the ignition switch. (I was told that this may be the reason why the radio turns on and off.) The dealer has driven this car more than I have in the time that I've had it. The service from the dealer has been extraordinary though so I cna't complain. Please e-mail me if you are having similar problems.

This car is exceptional when it's running right. I have no complaints other than I wish I would stop having problems. I love the way it drives and handles and just the look of it.

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Great handling, this car sticks to the ground like glue! I love its sleek look. The front seats cradle you in, you feel wraped up. HUGE trunk space. Very quite inside. IT's a great car so far!

Slow off the line, brakes are working, but while driving to Las Vegas from Cali, I had to slam on the brakes and the rotors warped, my machanic said there was a factory recall on them and I should take them to the dealership. (gonna do that this week) Also the trunk release SUCKS, and the passanger power window stopped working, it works when it wants to.

Even with all its little problems, I LOVE MY COUGAR, It gets looked at twice everywhere, its pretty fast as soon as you get it outta 1st gear. The gas mileage is good, I drove 6hrs and didn't need to fill up yet. still had a quarter tank left. I have the 4cly 5 speed. Its fully loaded, the back seats are kind small, but not like i'm sitting back there. I totally would tell anyone to try this car, its a A+ in my book.
If you wants a small car with some power this is the best, I'm 21 and wanted a good looking car as well as a good price.

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good looks
great brakes
great handling
great trunk space
good fuel economy
good stereo

poor side and back visibility
auto transmission a little slow
some parts of the car seem pretty cheap (in a bad way...)
brakes squeak sometimes

I've had my C2 Cougar for about 2 months, and I love it so far. I've always been a big Mustang fan and had planned on buying one - until I test-drove the GT. It has a lot of power, but that's about it. The Cougar will out handle and out brake the 'Stangs any day. When we saw the C2 at the dealership, my wife and I both fell in love with it (black, cool spoiler, 16" wheels with black center caps, aluminum pedals, blue gauges and stereo faceplate, black leather with blue Cougar embroidered on them.) It's very comfortable to drive, with a tight suspension. Handles well at highway speed. It doesn't have a lot of power off the line if you stomp the pedal (we bought the manual tranny), but with a little finesse on the pedal you can get it to perform a little better than if you just stomped it to the floor. In any case, once it gets going it has good passing speed, it's very stable and responsive, and the 4-wheel disc brakes are awesome. The trunk space is great - I fold the rear seats down and throw my mountain bike in there with no problem. The back seats are small but comfy - my 6'2 co-worker sits back there without complaining too much...

Some drawbacks - the C2 spoiler makes it tough to see out the rear, and you really have to check your blind spots, but I would think most sports cars would have similar problems. The brakes squeal sometimes - maybe when they're wet? Seems kind of random. The center console is wobbly. The anchors for the front seatbelts seem kind of half-assed, but I guess that's better than whole-assed. As long as they hold, I'm happy. The seals on the doors are kind of funky and don't re-seat themselves properly after closing the door. The weatherstripping around the headlights is cheesy; looks like they'll let water in. There are a couple of plastic bits on the outside of the car that are pretty cheap and flimsy.
Overall, I love the Cougar - you don't see a lot of them on the road like you do Mustangs, so that makes them unique and it turns some heads. And they don't look like Matchbox cars like the new Celicas...

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Test drove Mustangs (GT and 6-cyl.) before deciding on Cougar -- not as much power as the GT, but out-handles and out-brakes both. Also more comfortable to drive.

Beautiful looking coupe with strong grip and exceptional handling, especially the sharp turn-in. Good performance from manual V6 and reasonable fuel economy if driven sensibly.Very quiet and stable at high speeds. Progressive brakes and supple ride.

I am the same guy who had an automatic Cougar in an earlier review but has since updated it for a manual, as Ford have stopped importing the Cougar into the UK as of last December. Would you believe that after having to have the auto box replaced in my previous car at 6,200 miles, as I drove home from the garage forecourt with just 12 miles on the clock, the first time I engaged fifth gear it jumped out. And again, and again. I went straight back to the dealership, rejected the car and got my previous Cougar back. A new gearbox was fitted to my new car and after much haggling with Ford customer Assistance in Glasgow, Scotland, I got a further U$2,500 off of the car. Seems fine now.
I might add that new Cougars had already been discounted by nearly U$8,500 (X pack with sunroofs)It only cost me U$1,500 to change cars in the end.
There is no doubt that the manual Cougar is a far better car if you want performance. The automatic was fine for wafting about, but the manual is so much faster! The gearing in the manual is rather short and I often find myself skipping gears ie going from second to fourth, of third to fifth. The car really needs a six speed gearbox with an overdrive top gear.

Apart from the gearbox problems with both of my Cougars, they haven't given me any other grief. Considering my experience with both cars, I am surprised that no other contributors have had any transmission problems. Can lightning really strike twice in the same place?

Ford said that they were not going to bring the new Cougar to the UK. However there are actually 440 silver headlight/white dial versions in the country. I saw two at the dealership I bought my car from two weeks ago (14th march 2001)The dealership wouldn't (or couldn't) sell me one. So it's a mystery what is going to happen to those relatively few cars.

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Cougar automatic 24v x model year 2000, delivered 27th March 2000

great handling
great looking car interior and exterior
excellent breaking point
smooth ride even at 130mph

rear visibility
lack of hp (170)

I have had my Cougar for two years now and have had no problems at all with the car. I haven't tired with it and it still draws a lot of attention(if you care about that; I don't really , but it does catch peoples eyes).
I take it on roads with brutal curves and the car just grips the road like it's connected to it. I didn't think I would have kept this car as long as I have, but I have really have had alot of fun with it. I can't wait to test out the cougar "s" with 200hp.

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volkwagon jetta, bmw 318, volkswagon passat
handles as well as all of them , more "fun" to drive than the volkwagons (which I love)

Good gas mileage.
Sporty look.
Cust Svc depts that will fix everything and admit nothing

After applying brakes at approx. 20mph, I felt a vibration under my feet and the wheel locked up (@ 2000 miles). I took the car in for servicing and they said nothing was wrong. It did it a second time. I took the car back. Nothing was wrong (so they said), but they replaced the brakes. At 6000 miles, it started doing it again, nothing was wrong, but they replaced the brakes. After 4 sets of brakes, and a $24,000 wreck I checked the Nat'l Highway Traffic & Safety website, I found out their was a recall on brakes because a pressure valve-the recall in 2000.

The door speakers go in and out. However, nothing is ever wrong.

Cust svc has always done everything possible to satisfy me except give me another car or take in consideration my safety and everyone on the roads around me. I drive long-distance a lot, so I probably pay more attn to my veh. maintenance than most people. Everyone I've talked to in svc depts, other cities, etc. have only encountered one or two of the problems I experienced. MAYBE I GOT A LEMON??@##!!??

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I wish I bought the 1999 Honda Accord I test drove.

The car has good speed quality and handles very well on winding roads in the mountains.

Trunk release does not open the trunk. Bad Spring.
gas petal vibrates sometimes on and off giving my foot an unwanted massage.Dealership says nothings wrong.
I had a very scary rattle in the dash (Benzel peice) surrounding the a/c knob and defrost buttons. The dealership had to install felt stripping underneath that particular piece to eliminate the crackling noise, which took me a couple of trips, turning back around and saying "you didn't fix it"! That situation almost drove me to a hard liquor binge.
The digital readings for gas mileage is sometimes incorrect. It sticks on the same amount of miles for about 30 miles or so, then pops down to the mileage it's supposed to be at. If I put gas in the car, sometimes the digital reading stays where it was for a couple of days then wakes up and goes up to where it belongs.

I'm not really too impressed with my cougar. I've always been very faithful with the oil changes, etc... So only time will tell, but hopefully much later rather than sooner.

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