Excellant looking car considered Eclipse but it is a copycat of Cougar. This car has allot of potential. In the coming years (word of the demise of the Cougar is wrong) the Cougar will be greatly changed in performance with the 'Eliminator'(220+hp) and 'S'(200hp) versions as well as others which are coming out now. Paxton has the supercharger for it as well as another company, which this car needs and that's more air volume. Takes the car a little bit to inhale and catch up. I had to test top end and according to speedo achieved 147mph, I know only one other person who has one higher (that I can verify).
Women love it and the stereo is very good for the money. I constantly hear remarks on the good lines and looks it has.

Buying too early and missing the 'S' (2001) version although will wait and trade in for the 'Eliminator' (2002). Hatchback spring had to be adjusted with stronger spring. A/C had to be purged for air in system, however that could be due to body shop working on wrecked front end (my fault involving Christmas Eve and 90 degree curve.) No charge for either. I've heard a few horror stories but nothing that I've never heard before since I started in cars. The Cougar is a platform car and will have some bugs before they get it right. I've been fortunate I guess in I have a Tuesday-Thursday built car and the assembly of it paid more attention to. The local dealer has been very well to work with.

I would recommend it however could use some tweaks, which will come further down the line with time and refinement. Cars in the past have started out similiar and ended up with fantastic results. Sales figures are down due to other new models coming out take the opportunity to get a good deal on one. This prompts the manufacturer to increase the performance on coming models. The Contour (which the Cougar shares evrything but the body) is being tested currently with the performance enhancements the Cougar will get. I will be hanging onto mine until the pumped version arrives.
If your looking for pure performance wait for the 'S' or later the 'Eliminator' or elsewhere, if your looking for design, ride and handling with a little power buy now.

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Mits Eclipse lawnmower,Toy Celica no low end, Pontiac GT great old car but gone, Pontiac Grand Prix nice car but allot of problems with computers blowing up ($$$$) spent on this lemon(has more power but is too damn expensive for just that). Mustangs are IMHO generic, boring,& everyone has one, no thrill. Cobras excellant but again pricey and the insurance is unholy.

Love the styling and the way it handles. Feels sort of heavy, but it can certainly grip the roads pretty well. V6 engine provides plenty of power when matched with a manual transmission. The automatic is as slow as they come.

Needs more torque. Do not attempt to pass in 5th gear, you won't advance much. The manual transmission could use a little improvement, but compared to other American cars, this transmission feels Honda-like.

Best bang for the buck with this car. Sunroof, leather, ABS, traction control, nice stereo for $20,000. Not a bad deal. Not too many cars handle and behave this well for that sticker price. The Prelude and Celica handle just as well if not a tad better, but they're well over $20,000. The car is not a drag racer, but certainly has nice power as long as you keep it revved above 3K rpm's, it will certainly go toe-to-toe againts a Prelude SH. I would recommend buying the MTX, not the automatic; try driving the automatic with the A/c on and you'll see how slow a V6 can be. I have raced my friend's Miata and have been able to beat him continuesly and decisively on the straight-aways. = )

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I like the body style alot

I have a 1996 Cougar Special edition V8, but I've test driven two new cougars, both with the larger engine, let me say , they sucked in comparison to mine. They had decent pickup and very little interior room. For being so much smaller than my 96 they didn't handle curves or high speeds nearly as well as advertised. While driving one of the 99 cougars I
decided to see what it would do next to a 99 Civic , I was embarressed for the cougar name. Even a civic easily stayed ahead of me.

I would like to see atleast $2000 taken off

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Not near as well as my 96 Cougar

Well built, solid handling and good road manners, good engineering and a superb driver oriented interior design, quality materials, striking body design, practical cargo area........

I have the 4 cyl engine, it gets great mileage but it could use about a 10%power increase, plus the 5th gear is a big overdrive in order to have good economy, but it doesnt provide any high gear power. This engine needs a good close ratio 5 speed.......that would really suit the revvy power curve of this motor better...........The big weakness is the dealer network, I talked to about 10 different dealerships, and all but two were utterly useless........I just hope their service dept are better than the sales staff that I encountered.

Overall I am very happy with this car, I looked a lot of cars and for the money (got mine $3,500 off sticker) no other car came close. It was equipped better and drove like a sports car, plus its VERY well made, can run on a equal footing with imports, its amazing how the quality has improved over the years with US built models.......The 4 cyl could use more ummph but if you really need more then get the 6 cyl, otherwise the 4cyl still does OK while providing excellent mileage. I reccomend the 5 spd. The auto trans does not suit the sporting character of this car..............

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240sx Nissan, BMW 323i

*Styling
*Zippy, fuel-efficient 2.0 Zetec
*Long list of standard features

*Rear visibility

My '99 Cougar is the ultimate combination of looks, standard equipment, options, speed, fuel efficiency, American quality, and Ford value. It just rolled over 13,000 miles after a little over a year, and has been completely problem-free. The handling is tight, manual gearing is awesome, and it loves to be driven! People still look twice at this bad cat!

Sticker price was around $17,000, but since I bought it toward the end of the model year, it ended up being under $15,000. The only options I got were in-dash CD and spoiler, and they were both a good value. MPG have been consistently over 20 even in the city, and insurance is reasonable.

After driving the V6 and the I4, I found both to be more than adequate when coupled with the manual, but the auto should be avoided. I chose the 4 because of overall value (including mileage and insurance), and it hasn't let me down. As far as modifications, a K&N Air Filter is a great idea.
It's a shame Mercury plans to discontinue this gorgeous and reliable car within the next few years. The Cougar is a great idea for young, financially conscious people who still want a great ride, so do yourself a favor, and get one while you can!

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Ford Mustang -- Cougar is much less generic!
Mitsubishi Eclipse -- no contest, Cougar is better
Honda Prelude -- a fair fight
Chevy Cavalier -- ha ha

Excellent steering feel, strong and controllable brakes. A very solid driver's car. The ride is firm but not harsh. Good power at high speed.
Surprising amount of trunk space even without folding the rear seats. Will hold really big stuff with the seats folded.

Rear vision is poor making it hard to change lanes on highways. Engine only has power above 4000 RPM. Relatively noisy inside.

$18500 (Manual transmission, sport package)
This car has to be driven. If you like it's characteristics, then it's a winner. It probably doesn't appeal to everyone.

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Goes like a BMW 323 (but not nearly as refined)

The biggest strength of this car is its styling. It definitly has a Euro look to it.

The autmatic tranny is not the best. Should of gotten the MTX.

$19,000.

This car is a great car so far. The looks are great. The power is moderate. The interior is nice as well. A few cheap plastic parts on the dash but that's about it.

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It looks great, it drives great, what can I say, so far, we love everything about it. We have the automatic and I don't notice any drag, I mean how fast do you need to go, unless you are racing, which is illegal.

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We paid $15,300 a year used. It is in wonderful shape and I would recommend this vehicle to anyone who wants a sporty car without the sporty insurance premiums. For the price we paid we got great features: the sport and comfort packages. The side mirrors are heated and they have auto controls. This is a lot of car for a small price.

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1994 Eagle Talon ESI: the Talon was a manual and the Cougar we have is a automatic, but we definitely prefer the Cougar, it so much roomier and a better ride.

Sporty look.
Great price.
Fun to drive.
Great handling.
Large amount of trunk space.
Pleasing interior.
Many aftermarket tunning products.

Seats sit to high for me.
Stereo is marginal at best.

Sticker $20,070.


Great looks and a very attractive price grabbed my attention when I first saw a Mercury Cougar at my local Mercury dealer. The great handling and the fun to drive five-speed transmission convinced me that this should be my next car. I was impressed with the amount of room in the trunk for this small of a car. The interior was well laid out and very pleasing to the eye. For all of you that like to modify your cars, there is a plethora of tuning products out for this car to make it look and run even better. Tuning companies are release new performance products for this car monthly.

There were only a few minor things that I did not like about the car. I am a tall person, six feet two inches to be exact, and I found the driver’s seat to sit a little to high. If I lowered it to the lowest setting I found that it was not that comfortable for long trips. The stereo was very noisy and had poor sound quality even at lower volumes. I was disappointed the most with this feature.

I would recommend this vehicle for anyone that is looking for a performance car and does not want to spend a lot of money. Get the manual transmission model if possible, it is much faster than the automatic transmission model. The sports package is a must as well.

I would not recommend it to anyone who is looking for a luxury car ride and/or feel. The ride is a little stiff and bumpy. The price you have to pay for good cornering in lower priced cars like the Cougar. The interior is noisier than a luxury car would be as well.

All in all I am very please with my 2000 Mercury Cougar. Over the next few years, I plan on upgrading the stereo and increasing the performance of the car. I can not wait to get started.

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I have never owned a car similar to this.

There is lots of room.
The sound system is nice.
The car feels quite sporty.
Reliable so far (have had it for about 4000 miles).
Great price. Great Handling. Great looks.
Everything in general about this car is nice. Not amazing, not great, but very nice. Scale of 1 to 10, a 7
Excellent power at higher speed (great than 60 mph)
Passes fast, and very confident road feel.
Something unique on the road.

The freakin automatic sucks soooo bad. IF you want this car DO NOT buy the automatic. It lags and it can't shift for the life of drag racing. Everything about this car is great except the tranny. GOD damn do I wish I had gotten the manual. The auto turns it into a slug.
There is some sort of rattling in the dash. I think it's just a loose wire and hasen't actually caused any problems.
The freaking transmission is cutting out on me and I swear it takes at least a second for the gas to respond to me flooring it (did I mention how badly I wish I had gotten the manual).

Good price and looks good. Automatic sucks. Check it out if your thinking of a sports car around 20K.

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nothing really