Flashy exterior, I find the interior comfortable and I'm 6 feet tall. Good pickup, handles well, even in snow. the paint seems to last pretty well and maintains good colour ( even in snow and salt). It handles well on corners and gives you a good feeling of the road.

Maintenace probs. suspension and tire systems seem weak as well as small peices like the hood latch. my trunk doesn't always open properly with the keyless entry system. Gas mileage isn't very good but I do have the V6. I'm worried about the electrical system failing and the strange front end noise.

I've been reading alot of the reviews that are here on Mercury Cougars and I am interested to hear that alot of people are having the same problems that I am having with my baby. I love my car alot but it really hasn't been the most reliable. I read that someones fan only works on speed 4. As for that problem, your dealership is trying to screw you because all it takes to fix it is a 10$ part. I bought it and installed it myself and my fan works good as new. My cars coolant light also goes on when it's on a hill but doesn't seem to mean much. I have replaced my breaks( routers all round and pads) plus fixed pieces of my suspension. Now i have a strange rubbing sound coming from the front end that causes some vibration. Any ideas? I replaced my CD changer so i have no qualms there. My hood latch was also broken but i finally had it fixed properly after arguing with my dealership. AS for handleing in the snow/rain. I live in Ottawa Ontario in Canada and I honestly have to say that for a car of its class ( i have the manual V6) it handles like a dream in the bad conditions and I don't even have snow tires (yet). I've had to replace two out of four tires but hey, they're low profile and 5 years old. I'm concerned because my car seems to drop out of alignment frequently..does anybody else have that problem?? All in all i love my car but i'm considering selling her because of maintenance costs. it's too bad. The cars are flashy and if only Ford had put a little bit more effort into the peices they could have been a big hit! I've heard that Cougars have bad electrical systems and I am interested to know if anyone has heard anything about this.

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1999 ford taurus

The look, the drive, the stock sound system.

200hp would be nice in the car, a little bumpy on the roads, but no major complaints.

I am the proud owner of a 2001 Mercury Cougar V6. It is top of the line, with the exception of no leather. So..I have had this car since May of 2002. I am now approaching the 47,000km mark. I purchased the car with 13,000km. So far, I have only taken this vehicle in for oil changes. That's it! The paint and body is like brand new. Everything is in working order. No alarms, no lights coming on...nothing. Im waiting for all of this to happen after reading all these reviews. I treat this car like a gem. It gets nothing but the best treatment from me, and gives me absolutely no problems in return. I am slo always happy with the service I recieve from my local Ford dealer when it's in for oil changes.

It looks great, runs great, handles awesomely and is a pleasure to drive. Gets good gas mileage and in 4+ years, I haven't had any major issues with it.

The blind spots are scary, and the side mirrors are too small. The dash layout could be a little more ergonomic.

I really love this car. I bought it brand new from the dealership and haven't had any major issues with it. After 4 yrs, the brakes are still good and I just replaced the battery a few months ago. The tires need replacing now, but it does have 50,000 miles on it and it's been over 4 years. The moon roof got stuck open last year. Even though the dealership had the moon roof installed, it was done by an aftermarket shop, so I can't lay complete blame on Mercury. I have the 5 yr extended warranty, so it was all covered. They even reiumbursed me for a rental car while I waited for the moon roof to be repaired. It did do some goofy stuff where it would just sorta.. shut off I guess.. but only if specific criteria were met: Car had to be in neutral, going approximately 45 mph, and on the brakes, not too hard, and it would just die - not shudder or anything, just everything would shut down. Popping the clutch would bring it back, or just restarting it, but the dealership is at a loss, and I think they think I'm making it up, or stalling it. It hasn't done it in about a year though. I had it in Denver for a year & it was horrible in the snow. I didn't have snow tires on though, I had the same tires I bought it in Florida with. I drove it out to Denver with no problems & drove it up to Virginia from Florida about 4 times now with no problems and excellent gas mileage. I get about 32-37 mpg on the highway and driving back and forth to work I get anywhere between 29-31 mpg. The cup holders are fine. If I put a larger water bottle in the littlier cup holder, and then pull it out, it pops out the entire plastic piece with the bottle. It easily pops back into place, though. The bigger cup holder accomodates my bigger water bottles just fine. I'm not a fast food/convenience store junky, so I don't know about the big soft drink cups. I have the dark grey/light grey interior & the seats do show stains easily, but they clean easily as well. I love how the seats hug ya and hold you into place. The trunk space is huge and perfect for trips to the beach and moving out west and then moving back east again. The back seats are perfect for someone my size, but my tall friends kinda have to squish down to not hit their heads on the rear window. The blind spots are horrific. And the side mirrors are too small. It's still easier to see out of than the newer Camaros, but I am looking into replacing the mirrors to something a little larger or at least add those little circle mirrors to increase visibility. The paint seems to chip easily, but the body is sturdy and fairly dent resistant. I have had it over 4 years, and there are a few nicks in the paint from the road trips I've taken. The paint is still super glossy though, but it is garage kept and washed & waxed regularly. I haven't had to replace any of the parts other users have had to - still have the original brakes, rotors, O2 sensors, alternator, etc. I've only replaced the battery.. and the old one I think was fine, it was just starting up kinda weak at times, so I figured better to be safe than stranded!! I'm disappointed that they've discontinued the car. With a few minor improvements, I think it would be a great car and I definitely would have purchased a new one. Every new car seems to be an electrical nightmare at some point. They're just not engineered to last. And every type of car has its weak points. I think the ones pointed out for the Cougar really aren't that bad. My sister's Pontiac Grand Am had to have the water pump replaced every year for the first 3 years she owned it and also had a blown head gasket after 5 years. Silicone applied to the weather stripping as part of regular maintenance seems to be keeping it soft, supple and leak free. I've had no leaks around the window or moon roof weather stripping, and I live in Florida. There are also no cracks in the dash like some of my other cars I've had here. I grew up with old muscle cars, my father's a mechanic, so perhaps he instilled in me a sense of maintaining a car to last. Having to perform regular maintanence on the car doesn't signal to me that something's wrong with the car itself. While it seems some people have had genuine issues with their cars, it sounds more like a problem with their dealership or mechanic being able to properly diagnose and fix the issue.

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old muscle cars, 86 mustang, 85 corvette, 00 accord, 04 mazda protege, 86 volvo

I love the shape of the car and the way it handles, and the "hugging" of the seats!

(Mentioned Above)And who the cup holder is in a bad spot for a 5 speed car!(I have gray seats, they show stains really bad.(They have been cleaned 2 times.)

I bought a 1999 cougar, and I've had to replace the compressor,motors for the electric windows,mirror sitch/motor,window switches,o2 sensors,a/c condenser,wiper switch,struts,hood cable, and 2 sets of tires, allignments, and the check engine light is STILL ON! Is any of this a recall item?? I'm going broke trying to keep it on the road.

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Only older cougars, no problems like this one.

Now, it's pretty. And since I have the spark plug wire fixed, the gas is much better

It's a lemon. I hate to say this, we should all get together and SUE!

The cougar sucks. I bought it in 2001. I only have 52,000 miles on it. Heres my list, 2 sets of new front tires, which can be found cheaper at "discount tire" store (in washington) 2 sets of front rotors and pads all around. Fuel system was replaced on the recall last spring (04) after 3 years of dying going uphill. Some funky noise in the front end when the car idles, could be a sensor, but I really don't know. Air/Heating only works on leval 4, dealer wants me to replace the whole thing. And now it has a hollow sounding "clunk" underneath the car when it is in reverse. I think it is a tie rod or a motor mount. The coolent light that comes on, also only happens when it is on a hill. If anybody has any info on other recall numbers that I could use at the dealer for these problem, it would be a great help. It's great in the rain, snow and ice. (washington state) Oh, yeah I almost forgot, a spark plug wire came loose and tanked my gas milage. Dealer charged me over a hundred dollars to diagnose a tune up. (they didn't tell me about the wire) had my brother look at the spark plugs, they were triple diamond, that didn't need to be changed for a 100,000 miles! and they were clean!

Looks, I like the way takes the windy roads I drive, The dash and controls are all right at my hands.

Could have more power (but hey its not the v6), the trunk never opens with the button unless you hold it down, with an aftermarket radio its imposable to change a cd when in 3rd, pass. door doesn't seem to want to open from the inside, lock problems with the drivers door because there isn't lock covers on it so all the dirt goes in and prevents the key from working, the vent infront of the window never stays down in the corners.

OK, So I was looking for a new car for some time. My 1989 blazer figured it was a good time to pass on to blazer heaven. I had always loved sports car and was looking for a Eclipse when I can across my Cougar. I feel in love with the look, wasn't too happy it was a 5 spd ( I had to learn how to drive it). Within the 1st week I brought my car to be looked at by my mechanic and he told me I had major problems. The speed rating on the tires were different, it wasn't grounded, the control arm was about ready to fall off, along with other things. Within the first few months my car was in the shop more then on the road. Once it was all fixed I thought I had a great car, maybe I do. I have a hard time with the truck which isn't good when your arms are full of stuff. I had a hard time with the hood once, the cable snapped so I'm told. After that everything seems to be ok. DOES ANYONE IN NEW ENGLAND HAVE THIS CAR OUT IN THE SNOW? HOW DOES IT HANDLE? LET ME KNOW THANKS!!!

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1998 eclipse- good car.

It looks good. It's definately a head turned. It's also fast, and really easy to handle. My air condition and heater are great. I also love my cd player, and my leather seats.

Let's see. The tires are expensive. My trunk won't open with keyless entry. I've had my cougar for two and a half years and have had to replace the alternator twice, and the starter once. I've gotten in aligned three times. And have replaced the tires three times. My car eats tires!!! My air conditioner only works on level 4. Um...I've replaced the O2 sensor once, and the spark plugs once. Now there's something else wrong with it...but i'm not sure what. Also, my engine light just chooses to permanetly stay on.

Although my car has needed to be fixed numerous times...I love my car! It's fully loaded, alls I'm missing is the sun roof. I must say though, when I go to buy another car...i'm not getting another cougar.

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99 Chevy Cavalier...I loved it, I should have kept it.

Very sharp looking, even without added accessories. Nice trunk space considering the size of the car. Very fun to drive and has held it's own in NY's roughest winter months. The rear end slips around a bit on the ice, but throw some bricks in there and it should be fine.

Check engine lights going on for no reason. Cd player skips. Squeaky noise?

For the most part, I LOVE my Cougar! I got it as my first car when I was 16 - nearly 2 years ago with 15k miles on it. I now have almost 24k with no serious problems with it yet, which is surprising considering I'm a little bit of a crazy driver. Nonetheless, I get compliments on it all the time and my friends always want to drive with me. My complaints would have to be the check engine/coolant lights are always on for no apparent reason. Also, the car sometimes makes a squeaking noise as I turn it on. We had it checked out when we first got the car and they said they couldn't figure out the problem. However, the noise goes away after driving for a few minutes. Also, as others have pointed out, the car is rather slow from 0-30, but from 30+ it accelerates VERY nicely. Yes, the front cup-holder isn't so great and the bucket seats in the back are a little rough, but they are very minor details. Overall, I love my car and I hope it continues to make me happy!

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None.

I love the look of the car

Everything. The car is a ticking time bomb.

This car is the biggest piece of crap ever. After reading all of these posts I am even more aggravated! I am currently experiencing the lag problems indicated in the recall and Ford wont replace the fuel pump - They say I dont have a problem. Like many, I have replaced the o2 sensors twice, moon roof leaked when I first got it, then last october the moon roof broke (1600 to fix), alternator went after 18 months, low coolant sensor has been replaced twice. Now when lights go on I just restart the car to turn them off, at 49K my brakes have been replaced three times, I have had the engine revving problem that someone else mentioned, and the vent at the bottom of the windshield is popping out. Ford customer service SUCKS. No one will help me, they just read off of their little scripts, I treat this car just fine - I get all of the regular oil changes and work done - I am not hard on this car - I drive it to and from the train station everyday - Not far at all. This is also the third recall I have had on this piece of crap. Now I am going to have the weatherstripping around the windows replaced because they are leaking. Nice. I will never, and I repeat, never buy another ford product as long as I live.

Looks

Everything else.

I was never so disappointed with a car in my life. Yes, it's pretty to look and and fun to drive..but the problems are never ending. I hadn't had it a month when the "dummy alarm" went off on it's own and couldn't be disabled. It finally quit on it's own. But this has happened several times since then and we finally had to pull the fuse, otherwise it just beeps and blinks endlessly. Now I can no longer use my power locks because of it. Get it fixed? HA! No one knows why it's doing it let alone how to fix it! Then there are the lights that are always coming on...engine, airbag, alternator, you name it. Keyless entry into the trunk has never worked properly. I live in the snowbelt and this car is the worst! We had to buy all new rims and tires so that it could be driven in the winter. My moon roof broke and will cost almost $1000.00 to fix it. Leather seats wear poorly, Blind spots galore, cup holder holds nothing. We have always been faithful with all maintenance yet with this vehicle we've got nothing to show for it. And don't bother calling the manufacturers. You'll get further by banging your head against the hood of this car. Think twice...3 , 4, 5 times before buying this car!

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Saturn 2dr coupe...wish I still had it.