It starts when I turn the key.

Inexuseably poor construction.

Could this perhaps be the worst car ever built? Never before have I seen such a poorly made vehicle. In it''s short life since going on market, has amassed an impressive 70+ sevice bullitins (things they only fix free if you complain about them) and 5 (so far) recalls. Here is a short list of the things fixed (for free) in the last year. The burning,smoking wire harness in the dash. The wiper switch. The shift leaver bezel. Rear brake compononts. and the heater fan switch. There are others I cannot recall (pun intended) at this time. Now the car needs a torque converter, a new solonoid that operates the second set of intake ports (they''re stuck closed) The paint has gone bad, the windshild leaks and it has a rattle under the hood that no one can find to fix. Also, the stereo sounds like a $12 clock radio and it has an absolutely useless rear seat. It''s also horrible in the snow. I went to trade it in at a freind''s used car lot and found out it''s worth $3,500 in trade. It''s not yet 3 years old!

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''91 Buick Park Ave. Volvo 240

Good handling especially on ice and snow.

Too many recalls and FMC would not honor them like they said and I had to pay out of my pocket.

Had 24,000 miles on it when I bought it. Was an LS with leather, power driver seat, premium sound system, automatic traction control, power windowss, power door locks, remote entry, power mirrors, heated mirrors, etc. Lots of extras. Drove and rode great but I couldn''t keep it out of the shop. Cost me $2,000 for one particular repair job that was caused because of a faulty wiring harness that Ford Motor Company refused to pay to fix even though there has been a recall on it. The heat/AC fan control had gone out. The automatic traction control had begun to let the transmission slip. The mechanic said it would be at least $1,500 to fix that. Had to have the entire exhaust system replaced (another recall) that the dealership took four days to do (a four hour job). The carpet did not fit and was never replaced like it should have been (another recall). Finally let FMC have it back. Will probably never own another Ford Motor Company product.

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Sporty, A/C, 15 inch alloys, dual exhuast, interior front.

own 4 cyl, rather have 6 cyl, rear room, acceleration from 0kph, cuts out at 185kph, needs bigger front disk brakes

You people who don''t like this car really upsets me. Its not the cars problem, its the person driving the car. I have had my Mystique for more than 2 years, i bought it with 52000 km on it and i have had no real big problems with it. The car now has 108000 km and still runs like new because i look after the car, i treat it with respect. I love this car, its sporty lookin, fast, and exciting to drive, and its a really good car to soup up as well. All in all i really appreciate this car.

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The console

THE FACT THAT IT'S EVEN ON THE MARKET

I bought the car in June of 2000. In August of 2000 I had it in the shop for the first time for the head gasket, thermostat and water pump. Since then I've also had the rotors replaced. It is currently in the shop again for the head gasket and engine. The warantee sucks on it! The adjustor said that it was my fault the engine blew up so they wouldn't pay for the cost of repair. I bought it from AutoMax and they suck just as bad as the car does. I don't recomend either one to anyone! If you need a car that's at all reliable, this is not the one for you. However, if you want one that you'll soak a lot of money in and get nothing in return, have you found yourself a match!

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NOTHING COMPARES TO THIS PILE OF JUNK EXCEPT A BROKEN DOWN RIDING LAWNMOWER

Handling...and SPEED the V-6 is awesome, passing made easy.

Cup holder, and the interior gas tank door switch.

I love this car. It looks like a miniature luxury car, and handles like a race car. I have had very few problems with it and I must say have developed what could be considered an emotional attachment to it in a very short time.

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Not like any Mercury I've ever owned. I've never had much luck with Fords, but this time I'm in love.

I love how it hugs the road and takes the curves very nicely, you feel your like in a sports car, but your really not.

I have a four cylinder, I would prefer a V6.

The vehicle is amazing. I bought it with just over 80k miles, but it ran like a beauty. It came with power everything, including seats. I must add, it's a very smooth ride.

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I've owned a 1996 Dodge Neon, and I never enjoyed it. It was great on gas, but so is the Mystique, but the Mystique has the advantage because of it's comfort.

V-6 engine (good acceleration)
good suspension

cramped back seat

This car has worked great for me seeing as nothing has gone wrong in the time I have owned it. I would recommend it to most people if they are looking for a small car. I am glad I bought the car and probably will keep it for as long as it lasts (hopefully a long time) considering it only has 30K miles on it..

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- Lots of trunk space
- Decent passing gear
- Good fuel mileage

- Reliability

I bought my car with 30k Kilometers. The engine has always had an excessive vibration. I've had waaaaayyyy too many "little" things go wrong with the car, but I've been lucky to never have any repairs over a couple of hundred bucks. My biggest gripe is the little things that shouldn't go wrong. Things like having 2 different knobs on the dashboard overheat and melt (on 2 different occasions). One day, all the lights on my car just stopped working. My lever to open the gas fuel door stopped working, so I had to use the auxiliary one in the trunk. When I brought it into Ford (it was still under warranty), they claimed to have fixed it, but all they did was remove the auxiliary. Hard to put gas in when you can't get to the tank :). Now @155k Klicks, I've had cooling system problems, the air intake sensor had to be replaced, and my power door locks have gone on me. Overall, this car is has been a disapointment. It's only 6 years old, and I'm counting the minutes until I can afford to replace it. This car suffers from cheap design / bad workmanship.

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Great pick up for passing
comfortable car to drive in
Has not blown up yet, but probally close

Cup holders-break easy
completely unreliable-likes to break down

Overall this car is a piece of crap. My repair bills have put me severely into debt. I owe more on repairs than I do the car. In the last few months I have had it in for many sensors. I have needed new brakes twice. THe transmission went out at 85000 miles. Now that I finally got it back, the traction control light and the ABS light are now on. I would never reccomend this car to anyone. It has failed on me miserably and its repairs are too much of a burden for a poor college student like me. AS far as service goes, Ford-Mercury gets a 5 on a 10 point scale. I originally brought my car in to Collin Ford in Harvard, IL and they could not figure out what was wrong. This is poor. They said nothing was wrong. That night when I picked up my car, it broke down. I took it to Springhill Ford in Elgin and they had my car back to me three days and 2600 dollars later. At least their mechanics no whats going on.

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This car does not even compare to my former car A 1989 Ford Bronco II. AT least that was reliable.

Excellent 4 cylinder performance. 4 cylinder motor has a pleasant sound that begs you to rev it. Excellent automatic transmission. BMW-like drivability and handling (Euro driving manners). Interior is roomy for its size. Comfortable for long trips. Pleasant interior and ergonomics--easy to use controls and all are placed in the right spot. Roomy trunk with easy to operate fold down rear seats. Sharp looking Euro sport sedan.

Motor leaks oil around the oil filter like a baby wearing a cheap diaper. 2 recalls concerning various quality concerns. Again--motor leaks oil and stinks up the car. Minor motor vibrations when in idle and at stoplights. This vibration's hum tends to be tiresome in stop and go traffic. Stock stereo sucks--passenger door speaker sounds terrible and all speakers have no bass capability at all. Rear door entry/exit is a tight squeeze for tall riders and those long of leg. Hey its a Ford product, I didnt expect it to be a Lexus.

Our Mystique was bought used at 37K miles and had the sporty Spree package (sport suspension, alloy wheels, other nice enhancements). Im a guy who likes BMW's and other European corner carvers so this Mystique fit my budget while giving me Beamer-like drivablity. Handling is superb, 4 cylinder motor has get-up-and-go. Of course the V6 is more powerful but forget it though. With gas prices now, the 4 works just as good. Transmission shifts a little too soon--typical of Fords. We absolutely love the car's appeal, road manners, and useability.

Dealer service is terrible. When we bought the car used it had the 100,000 mile/6 yr warranty. We later found out that the previous owner had so many problems with it that Ford GAVE them the warranty to keep the previous owner happy and of course, a customer. The Ford dealership has failed to make the oil filter fit right, so the oil leaks, sprays underneath the car and stinks it up. Another Ford dealer failed to replace the DOHC belt, which was making a tapping noise because it was splitting an running on a few threads. We even pointed out the problem to the so called mechanics but they laughed at us and said it was normal. We had to force them for a 4th time to relplace the belt. They did and that was the last time they saw us. Good thing we had the 100,000 mile warranty.

The Mystique is a decent day to day car and great performer overall. While the car hasn't burst into flames, or even broken down, there are better choices out there. However we do not regret buying this vehicle despite some of its problems. My reason why is because as someone said, its like buying a BMW 3-series sedan and saving about 15 grand. If you want excellent reliability and no problems whatsoever, buy a Honda, Toyota, or a more expensive vehicle.

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We test drove a 1998 Ford Contour (same car, different name) and our 1996 Mystique is better in interior quality and the motor isnt as noisy as in the newer model. We also test drove a 1998 Dodge Neon and Plymouth Breeze. These two cars were pathetic in power, quality, overall drivability and are just cheaply made. The Plymouth Breeze's steering column was even visible on the floorboard--keep your shoes tied!