Good hp. Great uphills even with 51,000.

the power door lock lock themselves without any cause. Dealer cannot pinpoint problem. IF you have similar problem please email me. I would not buy another mercury product.

The van is fine vehicle except one major problem i cannot get dealer to fix. the locks.

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Lots of features for the money: elec. seats, tinted windows, cruise, rear heat/air controls even on the basic model.

Always in the shop for major repairs!!!

The Villager offers desirable features even on the most basic model. It is a beautiful van. Love the rear controls for heat/air and radio. BUT... ours has been a lemon from the start. We should have pursued the lemon law, but at first, it got repaired for free; after the warranty ran out, it got expensive. Repairs on this Villager after warranty expired include: replace powertrain, throttle body, repair air, back and front blowers, air bag problem, overdrive went out, repaired side door problem. Ford offered us $1000 to trade it in for a new Villager, but that wouldn't even cover sales tax; we had bought the car to keep for many years. With car payments of $475 a month, we were paying thousands in repairs every year, too!

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We own a 10 year old Lumina that has nearly 200,000 miles and has never broken down or had a major repair!

2 sliding doors

Cheap parts, bad floor mats, poor design. Really miss the Optional bucket seats in the 2nd row

Shortly after purchasing the Villager, the wind sheild wipers start to go on and off on their own. We have to get that fixed every year now right around the same time each year. Have had 4 recalls on the thing. Now our brake lights and turn signal lights keep coming on. It has something to do with a switch box. Had it replaced at least 5 times now. Never really liked this van. The 2 sliding doors make it a lot better to get in and out, however we trip over the floor mats which do stay in place. I am never purchasing another Villager again!

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I would say almost any van would be better than this one. I really miss our '97 model. That one was the best!

Longevity, dependability, little rust, very solid. Nice paint finish and colour. Great mileage on cruise control 570 km per tank. Parts available at both Ford and Nissan. Jobbers carry parts also, but not all. Holds resale value in my area due to great reputation. Motor adequate; no leaks or oil-burning.

Recalls were done re steering bolt and fan screen. Exhaust manifold bolts breaking off in heads are a major design defect, and should be a recall, along with the weak sliding door detent. Inside vinyl mars way too easily. The rear seat-on-track steals a little room, but is very convenient. Ignition switch is loose. Rear window wiper left deep scratch line. Windshield cracked from right corner. Phantom problems with rear wiper (wouldn't shut off-had to remove fuse and reinsert it);headlights dim while hitting horn. Brakes seem to wear out on front pads. May crank slowly in cold weather; remedy is 5W-30 synthetic. What a difference! May not crank at all in cold weather unless you spank the underside of the steering column with a good smack! Poor winter city mileage 300 km per tank. Auto transmission doesn't complete its downshift unless making a proper stop. Exhaust Y-pipe also a weakness, and very expensive to replace.

If you are looking for a reliable used van, there are few older models which could give the Villager/Quest a run for the money. This is not a hauling van for plumbers, as the interior is easily marred, and space is lost due to the rear seat sliding up the track and compacting behind the front buckets. Aside from phantom electrical snafus reported by others and myself, and you can live with repeated exhaust bolt breakage (and frequent fuel pump replacements not experienced by me), it beats the other manufacturers' shortcomings by a mile. A cheaper fix for the exhaust manifold bolt problem is to drop the engine down enough to drill out the broken shafts and retap new threads. Dealers will insist upon removing the heads etc., at many times the price. At any ate, a great family van.

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'86 Caravan: Purchased new, I had 260,000 km or 160,000 miles before it gave up the ghost; but got expensive after the first 6 years. Villagers are known not to die before 300,000 km, and so far, Villager is more dependable. Venture, rented for 3 weeks, was flimsy.

great looks, quality is good, well balanced, esthetically pleasing, comfortable, drives good. Durable and dependable. When we purchase a vehicle we expect it to go at least 200,000 miles with no serious problems. These vans for us do that. Currently has 176,000 miles no problems

windnoise and ride over bumps is poor-greatest weaknesses. fuel economy poor 19-20mpg. Only other worst quality is that Ford had a hand in it.

Wife and I both thoroughly like this van. It is safe, dependable, quality, looks great, build quality is good, drives out super. Best thing about is is that is just goes and goes and goes. We have had a bit of exhaust work due to bottoming out on speed bumps, replaced oil sending unit, just maintenance. It is very comfortable, does all things well, nothing great. A bit too much wind noise, and ride is rough over bumps. But it exudes quality, safety and dependability. We keep wondering if we should get rid of it, but no need to. Looks great, no problems. If I rated anything poor on it of any real consequence it would be the Ford componentry. Anything of U.S. manufacture is unworthy of an automobile.

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Aerostar, Windstar. Somewhat superior overall to Aerostar, Windstar vans are plain junk-no comparison

comfortable ride, seats slide out, rear heat/air, rear radio, drives like a car.

this has been a good long haul van for our family. I have put it through the motions. We wish there were middle cup holders, wind noise through front windows now, we have replaced exhaust manifolds (warranty), recall on gas tank(so if you smell gas...that's it). We now have a problem with our water pump..possibly. Overall, it has been a good vehicle for us. We bought it used at 45,000. Has never left me sitting and I have 117,000. So it is is a reliable vehicle. Newer vans are bigger, plushier, but I would consider a new villager.

I have driven my villager 90 miles rt 3 days a week for 2 years. It has held up in -20 temps, without a block heater. It has never left me stranded. The door locks are weird..I can unlock my doors with a fingernail sometimes. I can unlock my boss's van (villager) with my door key. Overall, we have been satisfied with our vehicle. Good for a small family.

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have driven windstar,but liked the feel of the villager. The venture has more leg room and drive is similar to villager. venture is great! but not sure about the long haul...would it hold up to the villager?

Reasonable build quality
Smooth but underpowered engine
Sliding back seat is surprisingly versatile and doesn't require lugging seats around
Handles better than most minivans (with Michelin X-one tires)
Comfortable seating
22 mpg mixed, 24 mpg on the road
No major problems through 65,000+ miles; this is longer than I've kept a car since college!

Noisy at 65+ (wind noise, some tire noise)
Rear suspension 'creaks' when cold (there's a TSB on it but no permanent solution)
Had to replace the tubing for the rear AC and heat ($600 but under warranty)

This is a good, basic minivan. I wish the safety ratings were higher, but look at IIHS data: the Villager has one of the lowest rates of fatal accidents. Definitely underpowered but it's adequate for the flat parts of the Midwest.
I would consider buying another one if they updated it and put in a much bigger engine... and if they were going to keep making them beyond next year.

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This is my third Villager (93, 96 and a 97); fits our small family well.
Had an 89 Grand Voyager new and was so bad (transmission, etc.) that I have avoided them since.

rides well,comfortable

I believe that all models have this same problem,broken exhaust manifold bolts and door power door locks that randomly lock you out.I would like to get feed back if there are others with the same problems.

I think this is a very good van with the exception that there should have been a recall for the exhaust bolts that break.

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It's a van that rides and handles like a car. We have had great service out of it, we have 175,000 on it and have had relatively little trouble with it. We were notified of any recalls and they were promptly corrected.

We had a manifold bolt break off in the engine head and it's expensive to get it fixed. Also had air conditioner problems, evaporator in rear air had bad leak and the compressor began leaking. But keep in mind the air problems came and about 150,000 miles.

Overall I have had a great experience with my Villager, we are at 175,000 miles and still going. I would recommend the Villager based on my experience. It still rides and drives good and has served our family well.

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Comfort and a reliable engine. Good family van. Like heat controls in middle seat. Cup holders...lots of them. Seats fold forward and double as a table. Seats fold back and become a place to sleep. Nice for long trips with four people...anymore could get uncomfortable.

Electric door locks have been a nightmare since day one, as they are intermittent. Locking on their own. Have taken the van into the dealershi for the past three years(bought the van when it was 10 months old.) Was never initially fixed while under warranty.(Taken in over 8 times for this problem before warranty expired.) Heard from the technician that this is a problem in Villagers they can't seem to pinpoint. Very annoying, paid extra for something that never worked right in the first place. Plus, I've got a rear window wiper that hasn't worked and see in other reviews from this site others have had the same problem.
-Gas mileage is about 19 mpg (Mostly city driving)
-Always had an annoying rattle in the dash
-Noisey when driving on the highway
-low front end catches cement parking lot curbs and scratches.
-front bumper is flimsey...made out of fiberglass and is easily dented
-watch the side door as it doesn't latch and can easily hurt someone
-drivers arm rest isn't connected to the seat, so when the seat is electrically lowered or raised the arm rest stays in one positions...uncomfortable for tall people

Good for road trips.

Because of my experience with Mercury and the lack of service help on the door lock problem, I don't ever want another Mercury vehicle. Even though the van has never left me stranded. Oh, was told service could try to fix the problem now at my expense... maybe they can now that I get to pay for parts and labor.

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First van, so can't compare to others