1998 Mercury Mountaineer Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I love this SUV it's the ultimate "winter beater." I have Pirelli's on it and the All Wheel Drive lets it eat through snow easier then my dads 4-wheel drive 2003 F150 Crew Cab. Acceleration isnt great in the 0-30 range but in the 40-60 range it kicks it pretty hard when you put your foot down and anywhere over 70 and it starts to get squirrely due to the small wheel base. This also plays trouble with towing large loads as they tend to sway but I have an anti sway bar which helps correct it. I have to say that unfortunately this has need repairs occasionally little things nothing major but after it made 100k miles it really became..easier to maintain because it hasn't broken down yet, but I probably just jinxed it by writing this review. For the most part no squeaks or anything extremely out of the ordinary. The cloth interior is nice enough although it tends to collect dirt like none other. The exterior is nice although after seeing my friends with the same car in different colors I have to say I dont think I would like this car in any other color then black. The cost of ownership is horrible unfortunately as gas goes through the roof gas mileage is realistically 12mpg in town to 18mpg on highway. Is there a fun factor??? YES! Undoubtedly it has enough pickup that it can take a few cars off the line even as an automatic and makes a few truck owners that spend hundreds on lifting and tuning there trucks look like fools. Off road is nice as well it wont be an off roading demon but it does handle incredibly well in fields and hills of the Minnesota country side and does it in relative comfort for under 6 thousand. Sure if your reading this and it sounds like there are a lot of negatives it may seem like it but you have to ride in a mercury and really test it for yourself to understand how nice these are. A lot of people look at it as a huge mistake to put it on the frame of the Ranger truck and it is because of the rollover factor but other then that this vehicle fits everything from kids, to animals, and groceries and so much in between it can be knocked around beat up and it still keeps going and it goes well. I cannot tell you how much I love the AWD on this thing it almost makes living in Minnesota fun in the winter.Jul 29, 2008