Mercury Cougar reviews

1999 Mercury Cougar Driving Impressions

We were impressed with the looks of the '99 Cougar when we first saw it at last year's Detroit auto show, but skeptical Mercury would produce a car that was genuinely fun to drive. So we accepted an invitation to wring the car out at Georgia's Road Atlanta racing circuit with some trepidation.

To our surprise and delight, the Cougar offered outstanding handling and solid stability at speed. Nowhere was this more noticeable than at the entrance to Road Atlanta's Turn 2, a technical spot in terms of chassis dynamics. The turn-in point for this right-hand corner is at the top of a hill and is immediately preceded by a left. I crested the hill topped out in third gear. Because the car is cresting the hill, the suspension is unloaded and there is little weight on the tires--not the ideal situation for braking. But fairly hard braking is required to slow the car and it's easy to brake too late and shoot past the turn-in point. Braking and turning at the same time is always a challenge and it's very tricky with the suspension unloaded. It's easy to spin the car in this situation.

But the Cougar felt rock solid at the turn-in point, allowing me to open up the V6, plunge down the hill and take the following set of high-speed curves flat out. By comparison, a Mitsubishi Eclipse GS felt uncertain in Turn 2, which reduced exit speed from the corner. A Saturn SC2 felt downright crude, though it handled fairly well. Through the high-speed turns, the Cougar was the Rock of Gibraltar. Its steering offered better feel than the other two cars and the suspension provided more control.

This exercise was followed by a lengthy blast through the mountains north of Atlanta where the Cougar clung to the road like a cat clinging to a tree. The Cougar felt at home in the mountains and seemed aptly named there. Its stability provided confidence while its crisp handling and brisk throttle response encouraged spirited driving. The brakes, which use rotors borrowed from the high-performance Contour SVT, performed without fade in spite of repeated hard use.

My impressions were reinforced a week later, where the Cougar's precise steering and well-tuned suspension helped it slice cleanly through a tight autocross course near Baltimore. By comparison, an SC2 seemed to collect pylons, and the power steering pump on an Eclipse GS could not keep up with steering inputs through the slalom.

The base Cougar is a highly capable car that encourages spirited driving. Ford's 4-cylinder Zetec engine provides good response at highway speeds. This engine weighs less than the V6, which improves the balance of the car.

Still, it seems a shame to order a Cougar without the brilliant Duratec V6. Smooth and sophisticated while cruising, it emits a satisfying growl when riled. While it doesn't give Cougar the punch of an Acura Integra GS-R, Honda Prelude SH or Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T, it could keep up with them in those Georgia mountains. Just don't get in a drag race. Low-speed and standing-start acceleration is good, but passing power is excellent. Top speed is 137 mph, but we didn't verify that.

The smooth-shifting 5-speed manual gearbox is suited well to the V6, with ratios that complement the torque of the engine. We highly recommend it. The four-speed automatic has been redesigned to shift smoother and to reduce hunting up and down grades.

Though it handles well, the Cougar's suspension offers impressively good compliance for a nice, smooth ride on rough pavement.