Introduction

For 2008, Mercury has rescued the good parts of the old Montego sedan, dumped the rest, and made what Ford Motor Company says are more than 500 individual improvements. So much has changed that the division has gone back to the old Sable name for the car, to see if it brings this product any greater recognition and/or market success. As we said, Mercury has made some 500 changes, changes that were already scheduled for the mid-cycle freshening of the Montego, to the new Sable but were pulled ahead in time for the name change. The platform underneath the car is the same, the body and trim are generally the same as the Montego, but almost everything else has changed for the better. Mercury Sable competes directly against the other large front-drive and all-wheel-drive sedans on the market, including the Toyota Avalon, the Chevrolet Impala, and the Chrysler 300. The Sable is the largest car in the group, and carries four five-star safety ratings for front, rear, side and rollover crashworthiness. The big kicker in all of this is that, with all the new styling, interior, engine, transmission and standard features upgrades, the price hovers only about $250 above the bland, slow Ford Five Hundred when comparably equipped. This family of vehicles, including the Ford Taurus sedan and Ford Taurus X crossover, is built on the same platform as the Volvo S80 luxury sedans, with some detail changes to the suspension systems to keep the price in Mercury territory. When all-wheel-drive is ordered for a Sable, it uses the same Swedish Haldex all-wheel-drive system as the Volvo S80 sedans and XC90 crossover SUVs. The Sable is powered by a new 3.5-liter, 24-valve V6 engine that makes 30 percent more power and 22 percent more torque than the 3.0-liter V6 it replaces. The new 3.5-liter V6 is the same Ford-designed engine that powers the larger and heavier Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers and MKZ luxury cars. It's paired with a new six-speed automatic transmission built and shared by Ford and GM. Needless to say, this new engine and transmission combination is much quicker, much quieter and much more responsive than the old Montego powertrain. Mercury says the 0-60 mph acceleration time has been reduced by more than 1.5 seconds, down from 9.2 seconds to only 7.6 seconds, a 17-percent improvement in acceleration performance, which really means something when you're trying to get on or off a freeway or an Interstate Highway. The new engine/transmission combination not only makes more power, it also gets 10 percent better fuel economy, even after adjusting for the new 2008 EPA method now used for fuel economy labeling.

Walkaround

In the transition from Montego to Sable, Mercury has had to spend the time and money to make the two vehicles look as dissimilar as possible, so the new Sable has a completely new and quite different look. Although both cars have multi-pieced brushed-aluminum waterfall grilles, the hoods, grilles, headlamps, bumpers and intakes are completely different on the two cars, and there are differences across the rear panel as well to make the Sable as distinct from the Montego as was possible in a very short turnaround time. The new taillamps have white lenses and LED lighting, the rear quarter panels and decklid have been redone, and the rear bumper has been redesigned with exposed dual exhaust tips. Front to back, there's a bit more bling on the Sable than there was on the Montego, but it's far from overdone.

Interior Features

The most welcome interior feature of the new Sable is the sheer space inside it, 108 cubic feet inside, with a 21 cubic-foot trunk, according to EPA measurements, making it by far the largest interior in the class at 129 cubic feet total. With folding rear seats and a flat-folding right front seat, you can put a nine-foot-long object inside the car. After you notice the space and the limo-like rear-seat accommodations, you then begin to notice that every piece in the interior, the instruments, controls, shifter, seats, console, and dashboard, has been redesigned, with a more luxurious feel and lots more chrome trim here and there. And they've added a standard MP3 player auxiliary plug inside the center console as standard equipment on all models. There's more choice for interior schemes with Sable, beyond the basic chrome and aluminum scheme, including faux carbon fiber, guitar maple, and something called San Macassar, all complementing the two-tone interior theme. Sync offers integration with all Bluetooth-enabled phones and music players, including iPods, via electronic and USB 2.0 connections. Sync can read text messages aloud and features voice recognition for control of both phone and music functions, and phonebook transfer. The system is upgradeable for future players and for additional functions scheduled to arrive in 2009 models. Our test Sable Limited AWD, with a base price of $29,180 was loaded down with options, including AdvanceTrac electronic stability control, a roof-mounted rear-seat DVD entertainment system, heated front seats, convenience package, wood package, power adjustable pedals, a moonroof, voice-activated touch-screen navigation, Sirius satellite radio, and reverse sensing system, bringing the bottom line to $34,200 and making it the most-loaded Sable it is possible to order.