1994 Mercury Cougar XR-7 V8 4.6L V8 from North America
Summary:
A Good Car with Minor Troubles
Faults:
The brakes were essentially completely replaced about three times. The discs kept warping and there was always some component needing to be replaced.
The transmission was always clunky. We serviced it and it improved some. The transmission wanted to go fast; when I was getting on the expressway, it was very smooth and shifted correctly.
All of the ball joints and bushings had to be replaced, and there was more to be done after that. Someone had put junkyard parts on this nice car as a cheap fix.
The ignition harness failed. ($200+).
The "panic" feature on the keyless entry remotes never worked. All other functions functioned however.
The brakes were not strong enough for a car of this size. Also, no ABS control, which happened to be a standard feature on my '94 Beretta!
General Comments:
This car was so fast and it handled so well, even with those little 15" wheels and big truck tires.
The car rode comfortably and was very quiet. Every accommodation was there too.
I've driven Mustangs and the like and I can say that my Cougar was much more entertaining than a Mustang would have been for me. For one thing, the Cougar handled so much better than the Mustang, had the same performance, and was much more comfortable.
The car was resprayed right before we purchased it. Cosmetically, the car was absolutely clean. The powertrain was perfectly good too, it was just the endless string of brake and suspension problems that would nickel and dime one to death.
The Cougar never let me down, it always started without hesitation and took me many places in comfort. It was fun to surprise people at red lights with the explosive power under that hood too. It could get as much as 26 MPG, I usually got around 20-22.
The driver's door keypad was a terrific access tool that should be made standard on more cars.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th May, 2005
29th Nov 2019, 23:48
I just noted the review I wrote above and had forgotten about it. I thought to include an update or two, if anyone cares.
I still own the Cougar, but another problem or two developed. Since the anchor plate was so hard to get off when I did the brake job, I did not use Locktite on those bolts and it later came loose while on a short trip. I was able to limp home and remounted it with blue Locktite; I think it was not the strongest type, but the middle type, and have had no further problems there.
The thing I really wanted to mention was something very strange. The oil dipstick holder broke off and you can't check your oil. That would be easy to deal with were it not for the fact that the odometer went out right after that so you can't simply approximate when you need to add oil. I try to guess at it and if I begin to forget, just get the oil changed to put it back up to full. As you can guess, that is a real pain. Both of those fixes are extremely expensive, the dip stick holder replacement requiring the engine to be removed. You gotta be kidding! And you have to replace the entire instrument cluster to put in a new speedometer. Really dumb, I think.
It still runs strong and looks good (have had to repaint the hood and roof due to sun damage, so far only with gray primer, which looks fine), requiring only normal maintenance otherwise -- a new alternator (difficult, unlike others I've done), a new battery every so often, a new serpentine belt and tightener -- standard stuff.
Overall, it has been a good vehicle but some of these things on a luxury car should not be going out, ever.