1999 Mercury Cougar V6 2.5 Duratec from North America
Summary:
Ignore the negative reviews
Faults:
Nothing has gone wrong with the car.
The IMRC (intake manifold runner control) is a common issue with this car, and it's just a little box with gears and a motor, that you need to pry open and clean. After that, it won't shudder at all under acceleration.
There's a little vibrating noise in the front fender (passenger side) where the previous owner ran over a curb or something.
General Comments:
The Cougar is fast, and I have some basic horsepower mods lined up. It responds well to mods.
The most important fact I can give you is, DO NOT let these other bad reviews scare you away from a Cougar. They are dead reliable.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th October, 2005
22nd Jan 2006, 15:16
I have had my '99 Cougar for about 12,000 miles now (i bought it with 75,000) and the car has been more than reliable (2.5L V6, 5spd). Don't let the negative hype scare you.
13th Mar 2006, 16:12
If your tire blows then it will make a loud sound, that side of the car will drop down, handling will be a b!tch, but just hold on tight and steer to the side of the road.
I only fear for my life when I'm driving something like my parents RV. I was drivin one time when one of the rear wheels blew. Damn, its like a grenade went off in the wheel well and the belts tore up the underside of the vehicle. And it wallowed back and forth, side to side and I was finally able to wrestle it to the side of the road. Now that's something to be scared of.
But if your car sucks so bad, then sell it.
13th Mar 2006, 19:55
I have a 1986 Mercury Cougar with the V6 3.8L engine.
I get surprisingly good gas mileage. And it is reliable, too.
You don't see many 20 year old cars on the road today... so that says a lot!
22nd Jul 2009, 12:54
I just got my 1990 Cougar a few weeks ago, and it has had the same re occurring problem. My transmission cap fell off for the second time today within the past week, letting all of the oil out and leaving my car dead on the side of the road. It's only a minor problem seeing how the shop is fixing it for free this time, but I will be checking it all the time now to make sure it doesn't happen again.
10th Oct 2005, 08:19
Reliable, you say?
Yeah, better be dead reliable for the 2200 miles you've had the car.
Many of us have driven that far in two weeks.