Faults:

Brake light switch replaced at 50721 miles.

New brakes all around at 50721 miles.

Cold weather (under 10 degrees) trips the air bag light, beginning at 53424 miles.

Brake light switch (again) at 53600 miles.

Driver door lock mechanism broke at 57746 miles. You could open the door from the inside, but it wouldn't lock. Dealer replaced under TSB for roughly $120.

Exterior lights no longer flash when the doors are unlocked with the key. I don't care; it's just a curious thing.

The Milan made this awful vibrating noise when you drove over 40 MPH; we took it in and the dealer fixed it under a TSB.

Ongoing:

Miscellaneous "popping" in the dashboard when the climate control is adjusted.

Headlight switch module (headlights, dimmer, and trunk controls) is loose and sometimes falls out.

Windshield convexity is odd - I've had three sets of wipers on the Milan and none of them are able to conform to the shape of the window to effectively clean it.

General Comments:

I bought this car on a whim six months ago after my 2011 Focus was totaled and I needed to get another vehicle quickly. My last few vehicles (and my father's, and both my grandfathers') have been a majority of Fords, and they've all been reliable, predictable, and enjoyable. After getting out of the Focus (which I loved every minute of owning), seeing the damage, and knowing I should've been killed, all I wanted was another Ford product.

I picked up the Milan at a reputable Ford dealership in November 2015 with under 51,000 miles. I figured this would be a safe bet - this car saw about 7000 miles a year until I took it. My current commute has me averaging roughly 400 miles a week, the vast majority highway (about 90% highway). The Milan runs much better now that I have it; when I first got it, it chugged along. I think doing so many highway miles cleaned out the engine. I just graduated from college and will be beginning workforce life; I see myself doing at least one move with this car and continuing to use it to commute. I'm incredibly anal about maintenance, so hopefully I can nip issues in the butt before they become catastrophic. I mean, when the lot attendants at my dealership saw my old license plate on my Focus, they knew I wouldn't leave until they washed it.

Overall, I'm content with the Mercury, but I'm going to start with the poor things first (mostly just me nitpicking):

1) Seat comfort. Definitely my biggest complaint with the Milan. Even with lumbar support, my upper back and thighs hurt after about 20 minutes in the seat. If I didn't know any better (and I don't), I wouldn't think these seats were tested; I'm 5'6", 220#, and I'm too skinny for the seat (my body fits entirely in the flat part of the seat back, and I'm a "stocky" 220#). I do like the fabric of the seat; feels like it's a real fabric as opposed to some semi-fabric recycled stuff found in my old '11 Focus and in my dad's '11 Fusion.

2) Interior. I've actually stopped wearing blue jeans when I drive the Milan because I see the blue dye staining the light tan driver's seat. I'm just too cheap to get the seats Scotch-guarded. I wish the Milan had a compass and an outside thermometer. Also, the silver panel surrounding the radio reflects a ton of glare. Since this is the Mercury, I would also have liked more sound insulation. There is little engine noise, but the road and wind noise are very loud. Finally, I wish the gauge cluster had an actual orange low-fuel indicator, not just some words on the dash.

3) Ride. I'll throw in that I like a bumpy ride (I hate that feeling that you're riding on a cloud). The Mercury is smoother than my Focus was on smooth pavement, but the Mercury doesn't go as nicely as the Focus did over speed bumps, gravel, or expansion joints. I wonder if the Milan needs springs?

Now the good:

1) Overall driveability. While the V6 won't win any races with anyone, it will run 75-80 MPH all day without complaining. Acceleration is good enough to keep me content on the highways. It seems like Ford found a good mix between fuel economy and power; on my commute I get between 22 and 24 MPG (okay, I'll admit it, I had more fun on the 22 MPG tanks). I imagine that, while the four-cylinder engine is more efficient, driving it is an absolute dog. The transmission on my Milan is not perfectly smooth, but it does the job. I can pick out the shift points but passengers can't. There seems to be shift points right around 35 MPH and 65 MPH. Although the setup is good, it isn't great; I think my dad's '11 Fusion with the four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission is a better configuration. The Milan feels solid going down the highway, even though it's almost 9 years old.

2) Visibility. It's very easy to see out of this car in all directions. In a previous life, my father owned a '10 Camry and every pillar of that car was a blind spot, no exaggeration. It's also easy for others to see the car; I like the expansive red on the tail end, and I like that the Milan has amber-colored turn signals. From a usability standpoint (I'm an ergonomist by trade), I think every car should have amber turn signals. I also like the projector-beam headlamps, and don't feel the need to upgrade them. That was one of my biggest complaints about my Focus. I was going to upgrade the headlights, but the car was smashed before I ever got the chance.

3) Storage. There is tons of covered storage in the cabin. Sunglasses holder, two trays in the arm rest, and the glove compartment should be more than enough. Each door also has a pocket, as do the backs of each front seat. I like that the cup holders are also covered, and one of the 12V outlets is buried in the console. My Milan is a Job I, so it doesn't have an MP3 hookup. The rear seats collapse easily with the pull of levers in the trunk. I used to have a radio for Civil Air Patrol buried in the center console of the Focus, and that took up all the usable space. I think the console of the Mercury is bigger, but not as deep.

4) Style. People love or hate the styling of the Milan. Found that out real quick. I think the front and sides are handsome, and the interior is relatively tasteful (except for the aluminum-colored accents across the dash - very tacky). I'm not sold on the rear end; I like the expansive red but I'm not sold on the chrome in the tail lamps or the aluminum strip across the bottom (which shows every little fingerprint, even when clean).

Overall, I do like the Milan. I am going to drive this one as long as possible (I'd like to see it go to 200K miles, especially since the vast majority of my commute is easy highway, and my current commute will let me drive just under 30K miles a year). I know Ford put a lot of time, effort, and money into this model line and most of the reviews are good. I will aim to do quarterly updates, providing the mileage, any maintenance notes, or any new thoughts.

Faults:

So far so good. I've only put 2000 miles on the car.

Oil changes aren't the easiest if you like to do them yourself. You need to get the car up in the air a little, because you have to remove a panel to get to the oil filter. After the removal of the oil filter, you'll have some of the oil dripping onto the shielding under the car, which is not the best design.

General Comments:

It's a shame FoMoCo discontinued Mercury. The interior is very nice. The Sony sound system is sweet. I have a two tone tan/brown leather interior with the tuxedo black exterior. It's a very nice looking car, and I have received a few comments about how good it looks.

The engine has good power and the handling is very nice. I'm averaging around 18-20 MPG around town and 28 to 30 MPG on the highway. I have some enhancements planned to try and improve those numbers a little, but the engine is very fun with the select shift automatic; it's hard not to get on it a little.