fordsvt2006

What dose everyone think about the 2000-2002 Mercury Cougars? I think they look alright but have to small of an engine and not enough power.

ov3n

I traded a cougar in on my Mustang.
It was a nice car. Handled well, easy to drive, got reasonable gas mileage. The 01-02 had the most comfortable seats Ford has ever made.
The cougar looks like a million bucks, but it is true, it doesn't have the ***** to back up its looks. It's not a race car.
The 2.5L Duratec is an excellent engine. Keep it maintained well and it'll last a long time. The engine loves high revs. Plus it's one of the best sounding v6's you'll ever hear.
But if you want something that looks nice, is comfortable, has a nice interior, and NO ONE knows what it is, the cougar is the car for you.

Greywolf

I had one but the auto sucked if you slowed down then speed up the trans would think about it forever before shifting.

Zastava_101

Wasn't that same engine used in Contour?

Knight

most likely

Evil_Capri

I'm going to move this thread to 'Other Fords'.

ov3n

The Contour and Cougar were mechanically identical. Same everything - `cept the body panels and interior.

ov3n

And yes. the auto tranny on the Cougar is quite awful. It sucks life right out of the engine. How awful is the auto?

Well, a v6 Cougar with the auto is slower than an i4 cougar with the manual.

The manual transmission, on the other hand, is quite good. The only major weak link in it is the differential. They are prone to blow if you get an excessive amount of wheel hop on repeated hard launches. Luckilly you can purchase a Quaife or Torsen limited-slip differential, which will improve handling and increase reliability. But if you don't beat the snot out of the car, you probably don't need to worry about that.

wildstanglx90

I also liked thier looks a lot. I always thought it would've been cool if SVT could've done something with the cougar, but I don't know if SVT could/would do Merc's?. I don't know much about these '00-'02 Cougar's, but now i'm just curious....were the 4 and 6 cyl the only engine options? Were they FWD or RWD?

ov3n

The only engine options were the 2.0L Zetec (130hp) and the 2.5L Duratec (170hp). 99-02 Cougars were FWD. Mercury did have a special edition model ready to go, called the Cougar S, which used the SVT Contour engine and had upgraded suspension components. But SVT made a big stink about mercury using one of their engines, and Ford was getting ready to drop the cougar anyways, so besides a few prototypes, the S was never released to the public. It would have had the 196hp (or 200, depending on who you ask) 2.5L Duratec that the SVT Contour had.

wildstanglx90

That 'S' model would've been sweet. It interested me enough to search the net for more info out of curiosity, I found this webpage. Check it out, nice read on the 'S' and the pics look like it would've been a very nice car!

http://www.scottgrundfor.com/concept/1999cougar.html

Zastava_101

Ford went with wrong way with Cougar anyway. Cougar started as better Mustang, then as better Thunderbird and it ended as economy car.

ov3n

That was the concept... The production model would have looked like a plain-jane cougar, and not awd.

fordsvt2006

Do you think a manuel V6 would be worth getting? Just wondering

ov3n

Depends on what you want in a car.
The Cougar is not a fast car, but is really fun to drive, gets decent gas mileage, and is very easy to drive.

I'd say avoid the 99's and 00's if you can.. the 01/02's seem to be a touch more reliable...
If you look for a 99/00, avoid ones with a sunroof.. The sunroof track on them is plastic, and is prone to breaking, and you have to purchase a whole new sunroof assembly (about $1100) to replace it. 01/02s got a metal track so they are okay and less-breakable.

Also, being a hatchback, the trunk is huge and easily accessible. Good for hauling stuff.

97svtgoin05gt

I bought a brand new one of these in '01. Initially I thought it was a good idea, but it wasn't. I bought a stick, and I can tell you with authority that my '93 Probe GT would've eaten that thing alive. On top of that, there are like 90 blind spots in that car. It is very difficult to see out of it. It was reliable, but I only kept the car for like 9 months. I lost my shirt on it because while I had it they finally decided to discontinue production of it.

If you don't mind mediocre seats (can't believe someone said those seats are the best) blind spots and being eaten alive by MANY Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas and a host of other small cars, then buy one.

ov3n

Can't believe someone said the seats are mediocre :-P

jayguy

I can't believe they got rid of the Probe Gt so quickly. I had a '94 GT 5 sp, and it was the second most enjoyable car I've owned. The first was my '05 Mustang GT. Some days I miss the old Probe. Well, especially now, when I'm driving a crappy '79 GMC truck with no ***** whatsoever.

I loved that Probe though, and was hoping the Cougar was an upgrade, but never got a chance to even sit in one.