1997 Mercury Mountaineer . . . Sport Ute For The Boulevard

09/13/96

Some say the attractive 1997 Mercury Mountaineer is merely a knock off of the Eddie Bauer edition Ford Explorer but with a Mercury grill and that it is designed to fill Mercury's sport ute gap and thus keep some Merc buyer/purists in the fold as they work their way up to a Lincoln purchase. Could be, but where the Explorer base engine is a V6 the Mountaineer sports a 5.0 liter V8 as base power plant. Some might say that Mountaineer is too "dolled up" to be taken seriously as an off-roader and that its resting place with consumers will be in the driveway and on trips to school. True, it is an upgraded Explorer with neat interior appointments . . . even a built in Kleenex dispenser, running boards, distinctive Mercury grill and it looks and is comfortable. The turning radius is sort of unlady like and the gas mileage is also suspect and it really needs its 21 gallon petrol tank. But after all, it is a 4000 pound vehicle with big off-road type wheels and tires.

As mentioned the interior is inviting, but remember it is a truck; for long trips, one had better bring along a co-driver. Transmission on both the the two wheel drive and the AWD is an automatic 4-speed with overdrive.

Customers for this Olds Bravada-fighter are profiled as 35 to 49 years of age with incomes of $70,000. (editors note: if we believed all the car company research on "intended target buyer" profiles for various new cars, we gotta conclude that nobody could afford them. Every profile says the buyer/family median income for ANY car is 70, 80, $90,000 plus). The $32,000 Mountaineer will sit in driveways like the Range Rovers (status symbols) in Newport Beach, Ca; Shaker Heights, Oh; Lake Forest, Il; the Hamptons in New York; and don't forget Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Not that lady drivers care, but the Mountaineer develops 211 HP, which we found it really needs to propel it towards the local mall. Other features include a leather wrapped steering wheel, Mercury logo stitched in the seats, one touch driver's side window, rear wiper/washer, and privacy glass. What is privacy glass? We don't know, but we'll ask Ford. Option packages include power moon roof, JBL audio system with CD changer and an overhead console, and it has fog lamps that, along with the neat Mercury grill, makes it an attractive "boulevard" sport utility.

Bill Maloney -- The Auto Channel