Eight Gen Mecury Cougars

Are these cars any good? I have seen a bunch rolling around campus. Are they just lookers or can they go as well?

See recent threads on ford contour.

Same engines, same platform, different number of doors.

So poser not performer. About what I figured.

I bet it would be pretty fun with a 3.0 Duratec swapped in.

One of, if not THE worst steering feel of a steering rack car.

Anytime I get stuck with one it's always a nightmare getting everything up to snuff, and I always end up selling them still having some weird problems that come and go.

not a fan.

Yeah, it's a contour coupe. Friend of mine has one. Aside from basically everything on the car breaking all the time, it doesn't turn, stop, or go very well. It's also small and uncomfortable. He gave up a long time ago trying to make it fast. Now it's full of stereo equipment.

Parts are being discontinued already. Don't crash it if you have one.

They can be made to turn and stop quite well (the European version of the Contour, the Mondeo, did incredibly well in the BTCC for a number of years and the Contour SVT was hailed as one of the best handling FWD sedans for many years) but there are much better starting places if you're looking for performance. You can easily swap in a 3L from a Taurus/Escape/etc and with a few upgrades it will easily put 200+hp to the wheels, but don't expect good 1/4 mile times because these cars just can't put the power to the ground - turbo 3L Contours with 400+hp have trouble getting below 13.5 seconds even with good tires and an LSD.

As for reliability, expect to replace your alternator every couple of years (I've replaced mine three time in my 99 Cougar with 210K miles - I've owned it since new). Front suspension bushings wear out very quickly giving the crappy steering feel that Belteshazar mentioned, and poor tire wear. Other than the alternator and the lower control arms, the parking brake seized up at about 80,000 miles even with regular use but I didn't bother replacing it; I've replaced the starter at 180,000 miles, the fuel pump twice (second time was a Ford recall to fix this defect so it shouldn't be a problem for you if the PO has had the recall done), a resistor for the HVAC blower at 150,000 miles, the water pump at 160,000 and then a week later an engine mount broke (it has four so if one breaks you can still drive just fine), and then regular maintenance items like plugs and wires, O2 sensors and brakes. I'm still on the original clutch, the original CV joints etc. Overall, mine has been incredibly reliable, although the power steering has sprung a leak (but at 210k miles, I don't think this is uncommon for any car).

Would I recommend one? If someone wanted to buy one I wouldn't discourage them, but I wouldn't encourage them. Also, there are much better choices if you're looking for a good performing car for autoX or track days. If you're looking for a DD, I don't find mine uncomfortable even with upgraded shocks/springs, but I wouldn't ask anyone to ride in the back seats for more than an hour. The rear hatch is huge (I fit a bathtub in the back with the seats folded down and I could close the hatch), it gets good mileage (I average 28mpg with a lot of city driving), is fun to drive even if it won't set any records, and with an aftermarket exhaust sounds pretty good. They are great in the snow too - I've never gotten stuck in the 10 winters I've driven it, but for 7 of those winters I've had snow tires.

Oh yeah, the headlights suck. They get dinged by sand and rocks and get faded by the sun, and now are basically useless. The high beams on my Cougar are about as good as the regular headlights on my Jaguar. I'm going to try sanding/polishing the Cougar headlights to see if I can improve them, but I remember them sucking the first night I had the car. I actually had the dealer check it out because I thought the headlights weren't coming on (my car has daytime running lights and there was no change between the headlights and the DRLs, and the lighting sucked) but the dealer said they were working the same as every other Cougar.

Bob

and btw, that alternator job is no treat either.

belteshazzar wrote: and btw, that alternator job is no treat either.

Truer words have never been spoken. I did it myself once, and gladly pay someone else to do it now. It's just not worth the hassle.

Bob

Seems kind of crap.

I seem to recall a video off Tiff hooning one around and raving about it, but my memory banks may be faulty....

Even then it was probably a euro version that sucked less...

Capt Slow wrote: I seem to recall a video off Tiff hooning one around and raving about it, but my memory banks may be faulty.... Even then it was probably a euro version that sucked less...

Most reviewers did like the Cougar, but were disappointed you couldn't get one with the Contour SVT engine and shocks/springs. The Contour (especially the SVT) was loved for its handling and the Cougar inherited that handling.

Here's a video of the Contour SVT (the 4 door Cougar) winning every performance category in a comparison against a 3-series BMW, Audi A4, Jetta VR6, Infiniti G20t, and Saab 9-3 despite costing thousands less. It took 3rd in the comparison because it lacked refinement. (The video is pretty boring, I wouldn't waste much time with it).

http://www.motormobil.com/2010/01/31/cd-1999-comparison-bmw-volkswagen-ford-audi-saab-infiniti-road-test.html

Oh yeah, the Euro and North America versions were pretty much identical, except the Europeans could get a windshield with a defroster (wires in the windshield just like all cars have in the rear window) and some countries had slightly different lights.

Bob