Cars Guide

Specifications prices Modifications and Image  2010 Mercury Mountaineer
What happens when you take an Explorer and slap a Mercury badge on it? Why, you get the 2010 Mercury Mountaineer, of course. Aside from minor styling and equipment differences, the Mountaineer is basically an Explorer by another name, which means its a holdout from that bygone era when all SUVs employed tough body-on-frame construction. One notable difference is the Mountaineers optional full-time all-wheel drive (the Explorer typically offers a true 4WD system with a low-range transfer case) that hints at its slightly more upscale intentions. This is an SUV for the suburban set. Trouble is, there are a slew of car-based crossover SUVs on the market now, and just about all of them are better choices for the suburbs than the dated Mountaineer.

The one thing the Mountaineer unequivocally has going for it is towing capacity. With a maximum rating of over 7,200 pounds with the optional V8, the Mountaineer can tow as much as some pickup trucks, whereas crossover SUVs typically top out at less than half the Mountaineers limit. If you plan on towing trailers or boats on a regular basis, the Mountaineer actually makes sense. As vehicular workhorses go, this Mercury is pleasantly refined and luxurious.

As modern SUVs go, however, the 2010 Mercury Mountaineer is mostly outclassed. Its available all-wheel-drive system is matched by every notable crossover SUV, and a crossovers car-based chassis will always trump the Mountaineers truck-style underpinnings when it comes to negotiating bumps and corners. Performance and fuel-efficiency are issues as well: The base Mountaineers archaic 210-horsepower V6 is put to shame by virtually every other six-cylinder engine currently available, and neither the V6 nor the optional V8 comes close to matching the typical crossover SUVs fuel economy.

The Mountaineer does have some old-school SUV company. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, Kia Borrego, Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota 4Runner can all be counted as spiritual brethren, proving that theres still a market for nature-oriented utes even in this day and age. And for on-road use, the Mountaineer is actually a pretty good pick among this group. But the Mountaineers on-road bias means you really should cross-shop it against crossovers more than traditional SUVs. And in this case, there are simply better choices than Mercurys rebadged Explorer.
INTERIOR
The Mountaineer can carry five occupants, with an optional third-row seat raising capacity to seven. The Sync communication system integrates phones and media players and allows those devices to be voice-activated. Sirius subscription-based Travel Link service, included with the optional navigation system, can pull up local gas prices, movie times, weather reports and sports scores.

    *Optional heated leather seats
    *Second-row seats can be bench or buckets; they recline on the Premier
    *Optional Sync system and satellite radio
    *Optional rear-seat DVD entertainment system with 8-inch video screen
    *Optional navigation system with Sirius Travel Link
    *Optional power-folding third-row seats
Technology and Connectivity Features
Standard and available 2010 Mercury Mountaineer technology features include:
* AM/FM single CD/MP3 player with audio input jack
* Premium AM/FM in-dash, six-CD/MP3 player with subwoofer and audio input jack
* Voice-activated navigation system
* Rear-seat DVD system
* Power Code™ remote start
* Battery saver feature
* Illuminated entry
* Keyless Entry Remote (2)
* Security – SecuriLock® Passive Anti-Theft System (PATS)
* Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
* Adjustable pedals
* Heated windshield
EXTERIOR
Mercury says the front styling and rectangular headlights suggest a subtle evolution in the companys design direction, with an emphasis on the vertically stacked front-end elements. Premier models add upgraded wheels and aluminum roof rails.

    *17-, 18- and 20-inch wheels
    *Satin aluminum touches on exterior
    *Available power-retractable running boards
    *Standard black crossbars for roof rails
    *Standard capless fuel filler system
ENGINE
The 2010 Mountaineers standard engine is Fords 4.0-liter V6, which makes a lackluster 210 hp and a more respectable 254 pound-feet of torque. The Mountaineer Premier can be equipped with an optional 4.6-liter V8, which puts out a peppier 292 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. A five-speed automatic transmission is standard with the V6, while the V8 comes with a six-speed unit. Both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are available with either engine.

A V8-equipped AWD Mountaineer required 8.3 seconds to reach 60 mph in our instrumented testing. Thats not bad, but the Toyota 4Runner is quicker, and many V6-powered crossovers put up comparable numbers. EPA fuel economy estimates for a rear-drive V6 Mountaineer are below-average at 14 mpg city/19 mpg highway and 16 mpg combined -- the V8 is actually better at 15/21/17. Opting for 4WD predictably lowers the ratings for both engines. Properly equipped, a rear-wheel-drive Mountaineer with the V8 can tow up to 7,220 pounds.
SAFERY
Fords AdvanceTrac now incorporates standard trailer-sway control. The system senses when the trailer youre towing is starting to sway and takes measures to bring it back into line. Other standard features include:

    *Four-wheel-disc antilock brakes
    *Side-impact and side curtain airbags
    *Electronic stability system with Roll Stability Control

Standard and available 2010 Mercury Mountaineer safety features include:
* AdvanceTrac with RSC and Trailer Sway Control
* Dual-stage driver and front-passenger air bags
* Belt-Minder®
* Front Passenger Sensing System
* LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system on rear outboard seat locations
* SOS Post-Crash Alert System™
* Safety Canopy® with roll over sensor (two rows of protection)
* Safety Belts, pretensioner/Energy Management System
reference:www.edmunds.com,www.cars.com,www.autospectator.com

Bloomberg and Automotive News are reporting that Ford is getting ready to wind down the Mercury brand.

Sources say the plan will be presented to directors in July. The stats make a compelling case for euthanasia...the brands peak sales year was 32 years ago, sales have dropped 74 percent in the last 10 years, ad spending by 88 percent in the last four, and with the 2011 demise of the Grand Marquis and Mountaineer, the brand would have only two models, the Milan and Mariner, clones of the Ford Fusion and Escape respectively.

The truth, of course, is that those were self-inflicted wounds. While Mercurys have had an on and off history of being based on supposedly lesser Fords, there was a time when FoMoCo worked to make them different, establish the argument for spending more for a Merc, and in the process, came up with some compelling and iconic vehicles (helped a bit by Hollywood and the original Mad Men):





The movie "Rebel Without A Cause" starred James Dean, Natalie Wood and a customized 49 Mercury. It made such an impression that 55 years after the film, the cars are commonly called "James Dean Mercurys".






Flash forward 13 years and it was another Merc, also black...driven not by a teenage rebel but by a middle-aged cop. McGarretts four-door hardtop defined cool.





At about the same time, some star power with four legs and a tail....a real-life cougar serving as the mascot for the new Mercury Cougar...a stretched, re-bodied Ford Mustang, but different enough to be percieved as a major step up.

But just as Mercury was finding its mojo, the party ended. First, Ford marketing lost the thread. Instead of a tire-smoking Steve McGarrett, they tried to sell the 1970 Mercury Monterey Coupe with a W.C. Fields impressionist (35 years after Fields peak popularity)




And it got worse. The 70s hit and so did the fuel crisis. Practicality rarely makes for an exciting sell, even when one of the vehicles is a "sexy European":



As horsepower evaporated, so did the blue ovals willingness to do more than the minimum required to turn Fords into Mercurys.  By mid-decade, the Cougar was an LTD II with a different grille and the ad agency knew that it would take the sex appeal of a not-yet famous Farrah Fawcett to move them out of showrooms.



And thats been the path since. Jill Wagner makes young mens hearts beat faster...

 

But not enough to actually buy the product. The Mercury customer continues to be a Grand Marquis buyer with an average age of 70 (which means half of them are older). And given what Grand Marquis have been for the last 35 years, thats no surprise at all:



As someone with significant Mercurys in his personal history...a 1956 Montclair and 1970 Monterey Custom Coupe (my parents), a 1969 Cougar XR-7 Convertible (my uncles) and a 1974 Capri 2800 V6 (mine), Im sad.  But this, probably more than Plymouth, Oldsmobile and Pontiac, is inevitable. Theres almost nothing left to resuscitate.