Mercury’s Cougar integrates edgy design which have stylish addressing and you may an offered V6 motor
Pick Vehicles
The brand new 1967 Cougar mutual build and gratification, and you may Mercury claims it made an effort to achieve that exact same harmony when designing which current age group design which have front-controls drive.
Design Lineup
A few engines appear. The base motor is the Zetec, a two.0-liter double above-cam, 16-device inline-4 ranked from the 125 hp and you will 130 foot-pounds of torque. Recommended try a two.5-liter dohc, 24-device Duratec V6 ranked at 170 hp and you may 165 legs-pounds away from torque.
You could potentially give which system the vehicle features by the deciding on new wheels and you will tires: Six-spoke 16-inch wheels include brand new V6 model, five-spoke 15-inches tires come with the fresh 4-tube design. A rear spoiler features the brand new V6, but may end up being removed for a great $235 borrowing; it is a good $235 option on the 4-tube.
Base Cougar has cooling, 15-inches aluminum rims, electricity windows, stamina doorway hair, fuel height-variable seat and you may Have always been/FM/cassette stereo. The sport V6 alternative comes with brand new spoiler, 16-inches wheels, disc brake system, fog lamps, recreation chair, high-level thin, and a fabric-covered steering wheel and you may shift manhood. A comfort category contributes sail control, bottom washing machine in addition to premium stereo. An automated signal can be obtained simply on V6 design. Possibilities were front side airbags, Stomach and you may grip handle, good sunroof, and you can an in-dash Computer game user.
Walkaround
With its catlike headlamps and capturing outlines, the brand new Cougar turns out nothing else on the run. It coupe enjoys easy, cut counters laid out by clean retracts and you may evident intersections. Parts of this vehicle ends up it actually was toned that have good clear blade, given that bottom fender try game, and you may similar to the brand new Lexus South carolina. Which car also provides specific sweet external info: Small triangles show the region toward jerking situations. Side markers try to be turn signals in order to alert vehicle operators next-door.
Cougar looks in a position for highest speeds and you can wandering courses. A portion of the factor in it is their relatively enough time wheelbase which have European-layout brief overhangs.
Interior Has actually
The fresh exterior’s Brand new Line university regarding construction is actually transmitted inside that have a sweeping arc one encompasses the brand new driver’s domain name. It is a very useful environment that’s entertaining to your eyes. Stylish instruments element light wide variety toward a dark-gray history. Switchgear appears highest-technical that is extremely practical. Sturdy bullet air outlet feature private incorporated with the/out-of switches.
The front bucket chairs is corporation and you can supporting. Getting into right back is not difficult and also the rear buckets are surprisingly comfy. Scooped away seat soles offer an effective headroom, when you’re room beneath the front seating will bring down legroom. Nonetheless, this will be no sedan. No-one will want to drive for an extended time of your energy right back truth be told there.
Operating Impressions
Cougar offers the truth is a great dealing with and you may solid stability during the price once the I found at Path Atlanta, a great gutsy high-speed path-race routine into the north Georgia. Nowhere is so it far more obvious than just from the entry to make dos, a comparatively slow tech put with respect to chassis personality. This new change-from inside the part for it best-give place was at the top a mountain in fact it is immediately preceded from the an easy left. I crested the mountain topped call at 3rd methods. Because the car is actually cresting the mountain, new suspension system is unloaded as there are nothing lbs with the wheels – a difficult location for simple braking. However, quite difficult braking is required to slow the automobile and you will it’s not hard to brake too late and take beyond the change-inside the section. Stopping and you may flipping meanwhile is problematic and it’s very problematic on suspension unloaded. You can spin the car in this instance.
Although Cougar noticed reliable at change-inside point, enabling us to open up the fresh new V6, diving along the slope and take the following group of higher-rate contours flat out. In contrast, an earlier-age group Mitsubishi Eclipse GS considered not sure therefore dos, which quicker log off rates in the place. An effective Saturn SC2 believed outright harsh, though it managed rather well. Through the large-speed transforms, the latest Cougar are new Rock of Gibraltar. The steering given best be than the almost every other a couple trucks and the fresh suspension system considering more control.
Cougar’s system escort Pasadena is based on the newest Ford Contour and you may Mercury Mystique, but adventures on the a greater song – the distance amongst the right and left tires – and you will spends a significantly firmer suspension system so you can delight lover people. A rigid framework, solid anti-roll pubs, and you may highest-speed springs are created to augment dealing with. Particularly tailored engine brackets are intended to reduce noise. Lbs shipments is actually . Leading suspension uses MacPherson struts which have coil springs minimizing A-hands. The back is a Quadralink program having strut-kind of coil spring season/dampers and you will inactive buttocks steering.
The latest racetrack get it done was with a long great time from the hills northern from Atlanta where the Cougar clung towards the street including a cat dangling in order to a forest. The fresh Cougar believed at home regarding slopes and you may featured appropriately entitled there. The stability given count on while its sharp handling and you may quick throttle reaction advised competing riding. Brand new brakes, that use rotors lent regarding the higher-show SVT Ford Figure, did without fade in spite of regular hard fool around with.
My thoughts had been reinforced a week later, where Cougar’s real steering and you can better-tuned suspension system assisted they cut cleanly owing to a strict autocross way near Baltimore. In comparison, an SC2 appeared to assemble pylons, while the energy steering pump to your an enthusiastic Eclipse GS cannot match direction enters from the slalom.
The base Cougar are an incredibly able to auto that prompts spirited operating. Ford’s cuatro-cylinder Zetec motor will bring a beneficial effect in the road speed. So it motor weighs in at less than the newest V6, and this boosts the balance of your auto.
Nonetheless, it appears to be a pity to acquire good Cougar with no intelligent Duratec V6. Effortless and you may advanced when you are driving, it emits a satisfying growl when riled. Although it will not give the Cougar the newest strike out of an Acura Integra GS-Roentgen or Honda Prelude SH, this may maintain those two athletics coupes into the northern Georgia’s mountainous channels. Simply aren’t getting spoke towards a pull competition having green glides because you you are going to get rid of. Low-rate and you may status-initiate velocity is good, however, passage stamina is very good. Top price are estimated in the 137 miles per hour, however, we haven’t tried that.
This new easy-moving forward 5-rates guide gearbox try correct really to your V6, having rates one to complement this new torque of your own system. I strongly recommend it. The fresh four-speed automated is designed to bring smooth shifting and to minimize looking for equipment whenever traveling up and down enough time grades.
Summary
Driving followers looking for a sport coupe would be to get a close look at the Cougar V6. People who wanted an attractive, standard coupe can’t go wrong into 4-tube design. Both are valued aggressively to contend with particular designs off Japan.