New-Look Cougar Bares its Teeth
By Jason Hackett
Contributing Editor
My father used to drive a 1981 Mercury
Cougar. It was the epitome of a boxy, unoriginal 80s vehicle.
The all-new 1999 Mercury shattered that image with its cutting-edge
Cougar revision. Less a family car and more a sports car, the
Cougar is all about exhilaration - both in looking at it and driving
it.
The designers came up with a radical new visage for the Cougar
that has few, if any, right angles and a functionality that fits
its "New Edge" theme.
The body of the car is a geometric wonder.
From rounded front and rear bumpers to sharp-pointed window profiles
to blistered headlamps and taillamps the Cougar is a rolling mirage
- the car actually looks smaller than it really is while providing
excellent visibility inside and out.
The model we tested was fully-stocked with a 2.5 liter Duratec
V-6 24-valve engine that pumps out 170 horsepower at 6,250 rpm
and generates 165 foot-pounds of torque at 4,250 rpm.
A 2.0 liter Zetec 16-valve four cylinder is also available.
The new look provides a 0.32 drag coefficient - a statistic not
even worth mentioning when speaking of earlier incarnations.
Mercury says the Cougar's maximum torque level is lower than the
Mitsubishi Eclipse RS, has more horsepower than Saturn's SC2 and
more shoulder room up front than the '98 Dodge Avenger.
Larger-framed drivers will have no trouble fitting in the roomy
Cougar.
However, they might have a little trouble, as I did, figuring
out the multifunctional power seat controls. They simply function
differently than most on the market.
Still, I was because of its excellent handling capabilities I
was able to drive it out of downtown Denver and out onto the Interstate
without incident while trying to scoot the seat back.
The Cougar's instrument panel is something of a hybrid of traditional
American-style buttons and dials and the Europeans' way of keeping
everything simple and functional.
The four-speed automatic was a little sluggish from a dead stop
but once we pushed it to highway cruising speed the Cougar behaved
as though it has a mean streak - giving us the ability to leave
everybody else in our rearview mirror with little effort on the
steering column or foot-feed.
On the flipside of the adrenaline-pumping features are plenty
of safety considerations. Driver and passenger airbags are standard
with side airbags optional.
The V-6 model also features traction assist to complement the
anti-lock brake system.
One fairly minor disadvantage to the otherwise lucky purchaser
of a new Cougar is the lack of options for interior carpet.
The standard black does nothing for those who like their cars
to look well-groomed.
The four cylinder Cougar starts at $16,595 while the V-6 starts
at $17,095. A similarly equipped Cougar to the version we tested, with leather-wrapped
steering wheel, deck lid spoiler, four-wheel disc brakes, sport
seats, fog lamps and auxiliary warning system - which alerts the
driver, for example, when conditions are right for possibly icy
roads sells for $22,080.
