1996 Mercury Sable GS review from North America

When I got the car, with 124,900 miles on it, it had no apparent issues. In the next 18 months and 23,000 miles, the following repair situations occured:

-Relay box for headlights died.

-Front end alignment.

-Electrical system went crazy with certain interior lights refusing to turn off (I ended up actually removing the bulbs) problem was eventually traced to a bad lead cable to the battery.

-Rear struts starting making a lot of noise around 145,000 miles. Then the front ones went, too.

-The head gasket blew around 147,000 miles.

-The usual oil changes, filters, brake pads, etc.

-Thermostat was repaired shortly before I got the car.

Until it started falling apart all at once, it was a very comfortable car with good performance.

Decent gas mileage (for it's size) - I got approximately 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway.

Didn't use much oil, either.

Definitely responded when the gas pedal was stepped on. The V6 had some power. Then again, my previous car was a 4-banger, 1.5 litre Honda, so the Mercury might've just *seemed* fast to me :)

One of the more comfortable cars I've owned. I drove it 500 miles without getting a sore back or rear end. Very adjustable and cushy cloth seat.

The door openings for the back seat were small. I'm only 5'10" and had to duck my head low to get in the back seat.

Stupid design flaw: If you have the console area open with the cup holders flipped out and all that- it 100% blocks the ashtray and lighter. You may not smoke or care, but there goes your change tray and lighter to plug your cell phone charger into as well.

Trunk space was inadequate. Though it goes deep into the car (and the back seats fold down), the opening is narrow and nothing bulky can really fit in.

Overall, this was a nice care to drive. But, even though I kept up with routine oil changes and maintenance- when it stated to go, it just went. The brakes started getting squealy, the struts died, the electrical system began acting up again, and the head gasket blew- all within a few months.