1999 Mercury Cougar from North America

Summary:

Fast

Faults:

A 1999 Mercury Cougar is the fastest car I have driven. The cougar accelerates very quickly and goes is an all around sport fast car. The car stops at 115 but if the governor is taken off could go up to 150. I don't have trouble with my car that often, and when it has, it has gotten taken care of very quickly. I have noticed that the engine light goes on frequently, and depending on the condition of the car when you get it, will probably determine how good of shape the engine is in. My car tends to vibrate a little when I start going 80 mph or so, but that might be because I got the car used. The car drives great, the best car I have ever driven, the fastest car that accelerates easier than any car I have ever driven. So I would rate the drive of the car at the highest ranking and the engine and all other parts at about an 8. The car looks like a million bucks and is great.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th January, 2004

8th Mar 2004, 23:39

I can agree with the engine light being on for no reason at all! I recently purchased my 99 cougar and I had it service as soon as I left the lot, but the engine light stays on! Should I be concerned? Also, when I accelerate between 15mph and 30mph my rpms jumps to 6. What could be the cause of that?

17th Dec 2004, 12:54

This is directed to the person who commented last. I own a 99 v6 model, and my RPM's did the same thing right before my transmission went out.

31st Mar 2005, 23:27

Well, I thought I would drop a few lines toward these comments and say that that first of all you need to get your Cougars tires professionally balanced and mounted, (It will completely stop shaking), and for the other persons comment try running your car with the overdrive turned off while at speeds under 55mph it might help suppress and pro-long what is left of your transmission. Oh and before I forget, the check engine light is nothing to worry about just make sure not to use a lockable gas cap even if they say it is compatible with your car, It will cause emissions to fail and turn the light on.

1999 Mercury Cougar V6 2.5 Liter from North America

Summary:

Very affordable and fast with few problems

Faults:

The fuel pump is mounted too high, so you need to have at least one half of a tank of gas at all times or the fuel pump will burn out. This is expensive to replace. Also, the car will die occasionally and will have trouble shifting gears up (if it is an automatic) if you do not have half of a tank of gas.

The trunk latch requires you to manually open it because it will get stuck if you use the remote or the button inside the car. This is annoying at worst, rarely a real problem.

The interior has a very plastic look, so it looks kind of cheap. However, it is not an expensive car, so it is cheap.

It wears out tires quickly, so don't spend a lot of money on tires since they will get worn out quickly either way.

The starter didn't function correctly when I bought it. I'm not sure if this is because of the previous owner or because of a defect in the design of the car, but it was fixed for free when I bought it. I have heard of this happening with other Cougars as well.

General Comments:

The car has a massive V6 engine, so it accelerates quickly and goes fast. I have raced V8 standard mustangs and won in short distance races. The top speed I've reached in this car is 139 miles per hour.

It looks great. Girls like the way this car looks, and so did Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Dodge because the Eclipse, the Celica, and the Stealth look a lot like the Cougar.

The car's handling is excellent. I have taken 20 MPH turns at 45 or 50 MPH. I scare all my friends when I drive because they aren't used to the car's fabulous ability to make sharp turns.

The car is inexpensive. I bought it for $10,000 with 42,000 miles on it. Like any car, you must take care of the Cougar in order for it to work. As long as you pay attention to how much fuel you have left and keep it above one half of a tank, then you shouldn't have any serious problems with it. Most cars, especially American ones, will have problems with them.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 16th December, 2003

3rd Mar 2004, 18:50

How could Mitsu copy anything concerning the 3000GT or Stealth? They both came out in 1991 and the second generation came out in 1994, a full five years before your car came out.

22nd Sep 2004, 23:46

I feel the same way about your review. How did these companies manage to copy the Cougar's body style if they were stamped years before it came out? Are you referring to an older model cougar? Because if you are, you still don't make sense.