1991 Mercury Cougar XR7 from North America - Comments

The alternator went bad at 85,000K. $160 to replace.

When purchased, air did not work, so I replaced the compressor and freon gas.

Still not very cold.

Shocks (electronic auto-ride) went out in the rear. Still have not replaced them, though I plan to.

The V-8 is rated at 200HP and 275lbs. of torque. Pretty quick, but does not handle well in turns and rough roads.

Rear wheel drive spins easily on wet roads and does not drive too well in snow. But once you learn how to handle car in snow, no problem. Just use driving skills.

An absolute load of features for a low priced vehicle. Such as dual 6-way power seats with power lumbar and bolsters, power windows, locks, outside mirrors, steering with mounted cruise control, AM-FM cassette/CD with premium audio and sub woofer, information center (oil, radiator, fuel, windshield wash levels), automatic head lamps and keyless code entry.

Comfortable front seating; limited legroom in rear. Premium cloth with embroidery (XR7) on the front seats with adjustable head rests.

I had the car repainted in monochromatic (all body color, minimal chrome trim) Candy Apple Red metallic, installed a rear spoiler, dual chrome exhaust tips, and fog lamps.

The only complaints I have is the gas mileage and ride, though rides best on highways. The gas mileage is 15-16 city and 17-21 highway. To me it's horrible!!

The only criticism I see that's blatantly different from my experience with my own '91 XR7 is the fact that mine handles extremely well in the turns. Lots of power and I believe that 21 -24 mpg highway and 15 - 18 mpg city is very good for a car of this weight and power.

I would think your mileage is fair, for weight class, power, and overall performance with the 5 liter engine.

I own the same car and get approx 25-28 mpg highway.

Hugs the corners and curves with surefooted pleasure

I would check or replace the tires. Original equipment tire

were Firestone Firehawks, I changed to Michelin XGT4 this

made a 500% improvement.

I bought a used 91 Cougar XR7 as well, just 5 months ago. I've owned mustangs and other smaller, sportier cars. This car literally blows me away with it's agility and power for it's nearly 4,000 lbs. This car would easily take both '66 Mustangs, which had redone suspension, either in the curves or in a straight line race. And it beats them both in fuel economy. I get 15 around town and 24 on the highway. The old 289 'Stangs didn't get that on a GOOD day.

The EFI is so easy to modify for power gains it's ridiculous! I'm planning on putting in a 3.73 or 4.10 rearend to replace the now stock 3.08s. This will surely bring smiles to my face. The gas mileage will go down by 2mpg. However, with the added punch... who cares? =)

I drive my car on roads that curve violently, and the car handles great. I bought Z-rated tires so that may have improved the way it handles.

I also had the auto-ride struts and shocks go bad on my Cougar and I replaced them with the ones that came on the LS models.

The V8 has plenty of power, but modifications to it are limited.

You cannot buy headers to fit it, the area is to small for even shorty headers to fit.

The car is about 800 lbs. heavier than a Mustang so simple upgrades will not even it out. Superchargers and Nitrous Oxide are the only way to go. (or you can do a engine swap)

I bought the car at 109,000 miles and the odometer stopped at 111,333. Also the tachometer doesn't work.

I have had to replace.

Struts\shocks

alternator

distributor

motor mounts (both sides)

full suspension

full brakes

harmonic balancer

power steering rack (Rack and Pinion)

Headlamps

power locks.

Well to begin your wrong about the horse power. The 1991 Mercury Cougar XR7 came with one engine. The 5.0L H.O. 225 horse power and 275lb of torque. Next, with Corvette style suspension it handles very well. That is Fully independent rear suspension, Trak Loc or (Posi), Air bag controlled suspension, and 4 wheel disk brakes. The suspension on this car is so good it will almost out corner a Corvette. Think of this, if you own a 1991 Mercury Cougar XR7 then you own one of the rarest Cougars ever built. If you don't believe me try finding one for sale. You may find a couple, but not near as many for most other years. Except 79 and lower. This car rides just like a Corvette. Like it should.

I am the proud owner of a 1991 Mercury Cougar XR7. I have read all the reviews and I agree and disagree with these comments. First off, the car rides and handles like a true sports car. For the weight and year of this car, the suspension is very advanced. Front upper and lower control arms are very large as well as the anti-sway bar. IRS is a blessing for the very smooth ride. Automatic ride control is suitable for any situation. Braking, acceleration, cornering and high speed stability. The EVO power assist steering tops off the great stability.

The braking system is good also. The four wheel anti-lock disc brakes work well. Only thing is if your master cylinder goes

your gonna spend a pretty penny on it. The rebuild kits are great as long as the cylinder bore is not pitted or warped. A master for this car is anywhere between $1,800 to $2,200, not good. And at that price, you know its not made in the US. It's German made.

The interior is wonderful. Instruments are easily accessible

Seats are comfortable and fully adjustable. The rear is cramped and would be good for young children.

Performance in this car is good for your daily driver. Car is rated at 200hp and 275lbs/ft. torque. This is accurate. The high output 5.0 in cougars and t-birds have different cams as compared to the mustang. Also if you want to get more power out of your car there are lots of things you can do to your car. There hard to find, but they do exist. Cylinder heads, cams, throttle bodies, air meters, air filters, and air intake manifolds. You will need to replace the hood with an aftermarket hood if you swap out the air intake manifold (clearance problems).

I have had my cougar for four years. I bought it and it had 135,000 miles on it. It now has 211,320 miles and its just starting to burn oil. That's OK though. I just finished building a new motor for it. Only now it will be a 331ci 5.4 liter Cougar XR7. See you on race day!!

I have owned my 1991 mercury cougar XR7 for about 15 mos. I bought the car in Indiana for $3,000. It had sat for a long time after the user didn't drive it any more, so a lot of electrical problems surfaced. Since I've owned the car, I have had to fix several things including: both power windows, EGR solenoid, EGR valve, front brake rotors, brake pads, ignition tune up, and my AOD transmission. I'm not a "Hot Rodder" as far as my driving style, but I still managed to blow the snap ring off of the front pump in the trans and fuse the 3rd clutchs together. With 3rd gear in a slight snafu, the trans got locked in overdrive and would not downshift. Because the trans is a modern AOD, most transmission shops wanted $3,000 for a rebuild. My guy did it for $2,200. Looking at the transmission, one can see that Ford overlooked several things. First off, the MN12 chassis is nearly 4,000 pounds! A mustang is about 3200! Yet, the cougar/thunderbird receives the same transmission parts as a mustang. The mustang parts are strong, but not strong enough for the abuse of a 4,000 pound car. After finding a Ford transmission "guru", I was able to have the transmission built as it should have came from the factory: seven forward clutches instead of 6, police and taxi heavy duty ports opened up on the valve body, a 3-4 gear change accumulator added ('91 AOD didn't get them) to soften the 3-4 shift, F-150 truck A servo and a firmer, but not "hot rod" shift kit available from TransGo. The OEM shift kit has way too much overlap and 'grocery getter' feel.

Overall, after having the transmission built up for the weight of a 4,000 pound car, I have not driver a better built machine. Once the alignment, brakes, and tune up were completed, the car came to life. I had the tires replaced at 77K with a larger size of 235/55/16. This was perfect. I have driver Saleen Mustangs, GT mustangs, SVO mustangs, and various other blue oval products and this one is my favorite for the daily grind! And it gets an averaged 22 MPG.

Hey, I have a 1991 XR-7 and I love it. I picked it up for $1000 and it had 130 thousand miles on it.

So far the drivers side and passenger side automatic windows have failed. I got the drivers side fixed for 300$, and have yet to fix the passenger side. I have question for you cougar guys. When the temperature inside the car reaches, for instance when its parked in the sun on a hot day; my speedometer will stop working.

Also, with the auto-ride system... when I don't have the rocker switch on FIRM, the firm light blinks, I checked it out in the manual and it said to take it to the dealer. I hate the dealer, and just would like to know if you think that I just need to shocks, or what.

I really love this car. It is my first car and have been driving it for a few months now. Since 90% of the driving I do is in town and to school, my gas mileage is piss poor. That also is attributed to my rubber and gas burning driving style :).

All in all I love the car and recommend it to anyone who can find one. -Nick Harris.

I purchased my 91 xr7 from the 1st owner. its got everything on the list with all leather and jbl sound which has stopped workin due to the radio. has actual 198,377 miles on it. hadnt ran in 2 and half yrs, but got it for $500. jump started it and it has been runnin every since. gets good gas mileage, but check engine lite comes on in heavy traffic and on rough roads seems to have some rattles to it. mercury hit it on the nose with this one.

I just bought a '91 XR7 for 300 bucks. I'm confused about the engine though. Some say that the 5.0 HO is the same as a Mustang GT of same year, and some say it is different. I need to know if this is true because I'm going to scrap everything, but the engine, trans, and computer. I will then transplant all of the above into a '76 F100. I just need to know if an after-market Mustang wiring harness will work for the engine management duties.

If anybody has any answers please let me know.

The engine is the same 5.0L engine that came in the Mustang. It does have the lower power levels listed above due to having a different intake than the Mustang engine. This was required by less hood clearance on the Cougar/Tbirds. The original poster stated that his firm light was blinking on the dash, this means there is a problem with the automatic ride control system. Obviously his judgment that this is a poor handling car is kind of silly after stating his rear shocks were bad. These cars handle well and have a independent rear like Corvettes do but by no means could handle with a modern Vette in serious curves. The AOD transmissions did have the same parts as the ones in Mustangs because it was the same motor. The best stock AODs those years were the ones in the 1989-90 supercharged XR7s and the Thunderbird Super Coupes because those engines had significantly higher torque outputs.