1992 Mercury Cougar LS review from North America
"It was probably a great car until it hit 130,000 miles. Then it fell apart real quick"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The transmission had to be replaced at 150,000 miles. A cheap little plastic piece that controls oil flow to the transmission broke, denying oil to my transmission and ruining it within seconds.
The doors (it's a coupe) are huge. Huge. They go on forever. So when it hit 10 years, the door was sagging badly and I often had to put my elbow into the door to get it to open because the back end was resting on the frame. I had to hinges replaced, but that didn't last a year. It's sagging again.
Leather seats were a bad idea.
The radio became very moody. The power connection was faulty and would work intermittently, resetting my clock and my stations every time. I finally had it replaced.
The gas line completely fell apart at 164,000 miles. It was losing gas badly. One day I started my car up and noticed gas was pouring out underneath my passenger side door, leaking enough gas to fill a cup every 3 seconds. We had it towed in and the Ford mechanic said, "1992 Cougar - Did the gas line break?" I guess this is typical.
General comments?
The car moved well. If you like to drive too fast, get the LS (luxury sedan trim) instead of the XR7 because a friend told me his XR7 has a governor. My LS went as fast as anyone should ever go. The acceleration was terrific for the first 140,000 miles.
My biggest annoyance was the rear-wheel drive. I either had to pack the trunk with junk and sacrifice gas mileage, or sacrifice traction whenever it got a little slick out. I'd rather walk a mile in the snow than drive a mile in traffic with this car in the snow or ice. The fish-tailing was a lot of fun, though, especially for those in the back seat.
Spacious trunk.
My passengers had no complaints about the back seat and I carried A LOT of passengers in the five years I had this car.
The electronic dashboard on the LS was cool at first, but very annoying after awhile. I always had to move my hand to see the speedometer, and now the light is out and I can only see the speedometer when I'm on a dark highway at night.
Recommended reviews
| It's a great, safe, luxurious, and reliable car |
|
| So much potential |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1992 |
| Year of manufacture | 1992 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.8L gas Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 6 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 121000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 165000 miles |
| Previous car | Chevrolet C1500 |
| Date of Entry | 6th January, 2005 |