1994 Mercury Cougar XR-7 V8 review from North America

The brakes were essentially completely replaced about three times. The discs kept warping and there was always some component needing to be replaced.

The transmission was always clunky. We serviced it and it improved some. The transmission wanted to go fast; when I was getting on the expressway, it was very smooth and shifted correctly.

All of the ball joints and bushings had to be replaced, and there was more to be done after that. Someone had put junkyard parts on this nice car as a cheap fix.

The ignition harness failed. ($200+).

The "panic" feature on the keyless entry remotes never worked. All other functions functioned however.

The brakes were not strong enough for a car of this size. Also, no ABS control, which happened to be a standard feature on my '94 Beretta!

This car was so fast and it handled so well, even with those little 15" wheels and big truck tires.

The car rode comfortably and was very quiet. Every accommodation was there too.

I've driven Mustangs and the like and I can say that my Cougar was much more entertaining than a Mustang would have been for me. For one thing, the Cougar handled so much better than the Mustang, had the same performance, and was much more comfortable.

The car was resprayed right before we purchased it. Cosmetically, the car was absolutely clean. The powertrain was perfectly good too, it was just the endless string of brake and suspension problems that would nickel and dime one to death.

The Cougar never let me down, it always started without hesitation and took me many places in comfort. It was fun to surprise people at red lights with the explosive power under that hood too. It could get as much as 26 MPG, I usually got around 20-22.

The driver's door keypad was a terrific access tool that should be made standard on more cars.