1996 Mercury Sable review from North America
"Awesome daily driver"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Nothing has been replaced, except tune up items.
General comments?
The 3.0L Vulcan is one of the most dependable engines Ford ever made. Very common to see these engines reach 300,000 miles.
The reason I bought this was for college. I also own a Mustang. I did this because no garage, bad mpg, and potentially deafening for extended trips.
I drive to St. Louis and Chicago roughly every 3 weeks to visit my folks and girlfriend. I drive everyday to school and work. About 30 miles a day. The Sable is super quiet and smooth. There are times at a stop when I look at the tach to make sure the car is running still.
On highway I get 30mpg; yes, 30. City I get about 22-24. Mind you that HWY 55 (the HWY I take to St. Louis) is very flat and straight, so that helps the mileage. On the highway I go 80-85 mph and the Sable has no problems at that speed.
I bought the car from a dealer. An older lady owned it and traded it in for a '08 Sable. I put in plugs, a PCV valve, air filter, cabin filter, thermostat, oil, and flushed the coolant. This car is very easy to work on.
The Sable and Taurus were the #1 selling car for many years.
IMO I would stay away from the 24 valve V-6. They had head gasket problems. The 12 valve engine gets the Sable moving OK. I'm not scared of getting run over when coming off an on ramp.
Recommended reviews
| Comfortable drivability, but ultimately another shoddy Ford product |
|
| This car has been very reliable, even at 200,000 miles! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1996 |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 2007 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2007 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.0L 12 valve Vulcan V6 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 53991 miles |
| Most recent distance | 56097 miles |
| Date of Entry | 3rd October, 2007 |