1991 Mercury Topaz L review from North America

Idler pulley -- 1999 and 2005.

Alternator (5X) -- 1999-2002 (4 replacements under manufacturer's warranty)

Cat. back exhaust system -- 2006.

Tie-rod end -- 2000.

Front wheel bearing and hub (L.H.) -- 2005.

C.V. boots (3X)

Rust repair -- 2003 and current.

Daytime running light module (replaced under service bulletin) -- 1999.

A/C recharge -- 1999 and current.

Rocker arm cover gasket -- 2005.

Trans. flush -- 2006.

Brakes -- 2004.

Ignition switch -- current.

I bought the car in February of 1999 for $1700. 7.5 years later I still have no desire to replace it. It's an old car, and it has cost me some money, but every repair has been something that would be considered routine maintenance for a 15-year-old car. I am very proactive in maintaining my car's mechanical operation as well as its appearance: it may be old, but it's mine and it's paid for!

I live in a place where the temperature can range from 40°C (105°F) to -40°, and the car has never overheated or frozen up. It may not like to start on cold mornings, but I have never been stranded by a car that won't start. All cars have personalities all their own, and I know that my car likes to be plugged in for at least an hour and run for 10 minutes or so when the temperature drops below -20°C (-5°F), so that's what I do. After about 10 minutes of idling, the heater is already blowing hot, and the cabin is warm within minutes after that. I'm sure it would heat faster if I would replace the thermostat already. Then when the snow flies, my car is in its element. Deep, soft powder is no match for my little silver-beige snowplow: one it has a head of steam, it won't stop. Heavy, wet snow, however, is another story, but we don't get a lot of wet snow around here, so this issue may be related to driver inexperience.

My car prefers summer weather (as do most cars). Starting is never a problem, and, as stated earlier, neither is overheating. When the A/C works, it blows STUPID cold. I mean, after I had it recharged in 1999, I set the climate control to Max A/C -- cabin air is recirculated -- and after about half an hour, I could see my breath inside the car despite the fact that it was above 30°C (85°F) outside. Being that the A/C system uses R-12 (freon) refrigerant, I'll be expecting to pay at least $200 for a recharge, as R-12 is no longer manufactured.

Don't get me wrong, my car is far from perfect. My biggest beef is the horrendous fuel economy. 11L/100Km (20mpg) city, 9L/100Km (26mpg) highway, really hurts when gas costs $1.20/L ($4.50/USgal). The culprit is the abysmal 3-speed auto., which causes the poor engine to buzz like a very loud and overworked bumble bee at highway speeds. Would it have been too much for Ford to equip the car with an overdrive gear? Speaking of highway speeds, the car can make it past 130Km/h (80mph) with little effort, but don't expect to get there quickly. Passing can be troublesome, as acceleration is hampered by the fact that third gear doesn't offer the torque to get up to speed, and second gear doesn't offer the requisite horsepower at high RPM. Again, where's the overdrive gear, and maybe better gear ratios?

Pet peeve #2 is that fact that my car is as boring as a big bowl of mashed potatoes. The designers in Dearborn didn't spend much time getting creative with any of the sheet metal. A flat hood leads into flat fenders, which lead into flat doors, which lead into flat quarter panels, which lead into a flat trunk lid. It's your typical 3-box design, broken up by a boring black rubber and faux-chrome door molding that encircles the middle of the sheet metal like a cheap '70s-style belt. The spartan interior is a mass of boring vinyl, plastic, carpet, and ugly nylon upholstery. I have seen many cars similar to mine with badly worn seats and carpet, but thankfully my car has not met that fate... yet. The lack of a cup holder was remedied by a trip to the auto wrecker, where I pulled a cup holder/cassette tray assembly out of a later model (the cassette tray serves no purpose other than as a mount for the cup holder due to the fact that the factory AM/FM radio was immediately replaced with an after-market CD player). All of the boringness aside, my major problem with the interior is the seats, more specifically that the seats are not made for anybody taller than 170cm (5' 7"). I'm 188cm (6' 2"). The driver's seat sits too high for me, it's too close to the wheel even when set as far back as possible, and the lack of a tilt steering column makes entry and egress more difficult than it need be.

I will conclude my mentioning that the major pleasure of owning my car has been performing many of the repairs myself, and I am by no means a mechanic. For example, all five alternator replacements were done in the parking lot of the parts store, with the quickest swap taking 8 minutes (the alternator is driven off the power steering pump by a separate belt, hence the quick change) in the middle of January. Despite its shortcomings, I won't be getting rid of my car any time soon. Why would I want to get a newer car that needs a specialised computer diagnostic system -- not to mention the mechanic at $75/hour -- to figure out that it needs a $10 part that, because of a funky configuration, I can't change myself? Thanks, but I'll take my old grandma car any day.