1996 Mercury Villager GS review from North America
"Terrific used minivan"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Just regular maintenance items.
Since we bought the van used with considerable mileage (92,000), we changed the timing belt, the accessory belts (3), flushed the oil system, cleaned the fuel injectors, new brake pads and machined the rotors, changed the struts and changed the transmission oil & filter. These were mostly preventive maintenance items.
Oil & filter changed every 3000 miles.
No unforeseen repairs. No surprises! Van drives like it has half the actual miles.
General comments?
Engine and transmission work very well. Not very quick from a standing start (weighs 3800 lbs) but has surprisingly good passing power. Engine idles very smoothly, revs quickly and sounds quite sporty. Drivetrain is same as 1989-94 Maxima. Very good torgue from 1500 to 3500 rpm.
Size is perfect for NYC: not too big yet good interior space.
I put on P235/60-16 Yokohama AVID V4's on 16x7 alloys with stiffer (KYB GR-2) shocks. Van handles very very well. Can drive very aggressively. Not great for long drives: a bit noisy and ride is a bit rough.
No problems!
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| Most reliable car I've ever owned |
|
| A good value used, but buy a late model |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2000 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.0L 12V SOHC V6 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 92000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 101000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 17th December, 2000 |