...Anybody have a Mercury Mariner?

[Petrograde]

My wife wants one. I checked out the Mercury site, it seems like a decent vehicle for hauling around curtain climbers.

So, does anyone here have one, or have any first hand info? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

Thanks!

[baltimoremm]

I drive an 05 escape for work, basically the same thing. I have 38k on it so far and no problems with the abuse that I put on it. It gets pretty decent mileage too.
-Nate

[jimlam56]

I don't own one,but have driven plenty of Escapes and Mariners as rental cars.
Pretty decent cars, but the dash layout is too ricer for me.
Comfortable ride though; I drove one recently for 500 miles with out severe posterier cramps.
Also not a big fan of fwd...IMHO.
Jim

[Petrograde]

Thanks for the replies so far,..

I'm looking for something safe, and economic for my wife to drive around in. The Mariner or Escape may be it.

Has anyone noticed if it has a tendency to try to roll when cornering?

[Joe Walsh]

Going to bury the Honda??

P.S. Don't let the MRS. know that your purchase was influenced by the HOTTIE in the Mariner commercials...;)

[fastblackmerc]

If you don't have to have an SUV-type vehicle look at the Mercury Milan.... lotsa safety features, V-6, 5-passenger, good sized trunk, low list price for a decently equipt one. Going to test drive one next week, my wife is interested in one....

[younga1]

Have several Mariners in the fleet that I manage. It like other Mercury vs. Ford badges vehicles appears the be decked out with some additional features.

Overall they are holding up well. A few of the drivers paid to upgrade from the base version which makes a huge difference.

[Petrograde]

Going to bury the Honda??

P.S. Don't let the MRS. know that your purchase was influenced by the HOTTIE in the Mariner commercials...;)

I'll be trading the Honda in,.. on whatever we decide to go with. ..she IS a hottie huh? :drool:

I looked at the Milan,.. good looking car. However, the wife want a minivan of small SUV. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the replies!

[HwyCruiser]

We've had an '01 Escape XLT V6 4WD since Aug of '01. 37k miles so far and we have a 7 yr / 70k mile extended warranty on it. It's the wife's work vehicle in the winter but I've been driving it this past year for work since we bought a minivan for her last winter.

The V6 is fair, I couldn't imagine a 4 cylinder being able to get out of its own way though. The FWD to 4WD feature on the Escape makes it very capable in the winter. If we can't get there in the snow not many others are either. So far not too many things went wrong with it other than the break booster and battery needing to be replaced on warranty.

It's kind of small for me, but the wife and kids like it. The Mercury trim may be a little better than the Ford, but there's a lot of plastic inside and out. We aren't planning on unloading it any time soon so we're more or less happy with it.

[Marauder2005]

I actually like those, they make them in a color similar to the "red" on

our Marauders, looks good.

[jabird56]

Bought a Mariner (with the v-6) for the wife last January, and she LOVES it. Got the PREMIER with AWD and moon roof. Have yet been able to find snow deep enough for the AWD to kick-in. Currently it has 13K on it and the only problem we have encountered was a loose bolt on the oil pan. The Merc definitely has a better interior and sound proofing than the Escape, I like the exterior esthetics also. It also has a better OEM sound system then the MM...oh well. The only negative is a 13 gal gas tank.

Jay

[mrjones]

[QUOTE=fastblackmerc]If you don't have to have an SUV-type vehicle look at the Mercury Milan....


There's also going to be a wagon/crossover/suv type vehicle out shortly based on the Milan/Fusion called the Edge.

[cougarmandan]

My wife has an 02 Escape XLT 4wd. I like it. Mud is fun in it, but don't tell her that. Does as well in the mud as the Subaru Brat I learned to drive on in the river bottoms. I was jealous of the Mariners when they came out. The interior looks so much better and they have so many small improvements over the 02 Escape. We take it routinely to visit her folks in Kansas (4-7 hour depending if were going to her parent or grandparents). Marauder so much more comfortable on long trips though. One thing I did notice, we test drove 8 to 10 new and used Escapes in Feb 04, and the ones with cloth interior are much quieter than the leather. We were going to get a new Limited with Leather until we tested the 02 XLT with cloth. So much quieter .... and cheaper plus it had the towing package which isn't on tha many of them. Handy for my motorcycle trailer.

[67435animal]

I'll be trading the Honda in,.. on whatever we decide to go with. ..she IS a hottie huh? :drool:

I looked at the Milan,.. good looking car. However, the wife want a minivan of small SUV. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the replies!

Take a look at the Freestyle. I have heard good things about it.