Are the late 90's, early 00's Mercury Cougars good cars?
- Thread starter ssshadii
- Start date
Theyre excellent cars.
The New Edge was made from 99-02, its not going to be any less reliable than a Civic from the same time period at this point (initially the Civic was better, but it evens our over time).
There are many with 200k+ miles that are running fine, many that arent, but it isnt hard to tell which ones have been taken care of.
Gas mileage on a V6 MTX will be about 32 hwy and 28city if you arent heavy on the gas.
If you want some speed out of it, you'll have to get a V6 with a manual tranny. The ATX tranny is reliable, but isnt very efficient. The car loses about 30% of its power to the auto tranny.
If youre not concerned about the speed and can drive manual then consider the I4 MTX. It performs just as well as the V6 ATX but gets better mileage. There are only about 500 I4 ATX's, so that model isnt worth looking.
If you are concerned about performance, there arent many cars in its price range that can compete with the V6 MTX. It takes to mods very well if you want to go that route. It isnt a drag car though-it was made for handling rather than straight line racing. There are tons of great power and suspension mods though. The engine was originally much more powerful, but output was cut so it wouldnt hurt Mustang sales, so it has lots of potential. Between the durability of the engine, SVT engine parts from the Contour, the naturally good handling, and all the performance suspension parts it is a very good buy for keeping stock or for modding.
You can get more info about potential problems (including early warning signs to look for), capabilities, repairs, etc at www.newcougar.org and www.teamneco.com.
The community for the car is excellent and always very helpful whenever you have a problem.
Mercury dealerships are also great! I found that they will frequently give a discount on repairs (down to the price at a private shop) for no real reason. I would have bought another Merc when mine got totalled just for that, but they dont make anything but family cars now.
The New Edge was made from 99-02, its not going to be any less reliable than a Civic from the same time period at this point (initially the Civic was better, but it evens our over time).
There are many with 200k+ miles that are running fine, many that arent, but it isnt hard to tell which ones have been taken care of.
Gas mileage on a V6 MTX will be about 32 hwy and 28city if you arent heavy on the gas.
If you want some speed out of it, you'll have to get a V6 with a manual tranny. The ATX tranny is reliable, but isnt very efficient. The car loses about 30% of its power to the auto tranny.
If youre not concerned about the speed and can drive manual then consider the I4 MTX. It performs just as well as the V6 ATX but gets better mileage. There are only about 500 I4 ATX's, so that model isnt worth looking.
If you are concerned about performance, there arent many cars in its price range that can compete with the V6 MTX. It takes to mods very well if you want to go that route. It isnt a drag car though-it was made for handling rather than straight line racing. There are tons of great power and suspension mods though. The engine was originally much more powerful, but output was cut so it wouldnt hurt Mustang sales, so it has lots of potential. Between the durability of the engine, SVT engine parts from the Contour, the naturally good handling, and all the performance suspension parts it is a very good buy for keeping stock or for modding.
You can get more info about potential problems (including early warning signs to look for), capabilities, repairs, etc at www.newcougar.org and www.teamneco.com.
The community for the car is excellent and always very helpful whenever you have a problem.
Mercury dealerships are also great! I found that they will frequently give a discount on repairs (down to the price at a private shop) for no real reason. I would have bought another Merc when mine got totalled just for that, but they dont make anything but family cars now.