Mercury Mountaineer

The Mercury Mountaineer is a midsize sport utility vehicle (SUV) developed by Mercury, which is now owned by the Ford Motor Company. It was launched in 1997, and the Mercury Mountaineer shared many features in terms of mechanics with Ford Explorer. Externally, they look somewhat different, but they’re almost the same under the hood, though the Mountaineer comes with slightly advanced interior.

First generation (1997-2001)

For the first generation, the Mercury prefaced an Explorer twin known as the Mountaineer. It was slightly modified version of the Explorer and it provided some additional luxury features.

It had a traditional 302 cu 5.0 L Windsor V8 engine that delivered 215 hp. For 1998, it was traded with a new overhead-cam 4.0 L Cologne V6 engine with 215 hp output, connected to a five-speed 5R55E automatic transmission. And. now this transmission is the standard transmission on all Mountaineer models.

Second Generation (2002-2005)

The second generation Mercury Mountaineer was prefaced in 2002 and it was redesigned by the Ford Motor Company. It was loaded with most luxury and advanced features, which were not to be seen in its last generation. This Mountaineer provided amenities such as

• rear radio deck,
• a rear-seat TV/DVD player, and
• Wood grain trim.

With the preface of its version, the sales increased drastically. It had many more useful features and luxurious looks. Some of the design cues in this Mountaineer were barred taillights and waterfall grille. The Mercury Mountaineer received high ratings in almost all the fields.

Third Generation (2006-Present)

Currently, the third generation of the Mercury Mountaineer is being traded in the automotive markets. It was introduced in 2006 with an almost untouched interior. The Mountaineer was developed on the heavily revised platform to offer more spacious and improved interior just like Lincoln Aviator.

The new Mountaineer was designed with a DVD based navigation and new wheels with voice regulation that was not found on earlier versions.

For 2008, the Mountaineer was included with curtain airbags and the “MOUNTAINEER” label was formally dropped from the front doors.

For 2009, the Mountaineer was added with a standard trailer sway control and an advanced navigation system to monitor real time traffic information. Apart from this, the navigation system gave updated information about traffic too.

For 2010, a My-Key feature is added as a standard one. For 2011, Ford is planning to remove the Mountaineer from the Mercury series due to downfall of Explorer. However, things may differ depending upon the current sales of the 2010 Mercury Mountaineer, and company’s financial status at the end of this year.