2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid user reviews

Pros quiet, great fuel economy for AWD

Cons lacks nice creature features, no power passenger seat

Summary For $100 more their cost, Ford could have put out a Mariner that would sell itself by word of mouth. Now they get this: There is no ETC in 2008 (coming in 2009), no radio controls on steering wheel (radio power button and instruument light adjustment both unlit), manual lumbar adjustment on driver's power seat (no power seat and no lumbar adjustment on passenger side). There is no seat memory, no back-up outside mirror adjustments, unsophisticated graphics on GPS system, only 2 lines on Sirius radio display, no sunshade extension for sunlight coming in side window, and no fold back rear seat headrests, so they have to be removed to fold rear seat sort of flat.

Having said this, I've driven my Mariner over 12,000 miles since August. I had to wait 4 months for this 2008 Mariner (Ford sent me a nice thank you note for buying my '2007' Mariner). It is comfortable and relatively quiet. My AWD gets 26-28 mpg, and has given me no problem. It really shines mileagewise in stop and go traffic, but the economy mode (electric engine only) doesn't run the air conditioning adequately in 80+ degree stop and go traffic. Fit and finish is 1970 standards, so the right passenger door is off a quarter inch, but it functions well, and rain accumulates in the bottom of both front doors if the vehicle is parked on a forward facing minimal incline (This will be interesting in a few years for those vehicles subject to road salt as the door bottoms will probably rust out.)

Ford could have done a better job, but they do have a niche with a hybrid mini-SUV in this size. Comfortably smaller and significantly cheaper than the Highlander. But I'm glad they're paying a royalty to Toyota for their technology.

Pros comfort, ride, MPG, storage inside

Cons hard to get

Summary I've had mine for a week. Love it so far. I am excited to see how the MPG, which is impressive already, gets better after the expected 2000-3000 engine break in period. Impressed with the overall performance and ride.

Pros Sound System, Road Handling, Comfort

Cons Mileage not as posted, Poor Customer Service

Summary I live in Colorado and have had my 2008 Mercury Mariner for over 4 months and 5,500 miles now and have had no problems. It has proven to be a very effective vehicle for my uses and has proven to drive very well in mountain conditions. Also, I like the fact that if the correct oil is used, the oil does not need to be changed but every 5000-6000 miles.

However, the following is a list of issues I have had with the vehicle.
- The best milage I have had on any tank of fuel is 29.5 MPG. This is pretty good considering most cars. However, it is 15% below the sticker fuel economy advertised, even using 91 grade unleaded fuel. Plus, now that we are on winter fuel, I am down to 27.5 MPG using 91 grade uleaded fuel (20% below listing). This is very disappointing considering all the advertising done on this vehicle and it great MPG of 34.

- The vehicle does not come with bluetooth. This is very diappointing considering almost all vehicles come with bluetooth these days. They just released their SYNC technology for new 2008 vehicles being produced in fall 2008, however the Mariner Hybrid is not on the list.

- I have had problems with obtaining service. I purchased the vehicle in June 2008, but have yet to obtain the navigation DVD and owners manual from the dealer. The dealer states it has been on backorder, but it has been over 4 months now. Service just doesn't seem to be a priority.

- The airbag light does intermittantly come on, but it eventually goes off after driving it a couple times.

- The vehicle uses the braking system to help recharge the battery, however, it does make some noise when using it to break slowly.

- The heated seats are nice, however they have a tendency to overheat and become extremely hot.

- You cannot use flexfuels such as ethanol with the vehicle. It appears that Ford/Mercury still have decided that supporting OPEC and other oil nations is a good thing.

Overall, I believe that the Mercury Mariner has been a good vehicle. It is comfortable and has some features that the Ford Escape doesn't have for the exact same price. As a hybrid, it is a step in the right direction, but of course, when we're talking about USA car companies, it's a baby step. (1980s technology finally being applied in 2008 at a substantial markup.)

Pros Gas Mileage, Styling, Navigation, Size

Cons MPG Computer not 100% accurate, no memory for seat pre-sets

Summary I traded in my Nissan Murano on a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid and don't regret the decision at all. There's only been 1 fill up that I got less than 30 MPG, my current average after 8000 miles is 31.4. I do track my mileage (manually) as the computer is generally 1-2 MPG better that actual results.

I do miss the memory presets on my seat/mirror positions that the Murano had as well as the steering wheel audio controls.

I have no complaints with the Navigation system other than when I'm in West Virginia it routinely tells me that route guidance cannot be provided even though the roads are on the map.

The audio system is great, I did not have satellite built-in on the Murano so having Sirius built-in is great. My only complaint there is that the artist/song information should display in the upper black area of the screen in Satellite mode like it does for RDS in FM mode.

As for the CNET review, I'm not sure that the Hybrid technology is from Toyota. From what I've read Ford developed their own system in-house and then made an agreement with Toyota not to sue each other since their systems were so similar.

I test drove the 2007 Saturn VUE Greenline and did not like it at all.