- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 5 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Solid, but could be better"
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.
- 1 reply to this review
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You've been driving it for 4 months and haven't realized that you bought a MERCURY Mariner?
