I've been so busy with school and work, but this past weekend, Mercury had a driving event at the mall. So I stop by on my break, and did the usual registration. They had the Milan, Mountaineer, Mariner, and the Mariner Hybrid on demo. I drove the Mariner Hybrid. Here's my thoughts and stuff:

Interior: The car, for being a clone of the Ford Escape was acutally good in this department. A few of the stereotypical cheap American details such as black plastic show, but it's still nice. The leather was a bit plasticky, steering wheel felt nice. The controls were in good reach, the seat adjustment was somewhat awkward, as you can adjust the seat position and height with the power adjustment, but the seat back is all manual The radio which also serves as a NAV system and a display for the hybrid system was not that intuitive to operative - it has a screen roughly the same size as a Treo - but oriented like a picture. It uses softkeys and a joystick to operate it - think of a flight management computer from a Boeing 747-400.

Exterior: Typical American paint job with some orange peel, it actually didn't look all too bad, the Matador Red color looks great on it. Ditch the black mirrors though. There is some distinction made from the Ford Escape, but it still screams it from the side

Driving it: It feels weird just driving around on electric power, but it does have good pickup, since electric motors can produce lots of torque from a standstill. It uses a tweaked 2.3L I4 that Ford's used for years, coupled to a Toyota hybrid system with a few Ford tweaks to it. I decided not to take it on the freeway, I took it around the mall parking lot, and out to my school which was a block away. It had good acceleration, it didn't handle like a small truck, it felt like I was driving my parent's Sienna, but it was a lot more intimate. You could feel the 2.3L 4 kick on and off at times. The steering response could be a bit better.

Overall: I felt Ford has done a good job taking initiative to build the first American made hybrid car, although it does use some Toyota DNA. I feel it's a good SUV for what it was intended to do, but it doesn't have the same attention to detail as a RAV4 or a CR-V. But if you need a hybrid SUV, but feel the RX400h/Highlander Hybrid is too big and can't wait for a hybrid RAV4 or CR-V, this is it.

and just for testdriving, I got a $25 gift card to anywhere in the mall.

 

Thanks for your input, ntach. The Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner are both pretty nice vehicles ( I think highly of both ) and now have a OK reliability record after a somewhat rocky beginning. Both are far better in the fit-and-finish department than their arch-rivals Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent, which look and feel cheap inside and out, and I actually like the Escape's driving feel more than the RAV4 or CR-V, though admittedly those two vehicles are better-built and more reliable. The Mazda Tribute is another spin-off of the Escape that has a firmer chassis and a slightly different stering system for a " sportier " feel.

 

Thanks for the review and congratulations on the gift card. The Escape and Mariner are offering 0% financing which is very attractive. Not bad for a hybrid...