Overview & Reviews

The Mercury Mountaineer features a number of significant improvements for 2006. Styling has been updated with a bolder grille treatment, a new tailgate and more attractive taillights. Interior furnishings get an upgrade, too, and additional sound insulation results in a supremely quiet cabin, while a stiffened frame and new shocks provide even better ride and handling characteristics than before. Mercury says it has tweaked the 4.0-liter V6 to cut smog-forming emissions by 74 percent and expects it to achieve ULEV-II status. A new three-valve 4.6-liter V8 replaces last year's two-valve version. With 292 horsepower (up 52 from last year's) and 300 pound-feet of torque, the engine raises the V8 Mountaineer's tow limit to 7,300 pounds and delivers 10-percent better fuel economy. Front-seat side airbags, AdvanceTrac stability control and Roll Stability Control are standard on all Mountaineers and a navigation system and a power-operated third-row seat are new options.

• Excellent ride and handling characteristics for a truck-based SUV, strong optional V8, comfortable cabin with user-friendly layout, standard Roll Stability Control.

• Low resale value, lousy fuel economy.

User Reviews:

Showing 11 through 20 of 62.00

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  Love this SUV - Bad Gas Mileage! - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By Petnannyz - May 15 - 7:20 am

  I bought this SUV used in Nov 2007 with about 18,000 miles for $17,900 and got an awesome prices. It is fully loaded and has the extra two seats in the back too. Have driven it now for 29 months through summers & New England weather. It does shift a little rough at times and has gotten stuck in Park but there was a recall for that so dealership will fix that for free. Love the AWD and how you can lock in the 4WD - pretty easy to do once you figure out the buttons. Love the extra two seats in the way back and they fold up & down so easy! Love my heated seats too; wouldnt get one with out them. Not too pleased with the speaker sound, sounds tinny to me. But otherwise love this SUV.

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  6 speed transmission a problem - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By chris61 - May 15 - 4:36 am

  My wife and I replaced our 1999 Mountaineer with this 2006 Premier 2WD. She really likes her car, and for the most part, I do too. Im not disappointed with the gas mileage, as we knew going in it wasnt going to win any economy championships. My biggest disappointment has been with the six speed transmission. We currently have 25000 miles on it, and it has been back to the dealer for the trans too many times to count. The problem is with the 1/2 upshift and 2/1 downshift. The problem is especially noticeable on the first drive of the day. If you dont come to a complete stop it wont shift all the way to first, then almost "stumbles" until youre into 2nd. They replaced the MTronics last.

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  Surprise - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By mona - February 10 - 3:56 am

  After 2 months of agonizing over which vehicle to buy I finally decided on the Mountaineer. I gave serious consideration to the Toyota 4Runner but overall the Mountaineer won me over. This vehicle has auto lights and a few other things that only the limited 4Runner is equipped with. The 4Runner is also overpriced IMHO. I also had a really hard time getting comfortable in the 4Runner. I always felt like I was facing downward; it was a weird perspective so I finally gave up on it. I love the way this truck rides. Very powerful for a V6 and not as noisy as the 8. Very pleased overall although I do not like the interior door handle, just too awkward to grasp.

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  Great SUV, but bad transmission - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By gldnbr2 - July 27 - 2:36 pm

  The Mountaineer is a solid SUV with many good qualities. Its somewhat quiet inside and doesnt have any rattles after 22,000 miles. The AWD is excellent in poor weather conditions. The inside door handles (which are lacking for the most part) are very poorly located and difficult to use. They improved this design in 2007. The worst part of this vehicle is the transmission. It began slipping and hesitating at 4000 miles, then it got worse. At around 8000 miles it started to slam into 1st gear from 2nd gear when stopping. Feels like somebody hit me from behind. Now after 22,000 miles, Ford has yet to find a fix for this very annoying problem. I know others are having the same problem.

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  enjoyable ride - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By russell - April 25 - 12:50 am

  The ride is very comfortable. Steering is a dream to handle. All of the controls are placed for a safe drive without taking your eyes off the road.

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  good vehicle - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By jkaiser - February 15 - 7:56 am

  car is excellent to drive but should have more room in the second row. i wish the seats were more supportive due to my post polio

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  2006 Mountaineer Needs human engineering - 2006 Mercury Mountaineer
  By George Houchens - May 17 - 7:00 am

  Great vehicle except for interior. Dash and doors need redesign with attention to human engineering and style. Door handles are very inconvenient (too low and far forward), Seat belt needs to be longer for easy hookup (I am a big guy), and heater controls need to be located higher above radio so I can use them without taking eyes off the road. Center console shifter is ugly! Square seats look blocky, and interior metal trim looks cheap. Rear fold down seats leave too many holes for things to fall into when hauling cargo. Vehicle interior is NOT an improvement over 2003 Mountaineer. My wife agrees. Otherwise, car has great ride, very quiet, handles well. Outside styling great.