Overview & Reviews

Mercury reintroduces the Cougar this year after a one-year hiatus that saw the departure of most of Ford Motor Co.'s personal coupes. The new model is built on the Mondeo global platform that is also the basis for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique. This new coupe is powered by the same engine choices as the Contour/Mystique, which means that buyers can choose between a zippy Zetec four-cylinder and a high-revving Duratec V6.

• Built on one of our favorite platforms with zippy engine choices and unique styling.

• The Flat Rock, Michigan plant where the Cougar is being assembled is not known for screwing together the tightest cars in the world, so reliability may be a sore spot with owners used to Japanese cars.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 157.00

• 

  Could be better - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Audrey girl - February 13 - 2:00 am

  My car is a 1999. It was a year old when I purchased it. This car has been in the repair shop 9 times in the past 12 months. Everything from catalytic converter, fuel line problems,emission system problems and I had to replace the transmission at 52,000 miles. Its in the shop as I type this. This time for an engine oil leak. As far as looks, the car is great. The interior has a blind spot on the passenger side. I would not recommend this car. As soon as my car is repaired, Im trading it in.

• 

  no wonder they were discontinued - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By cougarmuscle - August 29 - 10:00 am

  My cougars history...headlights and covers were replaced within 6 months of purchase...transmission went up at 19,000 miles(transmission slipped into neutral on highway, was nearly run over by big rig), sunfroof was replaced within 3 years, electrical and computer problems too numerous to list...it is sitting in a repair shop as I write this critique for same problem...and there were countless recalls issued..in general fun to drive when its operating but Ill never by another Ford or Mercury product......

• 

  good to be gone! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By kittykila - August 15 - 10:00 am

  Fun to drive but too expensive to maintain. I have nearly 100K on mine and have put in 4 alternators and one converter. Radio will short out at times. Airbag and check engine lights come on in cold or wet weather. Bought the extended warranty up to 75,000 and quite glad I did! Still lost an addl alternator at 90,000. Will sell it to a teenager soon.

• 

  Junk! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By lawree - July 9 - 2:00 am

  I just traded my Cougar in & couldnt be happier! Fun fact...when I went to get my trade-in value the car chose not to start! I only had 40K miles on it and cant even tell you how many times I had to walk to work b/c the car was at the dealers. They, of course, never found anything wrong with it. Apparently, it was my fault that the check engine light and the airbag light would occasionally come on - that it would occasionally just choose not to start - that neither the hood/truck releases worked. And so on... Once I got the car back it would be fine for 2-3 months and then start again.

• 

  1999 Cougar - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By LMigliore - September 30 - 5:03 am

  Car handles reasonably well. Its almost impossible to shift smoothly; revs dont drop for several seconds. Dies occasionally. Maybe theyve fixed it now. Cant see out the back or sides.

• 

  Hunk of Junk - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By lalala - December 20 - 3:56 pm

  After 10 years, the car still looks great, but thats just about all I can say. I bought my car new in 1998, and 2 days after I bought it it wouldnt start. This was just the beginning of my problems. The engine light keeps coming on, no matter how much I get the car repaired. The alternator has gone out 3 times, once leaving me stranded on the freeway at 2am in a storm. I am so constricted because with 86000, this car should still have life, but I cant even drive 20 minutes on the freeway without something happening. Oh yeah, and did I mention the sunroof? Dont even get me started.

• 

  Worst Mistake EVER! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By SunshineE - October 23 - 2:43 am

  This car was the worst mistake my father and I could ever make. I should have known better. Its American made! Everything that could go wrong did. My father spent so much money fixing this car its ridiculous. He spent more than the actual cars worth! It has been in and out of our mechanic since Dec 2009, Ive had it less than a year and Im already selling this piece of junk. The gas mileage is horrible. 16.5 mpg (city) I should be driving a huge SUV with that gas mileage. It was nothing but headaches beginning to end. I would strongly advise anyone to never buy this car. I cant wait to get rid of it. Im scared every time I get in it. I always think its going to break down on me. Never again!

• 

  A fun but sometimes scary year! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Pippi - September 11 - 9:13 am

  The sporty V6 is fun to drive on highways and interstates but is not the best around town. I bought this car used last year and I loved it then, but after a while of driving in different situations I realized that it just was not for me. I am a short female and if I adjust the seat so I am comfortably ready to drive I end up about an inch from the visor! Also for me there is a huge blind spot behind the rear seats, which are so uncomfortable only my dogs ride back there, at first that was fine but now I need to carry people back there and they are too tall. When the car starts up in the morning and I back out of the driveway the car hums and the brakes squeaks, our service peep say it doesnt

• 

  GREAT BODY BUT.... - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By YOSHE - July 31 - 10:00 am

  I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE BRAND NEW W/ 7 MILES ON IT. IMMEDIATELY I RAN INTO BRAKE PROBLEMS CONSTANT GRINDING. BRAKE DISC WERE SHAVED DOWN THEN COMPLETELY REPLACED. NEXT PROBLEM ELECTRICAL. CAR ELECTRICAL SYETM THEN THE VEHICLE WOULD SHUT COMPLETELY. TWICE ON THE HIGHWAY!! ON-GOING BATTLES BETWEEN DEALERSHIP NOT WANTING TO WORK ON THE VEHICLE B/C THEY DIDNT DO THE INITIAL REPAIR WORK. LOVE THE BODY LOVE DRIVING CURVES AND WINDY ROADS. AS A YOUNG PERSON BUYING THIS VEHICLE STYLE OVER RIDES OTHER OPTIONS. IM NOT COMPLETELY UPSET OVER PURCHASE, BUT NEVER AGAIN BY A 1ST YEAR VEHICLE. LET THEM WORK OUT THE KINKS FIRST AND THEN BUY ONE....

• 

  Dont even think about it! - 1999 Mercury Cougar
  By Give Up! - May 2 - 10:00 am

  Headache is the first word that comes to mind. I have the car in the shop at least every third month. You always think that this is the last time but... wrong again. Catalytic convertor replaced at 25000, ignition replaced, fuel guage/pump replaced, tyerod bolt snapped off, security system locked up twice and of course wiring is not covered under the Extra Care warranty that I bought to cut expenses. To top it off, the resale value is pathetic!!!