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Mercury Mariner Hybrid Review

February 17, 2008

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Ford Motor Company’s subsidiary Mercury Mariner has done it again. The unit, which is best known for its innovative and environmentally friendly car models, has produced the Mercury Mariner hybrid in 2006. Technically, this fuel-efficient vehicle is very much similar in features to its car sibling, called the Ford Escape Hybrid.

Identically, the Mercury Mariner hybrid is operating at a ‘full’ hybrid capacity. The means, the vehicle is able to make use of its gasoline and electric powered engines. As a hybrid, there are specific cases and instances when the car would use a combination of both engines. Because of such, it is logical and practical that the Mercury Mariner hybrid is able to save on furl consumption. That feature is particularly important especially these days when oil prices constantly jumps up and global warming is prompting people to reduce on carbon emissions.

In the casual car market, the Mercury Mariner hybrid is considered soccer-mom vehicle, because of its sporty look, being a sports utility vehicle.

The exterior

On the outside, it is very evident that the Mercury Mariner hybrid is a sturdy car, being an SUV. It has greater height than the sedans. The four-door vehicle is also sporty, obviously having a spacious inside, which is very much evident in the outside. To begin with, the Mercury Mariner hybrid is quite a small SUV. To further describe it, imagine the built of the Saturn VUE, the Mazda CX-7 and the Toyota RAV4.

Being as SUV, it follows that the Mercury Mariner’s overall car design is exquisite. The car comes in superior exterior colors, which enable anyone to choose from a wide variety of shades and hues. The roof has a space where luggage could be accommodated.

The interior

Looking at the inside of the car, you could see that the hybrid car has new seats that are all very much comfortable. The leather used in the seats are of superior quality. There are plastic linings along the interior’s pillars, dash and doors. Some critics assert that the interior of the Mercury Mariner hybrid would still need to accommodate few more improvements, though the company assures that it is doing efforts to match the performance in this factor of the Japanese rivals.

Inside, the driver and passenger can hardly hear any noise, though at certain occasions whines could be heard as a product of engine switching from gasoline to engine and vice versa. The temperature control in the interior is also outstanding as well as the overall spaciousness, good for accommodating baggage and passengers.

Performance

Cruising smoothly and comfortably would surely get out the best performance from the Mercury Mariner hybrid. The fuel-efficient car has sufficient power to deliver the expectations of those who want and need to speed up. From a standstill, the car is able to reach up to 60 miles per hour in just about 10.8 seconds.

As its setback, the Mercury Mariner hybrid is suffering from poor control feel that is characteristic is all hybrid cars, not just this vehicle. When the car brakes, it efficiently prompts regenerative braking that automatically converts mechanical energy from sudden stopping into stored electric current in the built-in batteries. The car’s lack of enough tire grip is expected as the vehicle is able to quickly stop from about 60 miles hour of acceleration for just within 138 feet.

Safety

The Mercury Mariner hybrid is much safer than other fuel-efficient cars. It comes in standard airbags that are being deployed from all seats whenever there is sudden collision or crashing. There are also curtain-type airbags for head protection, which is a further safety feature.

Written by admin · Filed Under Hybrid Cars, Hybrid News 

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