According to some of the data from AutoBlog the final years, 2009 only had a 0.8% share of the U.S. Its most prominent year was 1978, and the most notable slogan, “The Sign of the Cat,” spoke to its badge and popularity of the popular Cougar. Ford saw its Mercury arm as the brand that would bring more refinement and upscale efforts to already popular vehicle designs. Mercury once dominated as an automaker and enjoyed a 70-year run of vehicle production.

A long and impressive run for the ‘The Big Cat’ badge And the Mountaineer spent much of its life, trying to keep up its better selling relative. The SUV buying public had identified its preference for the Explorer as a whole. However, it ran its course and ended up phasing out.Ĭonsidering that it shared the design and features of the Ford Explorer, it made sense. It may have satisfied the need for adventure seekers in the early 2000s. The Mercury Mountaineer was available from its introduction in 1996 through its final model year, in 2010. RELATED: The Ford Explorer’s Expensive Price Isn’t Hurting Its Sales Mercury called it quits on the MountaineerĪs someone who drove a 96 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer edition in high school, this green 94 (with under 44k miles) is calling my name /RJY8xjrDc2- Jake Woolf July 10, 2020 It also provided a more robust off-road capability, with heartier payload and towing benchmarks.īut in comparison with the Ford Explorer, the Mercury Mountaineer fell short in tech, comfort, convenience, and engine options over the years. The added chrome and unique grille helped it to stand apart from the Explorer. It offered a 4.0L V6 as well as a 4.6L V8 engine. The ride wasn’t as smooth as others in the space, and it was slow to incorporate tech, but fans liked the engine variety and refined feel of this SUV. The Mountaineer only lived for a few model years and did so without much in the way of improvements or significant upgrades. It came on stage in 1996 and presented with the body-on-frame design shared by its Ford Explorer counterpart.

The Mercury Mountaineer was the only seven-passenger SUV produced by the automaker, according to MotorTrend. Do you remember the Mercury Mountaineer? A Mercury Mountaineer on display | Tim Boyle/Getty Images While it was considered by many as a reliable SUV, and ideal for towing, others would say it just never could compete with the Ford Explorer. Mercury’s Mountaineer was one such vehicle. Looking back over the years at models past, though, some couldn’t keep up with their sibling competitors. For example, Chevrolet offers the Tahoe, similar to its GMC Yukon cousin. Automakers within the same ownership family will often produce similar model vehicles.

Mercury mountaineer