Originally Posted by
Eric91Z
Well, I was granted a wonderful opportunity this past weekend I wanted to share. I am sure all of the owners on this list are aware of what I want to share, but for anyone looking at buying one of these cars, here is some more input to help with your decision.
I found an '04 Marauder still on the local Mercury dealer's lot and have looked at it a couple of times, usually on Sundays. Well, this past Friday, I finally stopped during normal business hours to check out this car a little closer. I actually got a salesman and took it for a test drive. It is a Silver MM with the Nudo leather and every "option" except for the trunk organizer and spoiler (both of which I would have to add). The car was also a demo and had 5,400 miles on it, but still looks new inside and out with no scratches or anything.
Anyway, it was about 4:45pm on a Friday, so there was quite a bit of traffic during the short test drive. Well, at the end of the test drive, the salesman asked if I wanted to take the car home for the weekend so my wife could see it and get a chance to drive it and so the kid could ride in it. I was completely shocked, but said "Yes". He went and filled the gas tank up, put a dealer plate on it, and got a picture of my DL and my phone number.
Needless to say, I hopped on the highway and headed the 35 miles home to show the wife and kid. And this is where my real impressions of driving the car began. I got caught in a little rush hour traffic, but finally got a little open sapce and next thing I knew, I was running about 80 mph. I can not believe how smooth and quiet the car is at that speed. Little bit of wind noise, but nothing else. Very nice.
Now, the seats are comfortable, but are a little lacking in side support for "spirited" cornering. Which is too bad because for a big car, this thing corners very well. Very little body roll and holds a line quite nicely. Actually, in 3 days of driving, my only handing or rid e gripe, is the fact that the front end feels a little loose when driving straight at highway speeds. What I mean by that is the front end bounces up and down a little to much when hitting bumps on the highway. It bounces once or twice and then is back to normal and smooth. I would just prefer a little more control of that. I am guessing that new shocks would take care of that. And I can't imagine what on of these with new shocks, sway bars, control arms or Watts linkage would handle like. I think it would be awesome.
As for the motor: yes, right off the line it is missing a little bit of punch, but it seems to rev quite quickly and you can tell when it is hitting it's power band. The car kind of reminds me of a Honda coming on the V-TEC cam lobes as it has a definite point where it seems to come alive all the sudden. And this motor pulls very nicely at highway speeds. Definitely no problem with passing power. I did drive a couple times with the traction control turned off and the car seems to be more responsive to throttle input. Never did try to turn the tires over, but it definitely gets up and go. The rear end will squat, the front comes up a little, and the car goes.
Now for the bad news. The wife and I have decided there is no way we can fit another car payment in the budget - no matter how good the price and financing. Which really sucks!!!! And I believe they would be selling the car at a great price. Basically, the salesman said check the invoice price, consider the $4000 rebate from Ford, and the fact that this is a demo car and make an offer. I don't think $24,000-$25,000 would be out of line for a brand new MM, but just can't do it right now. Which sucks, because the silver color was really growing on me. Tinted windows and new exhaust from selling my Accord and I would be a VERY happy person.
Lastly, for anyone considering this car - DRIVE IT. I don't know how anyone could be dissappointed. I just don't get why Mercury couldn't make this car sell. The only thing I didn't like about the car was the outward visability. My '92 Accord has much better visability looking out than the MM, but the MM isn't bad. And I definitely don't think it feels as big as it is when driving. It is a sweet car and I will replace my Accord with one when we can afford it. Right now, there is no other car I would go with. The Cadillac STS and Chrysler 300C might be a little more upscale on the inside, but I don't think they are the value the MM is (although the 300C with the Hemi might be close). The MM is the top choice for me since I want a larger, 4-door car with a V8 and rear wheel drive. Something that is not fatiguing on my 2 hour round trip commute each day and gets "decent" gas mileage (if I could keep my foot out of it).
I guess what sums it up for me is every time I got in the car, or hit the gas, or got back out of the car, I had a smile on my face. It is that enjoyable. I even found myself giggling like a little kid at times while driving it. My wife thought I was losing it. And speaking of the wife, she has always given a pretty cool response to the car when I point them out on the road. But after seeing it in the driveway and getting a chance to drive it, she has changed her mind - for the better. I now have her approval when it comes time to get one.
OK, sorry for rambling on, but I figured this was the best place to do it. I know I may be preaching to the choir here, but I hope someone coming here looking for info on the MM can use this to help with a buying decision. It is one sweet car. And I could sit here and read all day about them, but finally getting to drive one for more than a 10 minute test drive sealed the deal - as soon as we can afford it.
Thanks for your time.