Makeover sets Mariner’s sails
Don Adair
Marketing Department Columnist
Don's Take
Just three years after it debuted, a “top-half” makeover breathes new life into Mercury’s compact crossover Mariner.
The sort-of-new 2008 Mariner changes mainly in ways you’ll notice. Its look is crisper and more elegant, its cabin more upscale and quieter.
Controls are better arranged, front-of-cabin storage is improved and a new lighting scheme bathes the gauge and control panels in a chic, eye-calming blue.
More subtle updates include improved front seats, a retuned chassis and a new electric steering system.
New Legs
As the term implies, a “top-half” makeover revises the sheet metal and the living room but leaves the mechanicals essentially untouched. It’s a cost-effective formula for giving an existing model new legs.
Like all dynamic segments, the compact crossover market is driven by innovation. Let your model languish long without improvements and it’s toast.
The five-passenger Mariner competes in a large category that includes its mechanical twins, the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute. It’s available in front- and all-wheel-drive configurations and with four- and six-cylinder powerplants or a gas-electric hybrid.
Like the rest of its crossover ilk, the car-based Mariner is at home in the civilized world. Its optional all-wheel-drive system operates in total transparency, shifting power from the front wheels to the rear only as needed – and without driver intervention.
Equipped with a set of all-weather – or, better, winter tires – and AWD Mariner will cruise the worst an Inland Northwest winter can throw its way. But you don’t want to challenge it with anything more difficult than the occasional Forest Service road.
Embedded Logo
Mercury enthusiasts are bound to be pleased with the Mariner’s assertive new look. The brand’s signature waterfall grille is larger and treated with a satin finish. The Mercury logo it houses is larger, too, a change largely prompted by the newly elevated “powerdome” hood.
In the sort of attention to design minutiae I don’t remember seeing since BMW’s Chris Bangle duded up the previous generation 3 Series, Mercury designers embedded the logo within the headlight housings.
The beltline has been elevated and the body is shorn of superficial trim and any sign of lower body cladding.
Out back, a new fascia incorporates a set of tail-lamps with four inner lenses and a clear lamp with red inner lens.
For what it’s worth, Mercury’s brand manager Kim says the new Mariner is the “first product to deliver 100 percent of the design DNA for Mercury as a brand.”
‘Poke-through’ Switchgear
Inside, tone-on-tone color treatments add an air of unselfconscious luxury, as does the “poke-through” switchgear that elevates the appearance of the instrument panel.
At the top of the dash, a multifunction display shows inside and outside temperatures, radio settings and climate-control readouts.
A pair of niggles: the base audio system is a single-disc, four-speaker setup more suited for an entry-level rig, and the heated seat controls have a single setting. On the other hand, the optional DVD-based navigation system gets a much larger screen.
Newly designed seats are more supportive than before and have been designed to give rear-seat passengers more legroom.
In addition to being deep enough to house a laptop computer, the center console has a pair of removable trays that can be attached to the passenger side and rear of the console. I’m reluctant to spill the beans about the “secret” compartment hidden in the bottom of the console; we can hope thieves don’t read.
Fit and finish is noticeably improved and satin-finish trim bits add visual interest without junking up the place.
A layer of acoustic laminate applied inside the windshield and thicker carpeting reduce cabin noise.
Second-row seats fold down, but only with some effort. They neither recline nor offer fore and aft adjustment; worse, they offer marginal cushioning.
The cargo area is fitted with a shallow, hidden compartment and the reversible carpet is rubberized on one side.
Marginal Power
The base four-cylinder engine makes 153 horsepower; the uplevel six is rated at 200 hp. Both are adequate, yielding mediocre EPA ratings and so-so power. Unfortunately, “top-half” makeovers don’t usually include new transmissions; the Mariner’s four-speed automatic is overdue for replacement.
The hybrid system is Toyota’s, used under license. It makes 155 horsepower and is paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
On the safety front, the ’08 Mariner adds full-length curtain-style airbags with rollover sensors, traction control and stability control. Anti-lock brakes are standard, but in front-drive models, cost cutting resulted in the replacement the rear disc brakes with drums.
Though it lacks road feel, the new power steering ystem is precise and has good on-center feel.
The Mariner handles nicely. It stays as flat through corners as can be expected of what amounts to a tall wagon. It remains composed during quick transitions, but the suspension is a touch jittery over small-surface irregularities.
With Ford’s ongoing cash crunch, some critics have suggested that Mercury should just go away. But Ford clearly is invested in the brand. Mid-lifecycle updates will allow the Mariner to hold its own until the next full redesign.
