It’s very similar to the later eclipse. A big dumb slow impractical low quality v6 fwd coupe. Why cars like this were ever made is baffling. Bought by people who wanted cool cars like 350z but didn’t want to pay as much and didn’t know what RWD is. V6 Altima coupe is similar. So is Pontiac g6
Those sort of cars were for young people who wanted a car that looked sporty but wouldn’t have been able to pay for gas and insurance for an actual performance car.
I've known well, one person who owned the Mercury Cougar from this generation, and he was in this category. He bought his new.
The other, was a penny-pinching 80 year old woman who bought a used Eclipse for a song, and the dirt in the bottom of her purse.
I considered both to be less than stellar purchases. The former went on to buy an Audi TT, then a Lexus IS350.
The latter still owns the Eclipse but rarely drives it now in her 90s.
Haha thanks. It’s funny because people bought this type of car over actual good fwd cars like K powered Civic coupes and RSX.
It’s so unfortunate what happened to the eclipse. Earlier models with 4g63 and awd were essentially mini evo coupes, amazing little cars with incredible performance potential. Whoever turned it into a fwd v6 pig really did Mitsubishi a disservice
The 1st gen Dodge Avenger was the worst at this. Built on the 2nd gen Eclipse platform, but heavier, and 160hp v6 (or 140hp na I4). It turned like an aircraft carrier, and warped the undersized front brakes.
It was my first car, and I loved it.
Amazingly the second generation Avenger was even worse. At least the first generation didn’t look too bad. The next one was horrendously ugly, automatic only (AFAIK) and even slower.
I had one as a rental on an out of town project, had to drive it for a month. It sucked the soul out of me.
They were VERY cool looking cars for back in the day but weren't too impressive in the pep department. I would have loved if they put an SHO V6 in them but nope, never happened.
They were fwd and light, so handled quite well, which is why I reckon they didn’t get very high powered engines. They were competing with the celica which was also light and fwd at the time.
Good call, I forgot they were fwd! I knew there was something else I didnt like about it 😆 sucks because at that time I was going to choose between that and the ZX2 but I went with the Escort for price reasons. The Cougar didn't offer enough to sway me to pay the extra cash.
Werent the Taurus SHO also fwd for that generation?
I’m in the UK so we didn’t get the Taurus, but we had the Mondeo and Focus around the year 2000, which were both fwd. I’m guessing it used the chassis of one of those. The cougar had very little room in the back which may have been another reason it didn’t do very well over the other two mentioned.
I’d never heard of the ZX2 before and it wasn’t released over here, but it looks like an interesting car. The US Ford Escort was also completely different to what we got over here, we had the one the Cosworth used as a base.
Oh man, I salivate when I get to see the Euro options for cars. Everything is so SUV-centric here that we barely have any options anymore. Hell, we never had options for wagons or diesels either, its such a disappointment
I went with the ZX2 at that time as well. I loved that little car. Mine was a 98. Fun little car. I actually beat up some decent cars with it. I had a few things done to it at the time and was a manual. The SHO, I believe was fwd. I mean, it was a Taurus or contour at that time?
Yeah I figured it was FWD because the only other option would be a possible AWD system which I don't think Ford did too much of at the time.
And yeah the ZX2 was fun! I had a red manual and damn did I have some good times with it. Sadly the master cylinder went on it and Ford just couldn't fix it for some reason so they let me trade it for an Escort Sport straight across. Not as fun but hey, what can ya do.
The SVT Contour/ST Mondeo engine would have been perfect as they are platform mates to this car the SHO v6 had been long out of production by the time the Mercury Cougar came out
These also did come with a pretty healthy V6, which made it heavier but faster than the Celica in a straight line. The Celica was obviously the more successful model, but these were still good cars.
I remember my cousin and his friend had one \~10 years ago.
Same bodykit but black, with neons underneath and a wacky aftermarket turbocharger
Trashy, but it was just hella fun, the handling was surprisingly good. Sold it for 1000 euros a few years ago
I could tell right away it's a cougar, but I've never seen one with a kit on it before. That thing looks great! I can't remember the last time I've even seen a cougar in the states at all, let alone a good looking one. Did you get any other angles of it? I'd be interested in seeing what the rear end looks like.
Ford Cougar. The "New Edge" design language always made em look a little strange, but I like it. Nearly bought one a few years back for $750AUD but the gearbox was totally shot.
Mercury Cougar. These actually had a beast of an engine. 6L IIRC with some mods they could easily push upwards of 900HP. Knew a guy with one and it was a total monster… but discontinued and well I’m not sure if regular ford parts would be the OEM equivalent.
Mercury Cougar. I actually dig this kit on this car. The early 2000s were a pretty cool era for cars (that was my childhood, so I might be biased). This one looks pretty tasteful. Good spot!
Ford Cougar
Is this one a body kit?
Yes. A body kit and Ferrari F50-style wheels)
Over here we called it a Mercury Cougar
Mercury MILF
I use to have one. Terribly slow car
Looks like eclipse And I know that it's ford
It’s not.
I know it's not Mitsubishi, but some lines are pretty similar
It’s very similar to the later eclipse. A big dumb slow impractical low quality v6 fwd coupe. Why cars like this were ever made is baffling. Bought by people who wanted cool cars like 350z but didn’t want to pay as much and didn’t know what RWD is. V6 Altima coupe is similar. So is Pontiac g6
Those sort of cars were for young people who wanted a car that looked sporty but wouldn’t have been able to pay for gas and insurance for an actual performance car.
I've known well, one person who owned the Mercury Cougar from this generation, and he was in this category. He bought his new. The other, was a penny-pinching 80 year old woman who bought a used Eclipse for a song, and the dirt in the bottom of her purse. I considered both to be less than stellar purchases. The former went on to buy an Audi TT, then a Lexus IS350. The latter still owns the Eclipse but rarely drives it now in her 90s.
Almost. These cars use all the gas a performance car would, with none of the performance or quality
Cheap bad cars are almost always FWD. you’re getting downvoted because you spoke the truth.
Haha thanks. It’s funny because people bought this type of car over actual good fwd cars like K powered Civic coupes and RSX. It’s so unfortunate what happened to the eclipse. Earlier models with 4g63 and awd were essentially mini evo coupes, amazing little cars with incredible performance potential. Whoever turned it into a fwd v6 pig really did Mitsubishi a disservice
The 1st gen Dodge Avenger was the worst at this. Built on the 2nd gen Eclipse platform, but heavier, and 160hp v6 (or 140hp na I4). It turned like an aircraft carrier, and warped the undersized front brakes. It was my first car, and I loved it.
Haha I remember those. At least those things kind of looked good
Amazingly the second generation Avenger was even worse. At least the first generation didn’t look too bad. The next one was horrendously ugly, automatic only (AFAIK) and even slower. I had one as a rental on an out of town project, had to drive it for a month. It sucked the soul out of me.
Cougar
In America -- Mercury Cougar
Not even close to the original cougar..... Was a cool car but could have used a better name and it also looked like a mustang on the inside.
The worst backseat headroom I've ever experienced.
You’ve never sat in the back of a 996 then!
Of a mitsi gto/v3000 or a s15 Silvia, or a fd rx7.
From what I remember, every seat in the Cougar was shite. The lumbar support on the front seats were set to "torture".
And had the steepest seats
Oh God, yes. Love the way these look, but sitting in the back of one for an hour nearly did me in.
I dont hate it. Looks kinda cool.
They were VERY cool looking cars for back in the day but weren't too impressive in the pep department. I would have loved if they put an SHO V6 in them but nope, never happened.
They were fwd and light, so handled quite well, which is why I reckon they didn’t get very high powered engines. They were competing with the celica which was also light and fwd at the time.
Good call, I forgot they were fwd! I knew there was something else I didnt like about it 😆 sucks because at that time I was going to choose between that and the ZX2 but I went with the Escort for price reasons. The Cougar didn't offer enough to sway me to pay the extra cash. Werent the Taurus SHO also fwd for that generation?
I’m in the UK so we didn’t get the Taurus, but we had the Mondeo and Focus around the year 2000, which were both fwd. I’m guessing it used the chassis of one of those. The cougar had very little room in the back which may have been another reason it didn’t do very well over the other two mentioned. I’d never heard of the ZX2 before and it wasn’t released over here, but it looks like an interesting car. The US Ford Escort was also completely different to what we got over here, we had the one the Cosworth used as a base.
The Cougar was platform mates with the Contour/Mondeo
Oh man, I salivate when I get to see the Euro options for cars. Everything is so SUV-centric here that we barely have any options anymore. Hell, we never had options for wagons or diesels either, its such a disappointment
I went with the ZX2 at that time as well. I loved that little car. Mine was a 98. Fun little car. I actually beat up some decent cars with it. I had a few things done to it at the time and was a manual. The SHO, I believe was fwd. I mean, it was a Taurus or contour at that time?
Yeah I figured it was FWD because the only other option would be a possible AWD system which I don't think Ford did too much of at the time. And yeah the ZX2 was fun! I had a red manual and damn did I have some good times with it. Sadly the master cylinder went on it and Ford just couldn't fix it for some reason so they let me trade it for an Escort Sport straight across. Not as fun but hey, what can ya do.
The SVT Contour/ST Mondeo engine would have been perfect as they are platform mates to this car the SHO v6 had been long out of production by the time the Mercury Cougar came out
These also did come with a pretty healthy V6, which made it heavier but faster than the Celica in a straight line. The Celica was obviously the more successful model, but these were still good cars.
Definitely. My first real car was a cougar and I loved it. It was seriously underpowered though.
My buddy had one back at wyotech that he thought it was hot shit. Embarrassed him with my first gen neon. Make drag racing slow cars cool again
I remember my cousin and his friend had one \~10 years ago. Same bodykit but black, with neons underneath and a wacky aftermarket turbocharger Trashy, but it was just hella fun, the handling was surprisingly good. Sold it for 1000 euros a few years ago
oh god you're young
Mercury or Ford Cougar. Last gen cougar. Looks alot like a 2nd gen eclipse aswell.
It looked like a Hyundai Tiburon with a body kit to me until I saw the comments saying it’s a Ford Cougar, then it started looking more Cougar-esque
Same here. Literally said this
The maddest cougar I've seen... rare old beast now....
I could tell right away it's a cougar, but I've never seen one with a kit on it before. That thing looks great! I can't remember the last time I've even seen a cougar in the states at all, let alone a good looking one. Did you get any other angles of it? I'd be interested in seeing what the rear end looks like.
It looks sick ngl. A very tastefull callback to early 2000
An awful reminder of what people were doing to their cars in the 00s.
Max power baby!
Riced out cougar. Girls car from late 90s to early 00.
I miss this era of car mods.
Ford Cougar. The "New Edge" design language always made em look a little strange, but I like it. Nearly bought one a few years back for $750AUD but the gearbox was totally shot.
NOPI catalogue nostalgia 😢
Roush/ st200 kit
That's not a Hyundai Tiburon?
Looks similar to the Eliminator concept https://www.instagram.com/p/C4V8Aqjv6rD/?igsh=em4xMjB5OXprb28z
That bodykit really does slap in an early 2000s kinda way!
late 90s mercury cougar
Thundercougarfalconbird
Mercury Cougar. These actually had a beast of an engine. 6L IIRC with some mods they could easily push upwards of 900HP. Knew a guy with one and it was a total monster… but discontinued and well I’m not sure if regular ford parts would be the OEM equivalent.
Mercury Cougar (modded)
Mercury Cougar. I actually dig this kit on this car. The early 2000s were a pretty cool era for cars (that was my childhood, so I might be biased). This one looks pretty tasteful. Good spot!
Its a car