Ford Cougar V6 Mini Review.

[Pete-M]

Not bad. Engine sounds lovely at full chat, handling is ok, aircon works well, seats are a bit crap and the brakes don't work as well as the engine.

Yeah, it's ok.

[londonm]

What Is?

[dollywobbler]

Ford Cougar, as the title says!

 

Aren't rear calipers a bit of a sod for seizing up on these? Thought the stoppers were meant to be pretty decent. Pics would be nice. Definitely a car on my radar.

[Honey Badger]

Not bad. Engine sounds lovely at full chat, handling is ok, aircon works well, seats are a bit crap and the brakes don't work as well as the engine.

 

Yeah, it's ok.

 

You just described my Accord coupe! It also has a tenancy to pile on a shed load of speed rapidly and show a slight* reluctance to slow down when stamping on the stop pedal.

 

Front wheel drive coupes with V6's seem to be cheap as chips at the moment, Accords, Cougars and the Hyundai coupes seem to be a lot of car for under a grand.

[Bren]

Seen quite a few that look quite rotten - no different than any other ford then.

[R9UKE]

Does it feel really american? I've wanted one for a while, they're worth f all but it's waiting for a decent V6 manual with leather to pop up. There's a house up the road from me have three of them all in daily service, one for the parents - a V6, and a 2.0 for the son and daughter each who've recently passed their tests.

[Negative Creep]

I am tempted by one of these as well. Are they comfy an is it a case of OMG MPG NOM NOM NOM around town?

[UmBongo]

I liked the TV advert with crazy Dennis Plopper.

[John F]

I drove a mate's Cougar V6 a while ago. In terms of driving performance & feel, it was EXACTLY the same as the V6 Calibra I usually drove. The seats in the Cougar were nice but the interior trim was a bit cheap.

[Pete-M]

Oh yeah, photos.

 

Etc. The brakes seem a lot better now, last night they were a bit shit but I was scrubbing rust off from where it had sat on the path. Big yellow sparks on a dark country lane look ace.

I quite like it actually. Everything seems to work as it should, there's a broken exhaust rubber so the back box clangs occasionally. I'll sort that tomorrow. Driven sensibly it is quite decent on fuel. It'll do 33 mpg on the motorway without really trying. Seems to do around 26-28 in town, far better than any V6 Mondeo I've tried, how that happens is a mystery to me. 

It doesn't feel that American, top half of the dash is a tad cheap looking, centre console is Mk1 Mondeo. Steering column only slides rather than tilt slide. Fuel computer buttons look a bit cheap compared to the Mondeo stuff!. Stereo is rather good. Handles like a well sorted Mondeo, feels less nose-heavy than a Mondeo V6. MT75 gearbox has the usual slightly ponderous feel. Engine is smooth, sounds great when giving it some but is nigh on silent when mimbling around or cruising. Pulls 5th gear from lower speeds than I expected it'd happy doing. It's not fast, but it's reasonably nippy, seems to be happy between 70 and a bit more than 70. Seats are as shit as I remember, feels like you sit on them rather than in them, the centre of the cushion and backrest sit higher than feels natural. Takes an age to get comfy, but the driver's seat is electric so once it's right, it's right. They're heated, too. Aircon is very very good. 

The rear wiper is offset to the left, only really sweeps one side of the rear window. That's an obvious sign of something LHD that they didn't bother changing. Bonnet catch is also on the left.

The fuel gauge and computer properly shit me up this afternoon. I'd done 90 miles on the £20 I put in it the other day and the computer was saying 40 miles to DOOM!. Drove it to town, still said 38 miles - it's a five mile trip. Did a short trip across town and it dropped to 20, then about five miles later it dropped suddenly to zero. Argh. Put £15 in it and it went up to 83 - where it's stayed for the couple of miles home.

[dollywobbler]

The bonnet catch on the Disco is on the left. Which idiot at Lode Lane came up with that plan?!