I've been searching since the middle of spring, went up to my eyeballs in research and pricing, asked a few people here... and finally, last Saturday, I pulled the trigger. I managed to buy a near-fully loaded 2009 Mercury Mariner. Not a conventional choice, but I love this thing. Drives better than a lot of cars I've owned. I put up some pictures here. Some of the highlights: 6 months of Sirius for free, Microsoft Sync built in, leather interior, dual climate control, and decent gas mileage (16.5 gallon tank, 18/26 MPG, uses 87 octane.) Take that, economy!
Really nice. I plan on buying my wife a new car spring 2009. I have narrowed my choices to a Ford fusion, Ford Escape or a Ford Edge. I thought the Edge was a little high.
The Escape is the base model the Mariner is based on. I'm clearly biased, but I would probably go for the Escape over the Fusion.
Nice ride bro! That 87 octane thing is something alot of people overlook. My car forces me to get robbed at the pump with 93 octane all the time.... I long to be you.
Careful what you wish for. 87 octane was a pretty big selling point. I know I'll get on the low end of the MPG estimates because I don't do much highway driving, so being able to get the cheapest gas is a big deal, especially with a 16.5 gallon tank. Gives me more time to listen to the NFL channel on Sirius. Yeah, it definitely has a good ride, almost surprisingly good. I think Ford has a winner here.
Nice car/suv Desides. BTW I never knew some cars made you put higher octane in...I always get the 87 and I'm no worse for wear.
Mariners are great cars...you made a fine choice. How much is gas down there these days anyway? Up here they're starting to drop quite a bit. And I would definitely recommend the Escape Idaho, it's the best of the 3 IMO.
It all depends on how the car is built, but they definitely require it. I used to drive a '99 Cougar that required 89 octane, and I know high-end cars (Mercedes, Jaguar, etc) require 93 octane. That might start changing, but I doubt it. I've seen 87 octane priced as low as $2.80, and I'm sure the local Costco is down to at least $2.70. It's taking a little while for the prices to filter down here, but they're coming.
Desides, Mariners are very nice cars. I work for a parking management companies and Mariners are one of my favorites. Did you get a good deal on it because, I know they are pretty expensive compared to others in its class. I don't know how much the market fell on these.
Sticker MSRP was $27,120. I wound up getting the bottom line down to $22,190. (That includes tax, tag, etc.) Actual price on the car was $20,600 or so.
It's a crossover, so fuel shouldn't be that bad. My main concern is that I rack up city miles but almost no highway miles, so I'm getting the low end of the MPG estimates. But hey, gas is coming down, and it's a 16.5 gallon tank. One week after purchase, driving almost every day, I'm only down half a tank.
