Test Drive Ford Cougar 1998 - 2001 coupe

I'm a tiger, and not a pussy ...

Ford Cougar - Coupe for an amateur, burdened with family
 
Recently, in the secondary market, it is often possible to meet until recently not very famous car in Russia - a large two-door coupe Ford Cougar. The increased demand for this auto is explained by its relatively low for cars of this class by price, decent on reliability and power by engines, as well as rather modest operational expenditures.
 
The Ford Cougar coupe was first shown to the public in 1998 at Detroit Motor Show. In a car, one of the first was used new for Ford style with sharp edges of New Edge - for those times the revolutionary. Special attention is attracted by diagonal front and rear headlamps, once again underline the cat's name of the car (Cougar translates from English as the Puma - so indicate a predatory mountain cat, known in many names, including mexican lion, deer Tiger, etc.). The hero of our today's story has a twin brother named Mercury Cougar, sold solely on the North America market. But the Fordovskie coupe was focused on Europe, where buyers even ordinary family cars pay great attention to the driving characteristics of a particular model.
 
Cougar is based on the first generation Ford Mondeo platform (her debut took place in 1993), known in the United States as Ford Contour. True, it should be immediately noted that the chassis got a coupe from the modernized car of 1996 with a twisted suspension. Designers have greatly worked on the characteristics of the chassis of Cougar, making a car more obedient in turns. But at the same time, they did not forget about comfort. And they did the right thing, because in most cases Cougar bought not to establish speed records, and for ordinary urban exploitation. In addition, the base Mondeo endowed a used Ford Cougar with a huge advantage: despite all the dissimilarity of these two models, their chassis, engine, etc. are identical - and therefore problems with the search for replacement for replacement should not occur. Moreover, in many cases, buying spare parts from Mondeo or its American analogue Contour allows you to save decent means.
 
With Body Iron Ford Cougar, there can be no problem, even if this car is operated in Russia from birth. Critics for Ford cars are confident that Cougar simply did not live until the moment when the metal starts to rust actively. But, it seems, this is not an argument. Apparently, a good owner of Cougar's body will serve a very long time. The main thing is not to fall on this car in an accident, because if it is not possible to deny the metal, you will have to go to Ford spare parts store and order new elements. And it will cost, believe me, in a very decent amount, because on our disassembly, Cougar is not found. For example, if accidentally split a huge rear bumper, you will have to spread with $ 500-800.
 
Ford Cougar is quite rich. Yes, and the leather interior here is not uncommon, especially for cars fitted from the United States. It is also worth noting that even the simplest machines have not only frontal, but also side airbags (Cougar became the first Ford, which received four aerweg in the basic configuration). Check the operation of all the mechanisms, will definitely not hurt, but practice shows that on machines in a more or less decent state with the salon everything should be in perfect order. Only some flaws are allowed, but if the insides of the car are already very sad kind, then it is better to refrain from buying this option, despite all the seller's assurances about the chic condition of the car as a whole.
 
For the city and the route
 
Ford Cougar, in contrast to his progenitor, has a very limited choice of power units. And it is completely justified, because it is no one like a large coupe with a pronounced sports imaging to have some dead 1.6-liter motor. For all the laws of the genre, cars of this class should be equipped with only the most powerful engines. The Mondeo gamma found two. One of them had 4 cylinders, volume 2.0 l and power 131 hp But the second power unit was already a 6-cylinder, V-shaped, and at a volume of 2.5 liters Issued 170 hp Although it must be said that Ford produced in small quantities and a forced version of the 2.5-liter motor, which could boast 205 horses. But on sale such cars are extremely rare, and even if one of such charged cougar falls, you need to remember that it has a different, very hard suspension.
 
If Cougar is needed for an ordinary, everyday ride, it is not particularly looped on the search for the machine with V6. According to the experience of many COUGAR owners, a 2-liter motor in 131 hp It is enough for the city. And on the track, this engine will not let down. In addition, he has less fuel consumption: it takes about 10-12 liters per 100 km, while 2.5-liter machines are firing 14-15 liters.
 
But still when the coupe is bought not only because of its beautiful appearance, then you should not save. We need to look for a car with a 2.5 liter engine, which has a very decent trailer. Do not be surprised that the price of such copies by several thousand dollars more than 2-liter analogues. It affects both the initially higher cost of powerful models and the features of Russian customs legislation: payments for the 2-liter Cougar will amount to about 3,500 euros, and for 2.5 liter - already 5,000 euros!
 
The 2-liter motor installed on Cougar belongs to the ZETEC series, familiar on other Ford models. This motor has greatly proven itself not only in Europe, but also in our country. When runs less than 150-200 thousand km no problems with it. And then you usually need only to change some engine glands, which may require about $ 150-400 (it all depends on the amount of necessary work). But, repeat again, the glands begin to flow only at large runs.
 
Eternal Engine
 
The V6 engine is already a DURATEC. This engine, which appeared in the mid-1990s, earned the fame of a very reliable unit capable of running more than 500 thousand km. For the drive of the gas distribution mechanism, two metal chains are used here, which even on machines with high mileage do not require replacement. But the owners of machines with 4-cylinder engines should remember that in the Russian conditions the timing belt is best changed every 60 thousand km (when it can be taken seriously to get into money, although sometimes it is possible to do only to replace the cut valves). The cost of replacing the timing belt is about $ 160-200, along with work and spare parts.
 
Completely, a 2,5-liter engine after 100-120 thousand km of mileage begins to work the cooling system pump badly. As soon as it turns out, you need to immediately go to the service and change this item (it is cheap - $ 80). Otherwise, when the pump failure, the coolant will stop circulating and the motor can be easily overlayed (because it is aluminum, and therefore it does not like too high temperatures). But it should be noted that even in case of overheating, it is often possible to get rid of only the replacement of the cylinder head gasket (2-liter motor) can boast.
 
Although sometimes you can hear negative reviews about a 2.5-liter engine. But usually it is not connected with the reliability of the motor, but with the fact that work on its maintenance and repair cost more. Yes, and the price of many consumables is also higher. For example, a 2.0 liter motor candles are less than $ 5, and for 2.5 liter - already $ 8-10. By the way, they are best changed more often, since on our gasoline the candles do not live long (on average 10 thousand km). When operating Cougar in Russia (regardless of the motor), it is sometimes necessary to change the idling sensors, air flow, etc., but in many cases it is possible to save money and cost the clearance of parts.
 
Slightly blows up
 
Pretty much Ford Cougar is equipped with an automatic transmission. It is somewhat more commonly found on the machines with the V6 engine, which is quite explained: with this motor, the thought of the machine is almost not felt. What you can not say about cars with a 2-liter engine: a more modest COUGAR is better suitable for mechanics. Moreover, the manual box is very praised for the excellent clarity of switching and the absence of vibrations. In many respects, it is necessary to say thanks to an interesting KP drive system, where not thrust are used, as on Mondeo, but cables.
 
According to Ford repair masters, both transmissions are very reliable and practically do not deliver trouble. Is oil under our operating conditions: for the machine - every 30 thousand km of mileage, and for mechanics - every 60-80 thousand km. And usually, with a breakdown of the same automatic box, it is not to blame the design of the mechanism, but the incorrect operation and nonsense of the driver. As for the clutch on machines with mechanics, then with an aggressive ride manner, it may fail through 70-80 thousand km (although in calm drivers it serves as long as longer). True, the clutch replacement is a very laborious procedure (a total of a total of works and spare parts is about $ 200-300). So, buying a car with a strongly worn clutch, it would be nice to ask a discount on repairs.
 
The Ford Cougar suspension is hard, but it allows you to completely easily ride the car even on our broken roads. Front Suspension Cougar is a classic McPherson with a stabilizer, but the rear, called Quadralink, has the effect of passive infringement, which has slightly improved the car handling in turns. Although it is not necessary to think that this coupe has all four wheels can turn to the side, as on some Japanese sports cars. Simply, Ford has rear wheels capable of changing the angle of converge.
 
The chassis went to Cougar from restyling Mondeo, which means it is already deprived of certain drawbacks (for example, the silent blocks of the front levers significantly reinforced in the upgraded chassis). Naturally, the coupe received several other shock absorbers, springs and stabilizers that attached a car completely different. When driving on Ford Cougar, you must remember that this car is able to demonstrate all its capabilities only with an absolutely properly working suspension! That is why it is necessary to periodically monitor that the same shock absorbers perform their work for all 100%, not to mention the rest of the details. Although in general, the reliability of the chassis can be recognized very good. Of course, it is possible to change anything periodically, but this is a completely normal phenomenon (for example, approximately every 40-60 thousand km in the rear suspension it is necessary to put new stabilizer bushings, but this repair is worth a penny).
 
Buying spare parts, it is very not necessary to order elements from Cougar. Sometimes it is necessary to do this, but more often, spare parts from Mondeo or its American version of Contour are suitable. For example, on the branded service station for the original levers it is for the coupe that can request more than $ 400 per piece! And absolutely the same details, but intended to be installed on Ford Contour, will cost about $ 150-200 (now you can find services where Silent-blocks are simply remembered, which significantly saves the means). By the way, in stores you can meet a lot of non-original parts for Mondeo or Contour, which are perfect for Cougar (only products of well-known and proven manufacturers are needed). Perhaps it is not necessary to save only on the brakes.
 
EXCURSION
 
The Ford Cougar predecessor has become quite popular at one time model Probe - Joint Development of Ford and Mazda Companies. As a result, Probe in its design is very similar to Mazda MX-6, built on the basis of Mazda 626.
 
The Ford Probe coupe first appeared in 1988. First, the PROBE was installed 2.2-liter engine with 12 valves with a capacity of 110 hp, but in 1990 the engine V6 of 3.0 liters with 16 valves, outstanding 140 hp, under the hood, appeared
 
And then the 2.2-liter unit began to install on the car, but with a turbocharger with a capacity of 145 hp.
 
At the end of 1992, Probe was modernized (restyled cars are usually called the second generation of PROBE). The updated coupe received not only a little different appearance, but also other power units from Mazda 626: a 4-cylinder engine with a volume of 2.0 liters (115 hp) and a 2.5-liter V6 with a capacity of 165 hp
 
In the mid-1990s, the Ford leadership thought about what to replace the Probe to change. After long discussions, it was decided to build a coupe not in collaboration with Mazda, but on their own. The newly two-door car was based on a very successful chassis from Mondeo, which also underwent modernization, which saved the running from some childhood diseases and increased its reliability.
 
The design of the new coupe, presented at the Detroit Auto Show in 1998, was decided to do in the new then for the Ford style of New Edge (before that, in the same spirit, Ford Ka and Puma models have already been created). As a result, the appearance of the new car with the cat name Cougar (so in America they call the Puma) turned out rather aggressive. Under the hood COUGAR installed a 4-cylinder engine with a capacity of 2.0 liters with a capacity of 131 hp. and a 2.5-liter six (170 hp). Also in small quantities, charged versions of Cougar with a 2.5-liter motor capacity of 205 hp were collected.
 
It is worth noting that Ford Cougar, although sold in the United States (by the way, released a car exclusively in America), was originally focused on European buyers. But for the residents of the new world, the twin brother Cougar under the name Mercury Cougar was intended. It was equipped with a calmer 2-liter engine capacity of 126 hp, as well as 2.5-liter V6, issued 173 hp
 
In 2001, Ford Cougar has stopped. A similar coupe under the Mercury brand was released a little longer, however, it was also sent soon with production. To date, Ford never presented the successor to Cougar.
 
If you want to have a sports compartment of the fresh year of release, Ford Cougar is suitable as it is impossible. The car is characterized by very good handling, good motors, and (perhaps the most important thing) it is quite reliable. Yes, in addition, the price of used Cougar is not too high in good condition. No need to forget about one moment: Ford Cougar meets on our roads not too often, which will immediately allow the owner of this car to stand out in the total stream.
 
Text: Denis Smolyanov3
 

Source: Mkmobile magazine