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ms p i i 1 i r 24 economist sun stouffe tribune ttiursday dec 101998 is i r i ik i advertising feature jr vr v r jim robinson r metroland staff this isnt the kind of mercury cougar i was expecting cougars have never been sporty hespite all the hype with padded vinyl roofs and bigvjbsjthey were more like a just announced it was killing the probe europe reaction to the stretchedmustang in spiritas l well asandkjssingcousin the mazda mx6 performance and handling feuxwmemedrivetrainhasalotin when itwasahnouhced the next common die bulk of trie car is based cougar would be a frqhtehgine front- on the forcl contourmercury driver wi a choice of iriliriefour or mysticjuevubcqmpact that was an v6 1 instaritly wonderedwhy ford had outgrowth of the ford mondec sold in 0 1 mslllfjfinftnci tq 60 mont onselecteji itwlpi st forbes limit tyivsentsas interest v j5j svpr gt j- v h w a4 idels 1999 camry sedan ce 1999 corolla sedan ve jm i ws qsjdjjhjjji tosh lease for only 4 m per mth48 mths 3 1 7v tszksghyyf ftk lease for only per mth48 mths example 20000 over maximum term of 60 months monthly payment is 37560 rinance from tccioac 48 available on all new 1999 models job is 2535 total obligation is 22535 lease from tcci oac payment plus taxes downpayment of 1950 on both corolla and camry cash or trade equivalent first payment security f deposit and all applicabletexes due upon delivery optional buyback is 8410 on corolla and 12597 on camry mileage allowance of 96000 kms excess km charge on corolla is 77km and on camry is jovkm freight and pde included licensing and insurance are extra r 90 days no interest and no payments applies to financing only on all new 1999 toyota models in stock on the 90th day after delivery purchaser may elect to pay balance in cash or continue financing arranged at time of purchase vehicle must be purchased and credit application approved by january 4 1 999 5362hwy7 eastofmccowanrdmarkham ko o bullock x f q 5 5 1 jf hwy7 t contourmystique has been hobbled by a few early problems notably lack of backseat room now corrected there were no complaints labour the han dling however whue not a lot of mondeo pahs made the translation when it came to using nortfi i arriericah piecesirl the car to save tooling itime and money the basics of the suspend sion geometry wereleft virtually alone r v so the cougar builds oh a fairly com petent platform that happens tobe 20 per cent stiffen suspension is macstruts at front and the familiar ford quadralink technology because it has two transverse and one trailing arm per side the rear wheels get a form of pas sive rearwheersteefing that comes into its own in the handling depaftrherit the engines too are familiar being the 20litre twin cam zetec 125 hp 130 ftlb torqueorthe v6 duratec170 hp 165 ftlb or torque coupled to a fivespeed manual transmission the manual uses cables to make shifts it takes a bit of practice to get over the notchy feeling but that should go away as the miles smooth things out theother transmission is optional the fourspeed automatic transaxle a solid performer in a wide range of ford vehicles where this car differs from what has gone before is the aforemen- tionedstyling of fords new new edge concept that means the design uses sharp crisp edges instead of the bubbly lopk said mike wiggins from craig rileys markville lincoln mercury there are more than a few leading edges on this car along with at least four character lines on the flanks arrow-shaped- exterior door handles triangles ellipses and even a few odd straight lines this is a combination that should not work happily for mercury this jumble comes together in such- a way thatit draws the eye forward to the nose instead of away from it which is usual ly the case lathering in all of these design elements should have been a disaster i will be watching closely to see how this translates when fords stylists get into something a little bigger like a lincoln the interior also challenges the visu al senses but besides the seats anddoor pulls its more restrained the first sen- sation is one of width and evertmore depth to the cabinvthe back seat- nor- i rmally vestigial in a coupe is actuallybig enough for two adults and a piece of j for kids t i for- one applaud the decision by mercury to stick with ahatchback when see the mercury page 25 ii a ug e j 1999 protege xs i rm imeaahes y she passion for the road w ll i v v d