Bangernomics...my old cougar
Discussion
I happened upon my ford cougar by chance after a run-in with a dodgy garage who miss-sold me a rusted out hatchback, it was the only thing on the forecourt that was vaguely respectable that they would give me in exchange. It cost £1500 and had 100k on the clock. It was remarkably clean inside and out!
It was the slow 2.0 zetec (128bhp afaik) but did have a cd changer,aircon,trip computer etc. It was average to drive, great on the motorway at higher speeds, pants acceleration, and not great cornering.
But...I've never driven a 2 door car with so much space internally, once you get the rear seats down it was like an estate inside, I moved flats twice with it!
During the bad winter the year before last, the digital displays totally died for 4 days,then magically came back to life! I also lost one fuel tank strap, which cost about £20 to replace.
The heater fan died, cue a £20 replacement off ebay. Then the power steering cooling pipe in front of the rad split, managed to repair it with metal adhesive, cost of £10.
Highlight that winter of driving in the snow, massive tyres had rubbish traction, bristol city centre was a hoot...Handbrake turns on the flat parking area became the daily ritual.
Apart from that the car gave me a year and a half and 15k of pretty much trouble free, if slow motoring. And unlike most other cougars it didn't drop or drink any oil!
I traded it in against a mk2.5 MX5 last year, haven't really looked back but the cougar was a pretty faithful steed in the time i had it.
It was the slow 2.0 zetec (128bhp afaik) but did have a cd changer,aircon,trip computer etc. It was average to drive, great on the motorway at higher speeds, pants acceleration, and not great cornering.
But...I've never driven a 2 door car with so much space internally, once you get the rear seats down it was like an estate inside, I moved flats twice with it!
During the bad winter the year before last, the digital displays totally died for 4 days,then magically came back to life! I also lost one fuel tank strap, which cost about £20 to replace.
The heater fan died, cue a £20 replacement off ebay. Then the power steering cooling pipe in front of the rad split, managed to repair it with metal adhesive, cost of £10.
Highlight that winter of driving in the snow, massive tyres had rubbish traction, bristol city centre was a hoot...Handbrake turns on the flat parking area became the daily ritual.
Apart from that the car gave me a year and a half and 15k of pretty much trouble free, if slow motoring. And unlike most other cougars it didn't drop or drink any oil!
I traded it in against a mk2.5 MX5 last year, haven't really looked back but the cougar was a pretty faithful steed in the time i had it.
the 2.0 zetec was decidely underpowered, but fine once you were up to speed and good for about 125mph.
The 2.5 V6 was better i think, and could be remapped for a bit more poke, but it was still more of a grand tourer than a coupe. They are pretty much a mondeo underneath,so fairly standard parts wise.
Parking it was a nightmare, so many blind spots.
And something i never would have thought of until i owned it- The doors were very long and pretty heavy, it made getting out of it in supermarket carparks very hazardous for cars parked adjacent.
Very comfy seats though!
The 2.5 V6 was better i think, and could be remapped for a bit more poke, but it was still more of a grand tourer than a coupe. They are pretty much a mondeo underneath,so fairly standard parts wise.
Parking it was a nightmare, so many blind spots.
And something i never would have thought of until i owned it- The doors were very long and pretty heavy, it made getting out of it in supermarket carparks very hazardous for cars parked adjacent.
Very comfy seats though!
i miss mine sometimes for the motorway comfort, the 1.6 mx5 is by far a more fun car to drive though.
I liked driving something a bit rarer, i think cougars will become more sought after in future when numbers start to dwindle.
this is (like) my gran's (shes 89) mercury cougar,which she still drives over in Canada-
needless to say shes pranged it a few times parking...i think i would tbh.
I liked driving something a bit rarer, i think cougars will become more sought after in future when numbers start to dwindle.
this is (like) my gran's (shes 89) mercury cougar,which she still drives over in Canada-
needless to say shes pranged it a few times parking...i think i would tbh.
Must admit i have always liked cougars & nearly bought the v6 x pack model back in 2001...but everyone i spoke to about them hated them & i did put me off a bit.
I still like the look & they offer great value for money now & you dont see many on the road.
Great find, hope it treats you well.
I still like the look & they offer great value for money now & you dont see many on the road.
Great find, hope it treats you well.
before i got mine my mums mechanic basically slated the hell out of them,said they were a money pit,unreliable,prone to falling apart etc...on the basis of mine i'd say he was wrong...
It always felt quite funny, had mine at age 23-24, and everyone else i saw with one was 40+...used to get some funny looks off the saxo driving yoofs!
It always felt quite funny, had mine at age 23-24, and everyone else i saw with one was 40+...used to get some funny looks off the saxo driving yoofs!
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