The Ford Cougar was a large coupé car, that was produced between 1998–2002, and
sold in the United States from 1999–2002, as the Mercury Cougar. The
car was originally intended to be the third generation Probe, but after a
rationalisation of the three coupés available in the United States, the
Probe name was dropped in favour of the Cougar.
History The Cougar was Ford's second attempt to
reintroduce a sports coupé in Europe, in the same vein as the successful but
long-absent Capri – the first attempt having been the Mazda MX-6-based Probe.
Just as the Capri had been based on the Cortina, the Cougar was based on the
large family car available at the time, the Mondeo.
It premièred in December 1998 to mixed reviews, partly due to the then-new and
controversial New Edge styling: a crisp style which was subsequently applied to
most of the Ford range. Unlike its famous forebearer, the Capri, Cougar
sales were never brisk, despite good reports of the model as a "driver's
car". Like its predecessor, the Ford Probe,
the 1998 Cougar was sold and built in the United States. Cars destined to be
sold in Europe and the United Kingdom were finished in Ford's Köln plant in
Germany, where the cars had European specification lighting installed, Ford
badges applied; in the United States it had different branding, in this case
being branded as the Mercury Cougar, while in Europe and Australia it was
known as the Ford Cougar. In the United Kingdom, Ford unveiled the
car in July 1998, at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone. The television
advertisements featured the silver model driven by Dennis Hopper due to his
appearance in the film Easy Rider. At the same time Steppenwolf's 1968 hit
"Born To Be Wild" played, as this was featured in the film and the same scene
the advertisement re-created. The Cougar was retired from the European
market in August 2002. After the first two years of production, it was reported
that only 12,000 units had been sold in the United Kingdom. In Australia, the
Cougar would continue well into 2003. Technical
= Mechanical= The Cougar came equipped with the
2.0-litre 16-valve 2.0 L Zetec or 2.5-litre 24-valve Duratec V6 engines
with two specification levels, largely equivalent to a Mondeo Ghia and Ghia X.
Manual and automatic transmissions were available. All variants came with 16-in
alloy wheels as standard. The 2.0-litre version had 130 PS as
standard, while the 2.5 was rated at 170 PS.
Specifications = Handling=
The car has been described by critics as "[putting] its power down effectively
and [tackling] twisty roads with confidence." The standard wheels had 215
mm-width tyres which greatly contributed to its cornering abilities.
= Extras= An "X pack" was available on the larger
engine; this included leather upholstered and heated front seats with
six-way electric adjustment for the driver's seat and a Ford RDS6000
six-speaker radio with six-CD autochanger.
Available at an extra cost and not included in the "X pack" were heated
windscreen, electric tilt, slide sunroof, and metallic paint.
= Safety and security= The standard safety kit includes driver,
passenger, and side airbags, plus ABS brakes and seat belts that reduce chest
injuries. The Cougar is well-protected against theft and break-in due to an
engine immobiliser, remote-control central and double locking systems, and
an alarm. See also
Opel Calibra: a similar large sports coupé produced by Opel
References