The Mercury Mountaineer is a higher-end, fraternal twin of the Ford Explorer. This is both good and bad. It's good because, overall, the Explorer is a superb product. What's not so good is that the Ford Motor Company felt that Mountaineer needed a unique Mercury identity.As a result, while the Explorer looks like a tough, non-nonsense, off-road truck, the Mountaineer looks like a Mercury. It's certainly attractive, but despite its machined-billet front end, it tends more toward country club sleek than off-road robust.
Mountaineer was extensively updated for 2006, with a redesigned frame and suspension; a new and more powerful V8; and an even newer six-speed automatic transmission.
At the same time, a heavily reworked interior enhanced user-friendliness. In fact, there is much here to love. The dash is trimmer, more elegant, and communicates essential information cleanly. Multi-adjustable front seats make for comfortable commutes. Passengers consigned to the third-row seats enjoy more legroom than their counterparts in other, seven-passenger SUVs in the class. The interior door handles are awkward, however.