2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid Review (continued)
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Walkaround

The Mercury Mariner is a compact four-door, five-passenger, sport utility vehicle. If you've seen the Mercury Mountaineer, you've seen the Mariner, albeit an unSanforized one after a trip or two through a hot-water car wash. Granted, the Mariner's headlights are more rectangular, and the fog lamp nacelles are more parallelogram than up-tipped eyebrow, but otherwise, and other than size, there's little visually to distinguish between the larger and smaller Mercury SUVs.

The trademark satin-finish aluminum vertical-bar grille sits on a matching bumper inset, turn indicator lights are housed where the headlamp lenses wrap around the fenders and the central recess in the hood imbues the front fenders with a subtle shoulder look.

Borrowing from European custom, small turn-indicator repeater lights are positioned in the front quarter panels just aft of and slightly above the front wheel wells. Understated cladding preserves and protects the lower door panels and ties together the minimalist front and rear fender flares, nicely finishing the mid-door, horizontal character line optically connecting the front and rear bumpers. The tall glasshouse is properly proportioned to balance the body side panels. The angled C-pillar behind the rear side door accentuates the people-orientation of the Mariner while acknowledging it can haul cargo, too.

From the rear, the Mariner is, well, a sport utility vehicle. There's not much that can be done to stylize a liftgate, taillamps and bumper, other than with trim bits and pieces, and the Mariner's designers did their best with what they had. Tasteful, satin-finish, grille-like accents brace the taillamps. The side character line continues across the liftgate, swelling in the center to form a surround for the license plate recess. Yet another satin-finish inset separates the step-top of the rear bumper and the body-color lower fascia. Bright chrome exhaust tips finish the package.

The Mariner Hybrid is distinguished by a small vent in the driver's side C-pillar, which channels cooling air to the battery pack, Hybrid badging on the liftgate, front doors and acoustic engine cover, and unique 16-inch five-spoke wheels.

Interior Features

To a large extent, what holds for the Mercury Mariner's exterior holds for its interior. If you like the Mountaineer's appointments and look, you'll like the Mariner's, as the designers have hewn closely to theme the larger Mountaineer established.

Seemingly central to the Mariner's essence is satin-finish aluminum, which abounds inside as well as out. From the instrument bezels to the center stack's vertical braces to the shift lever cap to the center console to the logo in the steering wheel hub to the flat surfaces on the door armrests, satin-finish trims and highlights. About the only interior metal surfaces that aren't satin-finish are the chrome inside door handles and accent ringing the shift lever in the center console. The theme is successful and the overall look is one of polish and refinement, helped by wood-grain trim on the center stack and console.

The Hybrid's interior feels a bit more upscale due to its leather trim and two-tone seating and door trim. The instrument panel is slightly different and includes a battery indicator dial, informing the driver which way the current in the electric system is flowing: to the battery during regenerative braking or from the battery to the electric motor when it's operating in assistance of the gasoline engine. The optional Hybrid Energy Audio and Navigation System uses a four-inch color screen to display the energy flow, the state of the electric motor system and the battery pack. It's a valuable tool by providing positive feedback to the driver in search of the best fuel mileage.

The front bucket seats are nicely contoured and bolstered, but we found ourselves squirming around in search of a more comfortable zone after only a short stay.

Cruise control buttons are smoothly integrated into the sides of the steering wheel hub. Power window buttons, however, are of the old-school type, i.e., non-child/curious pet-proof. The stereo, too, shouts standard Ford gear; as functional and easy-to-use as its controls are, they don't quite make premium grade in terms of their appearance. The air conditioning is manual and there's no upgrade to automatic climate control available, not even on the Premier. People who don't take advantage of automatic climate controls anyway won't miss this.

The rear seat, even though a split-to-fold 60/40 unit, is essentially a two-piece bench, as in, not the most accommodating for long drives. On the plus side, all five seating positions have three-point belts and adjustable head restraints.

The rear seat folds almost flat, making for commodious cargo space. Tie-down hooks are provided to secure odd-shaped or mobile objects. The rear quarter panel has open storage bins for smaller items. Front seatbacks host map pockets, as do both front doors. The overhead console (which the optional moonroof displaces) has two swing-down bins. The center console has two cupholders and a shallow bin forward of the shift lever.

Where the Mariner loses points is where its target buyers are most likely to notice: insulation from outside annoyances. For the most part, we found it at best only marginally quieter than the Escape, with road noise and tire hiss clearly audible, and noticeable, if barely, wind whistle from the side windows and mirrors. On the redeeming side, fit and finish in the cabin was up to par, with no buzzes, squeaks or rattles.