2002 Mercury Sable Review (continued)
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Walkaround

Sable received a moderate re-styling in 2000, which also resulted in some functional improvements, including a higher tail and larger trunk, headlights that were 25 percent more powerful, and better shrouding of the windshield wipers for reduced noise. Since then changes have been relatively minor.

Looks are of course subjective, but we like what we see. This latest Sable is not as daringly innovative as the ground-breaking design that introduced the nameplate back in '86. Since then, the Sable and its Ford-badged sibling, the Taurus, seem to have slowly swapped places, so that the Sable is now the conservative older sister and the Taurus the adventurous sprite. But the old girl is still pretty easy on the eyes, if now in a buttoned-down, business-suit sort of way.

Like the very best automotive designs, Sable comfortably blends beauty and function. Its total passenger space, at 102.5 cubic feet, is only 6 percent short of the full-size Grand Marquis'. Subjectively, the Sable's interior feels huge, even for a mid-size. The sedan offers a generous cargo space of 16 cubic feet. The station wagon has 38.8 cubic feet of space with the rear seat up and a cavernous 81.3 cubic feet with the seats down.

Interior Features

The Sable cabin is a refined interior space furnished with controls and instruments that are admirably straightforward and user-friendly. The power-adjustable pedals (standard on GS Plus and LS Premium) provide up to thee inches of movement, which enhances safety by allowing shorter drivers to find a comfortable seating position without sitting dangerously close to the airbag.

Gone is the heavy-handed oval theme of previous Taurus/Sable dashboards. Now large, legible gauges are set into a two-shade panel, the upper panel toned darker to reduce glare and the lower panel keyed to the inside door covering. Audio and climate controls are mounted in the center of the dash, which, while aesthetically an improvement, still presents an intimidating array of small, similarly shaped push-buttons with tiny labels. At first glimpse, this layout may impress you with its high-tech appearance, but it can be a challenge to find and hit the right button while battling prime-drive-time traffic.

Sable can be ordered in either five or six-passenger configurations, pretty much regardless of trim. Technically, the GS and GS Plus are six-passenger models, while the LS Premium upgrades to front bucket seats. But just $105 adds bucket seats, a console, and a floor shifter to the GS/GS PLus; while a no-cost option on LS Premium provides a front bench seat with a neat mini-console that flips out when the center is unoccupied.

If you specify both a five-passenger layout and Sable's premium audio, then the six-disc CD changer goes in the floor console, a vastly more convenient location than the trunk. The floor console also provides a dedicated air conditioning outlet for rear-seat passengers. The twin front bucket seats deliver surprisingly good lateral support without incurring a penalty in seating comfort, even for larger drivers. The cushions and seatbacks are on the firm side, which might initially seems a shortcoming; but firmer seats, if well-designed, usually feel more comfortable and reduce fatigue on long drives. This is certainly the case in the Sable.

The Sable's rear seating for three is spacious and comfortable, with the two outboard positions having a semi-bucket form. In our LS Premium, a pull-down center elbow rest presented us with two cup-holders. And if you ski, or carry ladders everywhere you go, the positively enormous split-seat pass-through into the trunk will make your life immeasurably easier.

Other nice touches in the LS Premium include dual vanity mirrors with a rheostat for raising or lowering their illumination. Also, the sunroof opens with one touch.

In the area of safety, the Sable has earned the U.S. government's top five-star frontal crash-test rating. It is equipped with dual-stage airbags, which sense the intensity of the impact and deploy at one of two different speeds. In lesser impacts, gentler deployment reduces the risk of injury by the bags themselves. Head-and-chest side airbags are available as an option. Seatbelt pretensioners are standard, as is a system which releases small amounts of seatbelt tension to reduce injury.