Mercury Mariner gets some plastic surgery

2008 Mercury Mariner will go on sale early next year and will feature an all-new interior as well as lifted-up front styling and chassis upgrade. The small SUV will also feature more car-like handling courtesy of its new Electric Power Steering system.







The new Mercury Mariner will stand out of the crowd with its more prominent corporate 'waterfall' grille, new bonnet and larger headlamps, WCF is reporting.

Inside, the Mariner still looks pretty uninspiring with its cheap materials and control panel born, let me guess, sometime between John Lennon's terrible murder and the fall of the Soviet Union. Mid 80s, that is.

The Mariner will come with a standard 2.3-liter, 16-valve Duratec 23 four-cylinder that produces 153 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 152 lb.-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm. There is also an optional 3.0-liter, 24-valve V6 Duratec 30 engine produces 200 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 193 lb.-ft of torque at 4,850 rpm. Both engines are mated to the same four-speed automatic transaxle which also quite an anachronistic, considering that most today's vehicles come with five-speed gearboxes.

See also: 2007 Range Rover will start from £53,995