2008 Mercury Mariner facelift

2008 Mercury Mariner facelift

The 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 compact SUV will also feature more car-like handling courtesy of its new Electric Power Steering system.

2008 Mercury Mariner (rear view)

The new Mercury Mariner will stand out of the crowd with its more prominent corporate ‘waterfall’ grille, new bonnet and larger headlamps.

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, if my calculation is right.

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.

2008 Mercury Mariner (hideous plastic interior)

Photos: GM/Mercury

See also: Land Rover Freelander 2 / LR2 price set