Mercury Villager minivan in new format gets a larger engine
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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SAUSALITO, Calif. -- Driver sits up high in a firm bucket seat facing a wrap-around panel of graphic instruments and easy-to-reach controls and switches, with a fat-grip steering wheel in front and a surrounding series of tall windows which provide clear views of street and traffic.
Rack the column-mounted shift lever down to Drive, ease the foot on throttle and a new engine inside the redesigned Villager minivan by Mercury answers instantly with a confidence-inspiring surge of power.
Steering feels crisp and reacts quickly in direct linear response to driver's input. When turning, the suspension checks excessive body roll while also smoothing out the bumps and dips of pavement irregularities.
Meanwhile, seats for as many as seven people fill a generous cabin that expands in breadth and volume with the new design of 1999, and at the rear cargo space increases when using an optional new ledge for stacking parcels.
Spend time living with this vehicle, like I did recently while tending to daily chores and piling friends and family aboard for freeway forays, and you too may come away from such an experience with a new appreciation for the multifaceted personality of Mercury's minivan.
But that's the Villager mission: Apply comforts and ride quality of a sedan to the handy format of a minivan.
When the initial Villager rolled off an Ohio assembly line in 1992, it became the first short-wheelbase minivan to match the original concept by Chrysler in terms of function, format and power.
That magic minivan equation aimed at the family market consists of ample cargo room and passenger capacity molded into the shape of a van but with vehicle dimensions small enough so it will fit in a normal parking space or garage and also maneuver as easily as a medium-size 4-door sedan.
A new fourth door makes Villager even more sedan-like.
With the revised format for Villager, Mercury delivers all of the right ingredients, from a flat floorboard and 7-passenger seating capacity with easy backseat access from two side sliding doors to an enlarged and improved V6 engine and hardware which sets up agile handling characteristics.
Villager also provides the form-fitting quality, look and feel of an import.
That's due in part to the minivan's parentage, since it's a result of a joint venture between America's Mercury and Japan's Nissan. Originally, design concepts, engineering, powertrain and body stampings for Villager came from Nissan, with Mercury supplying most of Villager's parts, then managing the manufacturing process at an assembly plant in Avon Lake, O.
As a result, Villager became an American-made minivan which impressed fans of imported automotive technology.
Introduced as a 1993 model, Villager gained safety features and hardware in subsequent issues, including a driver's-side air bag added in 1994, a passenger-side air bag and exterior facelift in 1996, then reinforced bracing in doors for improved side-impact protection in 1997.
The new generational design for Villager as a 1999 model rides on the same platform with a 112-inch wheelbase maintained, but the package has been expanded in all dimensions to carve out about ten cubic feet of additional interior room. Overall length stretches by 4.6 inches while the width bulges by an inch and height rises by 4.5 inches.
Villager starts with a smooth exterior shell structured to cheat the wind in energy-saving aerodynamic fashion. Larger composite headlamps with crystalline lenses flank a subtle new horizontal grille at the prow.
A bold front bumper matches low moldings on curvaceous side doors to form a visually strong base ring around the minivan, while at the rear a top-hinged lift gate aligns more vertically now so the roof can extend further rearward to make more usable cargo room inside.
Despite the package expansion, Villager still seems modest in scale, although when tested for interior space it's big enough so that three people can ride side-by-side on the third-tier bench seat.
That back bench does tricks. It rolls forward on floor tracks to one of three positions for carrying people, or to two places in fold-up fashion when making room for cargo.
A center bench or optional twin captain's chairs present more choices for rearranging the cabin, and the flat frame means passengers may move around fore and aft without climbing over a driveline tunnel or hopping up to a higher rear platform.
Overall, Villager feels quite friendly to use -- and it acts like a sedan with power to spare.
The revised V6 engine, borrowed from Nissan and enlarged in displacement from 3.0 to 3.3 liters, drops a cam on top and sequential multi-point electronic fuel injection inside to generate 170 hp at 4800 rpm. Torque muscles up to 200 lbs/ft at 2800 rpm.
This plant links to an electronic automatic transmission from Nissan with overdrive fourth gear.
Although only one powertrain is available, Villager comes in three trim choices.
The base version totals to $22,995, including a delivery fee. A lavish Estate edition for $25,595 has a package of gold trimmings with accents on wheels and side body moldings, plus touring suspension settings and captain's chairs in place on the second row of seats. Villager Sport, using the same price and premium equipment as Estate, also displays unique exterior graphics applied to a 2-tone paint job.
From a user's perspective, Villager excels in details of the redesigned cabin.
Seats provide better lateral and back support and feel as comfortable as any on the market. With the cabin expansion rearward, riders in second and third rows end up with more room for legs. Driver sits in a more responsive position for an improved view of revised instruments and an easy reach to various knobs and dials, such as new rotary knobs of the climate control system.
Even cupholders are better: A ratcheting armature securely clamps cup or bottle of varying size.
And Villager brings fresh ideas for practical usage, like a secret storage drawer tucked beneath the front passenger's seat and an expandable net strung between the two front seats, plus the clever idea of Travel Note, a digital voice recorder mounted in driver's sun visor so you can log reminder messages to yourself while driving.
1999 MERCURY VILLAGER MINIVAN
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| 1999 MERCURY VILLAGER VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Compact minivan |
| Model Options: |
Compact minivan |
| Wheelbase: |
112.2 inches |
| Overall Length: |
194.7 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 3.3-L V6
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power disc/drum/ABS opt. |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
17/24 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 22,995 to $ 30,000 |
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