Global player in a changing world.
Once upon a time in the car business, it seemed Japan could do no wrong and America
could do almost nothing right. America's Big Three carmakers figured if you can't beat
'em, join 'em. So they partnered up with their Japanese competitors and built vehicles
here using much of the same engineering that had given Japan an edge.
The Mercury Villager is a product of just such a partnership. Introduced in 1992, the
front-wheel drive Villager gets its drivetrain and most of its design from Nissan, and
shares both with the nearly identical Nissan Quest. Powertrains come from Nissan, and
assembly is handled at a Ford factory located in Avon Lake, Ohio.
The Villager arrived as a more carlike, more compact yet surprisingly spacious
alternative to Chrysler's then-aging minivan trio.
In fact, it represented the first true challenge to the original Chrysler minivan
concept--car-like driveability and van-like cargo capacity, plus garageability. Early
responses from Ford and GM were based on rear-drive truck platforms, and GM's
front-drive Chevrolet Lumina APV, Pontiac Trans Sport and Oldsmobile Silhouette never
quite caught on.
In addition to nailing the concept, the Villager and Quest were affordable, with
pricing that started at about $17,000.
The Villager is still pleasantly carlike and spacious for its size, and gets a host of
upgrades for 1996. And at $19,940 to start, it's still affordable. But with larger,
newer minivans at a comparable price from Chrysler and even Ford, the Villager also
shows how much the world around it has changed.
Walkaround
Revised taillights, a new flying M grille and color-keyed side moldings are the major
changes outside for +96. Otherwise, the Mercury Villager's rounded shape is unchanged,
and still looks fresh, even when it's parked next to a Dodge Caravan or a Honda
Odyssey. While the Villager is nearly 20 cu. ft. smaller inside than Chrysler's
short-wheelbase vans, it's also 24 cu. ft. roomier than the dimunitive Honda. And at
less than 1 in. longer, it's as easy to park.
Once you finish parking, however, the Villager provides rear- and center-seat
passengers with just one side door versus the option of two sliding doors on
Chrysler's vans and two sedan-style doors on the Odyssey and Mazda MPV, which include
them as standard equipment.
The good news: The Honda costs nearly $4000 more, and comes only with a 4-cyl. engine
while Villagers and Quests get a smooth V6.
Villagers come in three models: GS, LS and the topmost Nautica--a $26,390 luxury
edition that includes an attractive 2-tone paint scheme, aluminum alloy wheels and
leather interior trim. There's also a van version ($19,385), intended for commercial
hauling.
But even the $19,940 Villager GS comes with such niceties as standard antilock brakes,
an AM/FM/cassette sound system and intermittent wipers front and rear.
You can also save a bundle over the $24,300 LS by ordering the GS with Preferred
Equipment Package 692A. It includes power locks, windows and mirrors, auxiliary
center-seat climate controls and virtually everything else that goes with the LS
version for about $1800 less.
Interior Features
A second airbag, adjustable-height front shoulder harnesses and larger gauges are the
big news inside, bringing it up to date in terms of standard safety features.
The rest of Villager's interior is mostly unchanged. That's good in some ways; in
others, this is yet another area where the rest of the world has moved on.
Lots of space and nearly limitless ways to use it are still the Villager's strong
suits. Seating in the 5-passenger GS includes two highly supportive front buckets and
a rear bench with a back that reclines and folds forward into a picnic table. While
you can't remove the bench, you can trim the space it takes by tilting its bottom
cushion up and sliding the whole thing nearly 50 in. forward or back, depending on
where you need the room.
You can also make the GS a 7-passenger van like the LS and Nautica by adding a
2-passenger center bench--a $330 option included in Package 692A. While it won't slide
or recline, the center bench does everything else the rear bench does. It's also
removable. Unfortunately, doing so requires two strong bodies. It also entails folding
the seatbottom, tugging on a series of levers and then dragging the heavy bench
through the Villager's single side door. Compare that to the slick new seats in
Chrysler's minivans, which you can roll back to the tailgate or carry out either side
door.
Optional center captain's chairs ($610) are more manageable and versatile, since
they're lighter and can be removed one at a time. The bad news: They come only on
uplevel models. And unless the center seatbacks are folded, rearmost passengers will
find kneeroom tight with either seating arrangement.
Driving Impressions
The Villager was arguably the world's best-handling minivan when it came out, and it's
still at the front of the pack. Our test GS benefitted from wider all-season
performance tires that come with Package 692A, along with stiffer shocks and a rear
stabilizer bar included with the $85 uplevel suspension. The result is a minivan that
hugs snaking backroads and keeps its cool during emergency maneuvers better than any
save Chrysler's.
Villagers with the uplevel suspension also ride firmly yet comfortably, despite
carriage-style leaf springs and a beam axle in back. Stops are also short and
unspectacular, despite rear drums instead of the discs on such newer competitors as
Ford's Windstar.
Villager's Nissan-built V6 is another strong point. While it's smaller and less potent
than the ones available in Chrysler vans--let alone the 200-hp V6 offered in this
year's Windstar--canted valves and overhead camshafts help it move this small van
briskly, smoothly and quietly.
We also found the electronically-controlled 4-speed automatic transmission to be both
smooth and responsive. Like most of Ford's other automatics, its column shifter
includes a handy button at the end of the lever for locking out overdrive to provide a
little extra oomph for passing or going up steep hills.
Extended drives also revealed some interior details that haven't stood the test of
time. Flush-mounted switches that are hard to find and tough to tell apart are our
biggest gripe. Examples include feel-alike buttons for the optional power driver's
seat and rear wiper and washer. You have to look at them to use them, which is out of
step with the new age of tactile differentiation in switches and other secondary
controls.
Climate control dials are mounted above the more frequently used radio controls, and
both require a long reach to the center. You'll also find the small buttons for the
climate modes hard to find while moving.
One set of switches that has improved are the larger tabs and beefier buttons for the
radio. And as always, Villagers offer separate controls for climate as well as audio
volume and tuning for center-seat passengers. Parents take note: You can lock out
those audio controls from up front. Who says we've lost control of our kids?
Lineup
Final Word
As partnerships go, the Villager-Quest alliance has to be rated as a major success. It
gave Nissan its first viable vehicle in this class after two previous unsuccesful
attempts. It also gave Mercury not only its first minivan, but the first of any
Chrysler-challengers that really rode and handled like a sedan. GM attempted to do so
earlier, but its first shot at this target didn't quite reach the bullseye.
Unfortunately, the minivans that have arrived since have proven that American
manufacturers can do at least as well on their own--better, in some cases--and do it for
less.
If it's space and ride you want, Ford's Windstar delivers more of both for the same
price. While the Windstar can't quite match the Villager's handling and sport-sedan
feel, all three Chrysler vans are definitely in the ballpark.
More space and added features--including an optional fourth door--are a likely part of
the next-generation Villager that's due for 1998.
Then again, if sheer space and high power numbers were everything, Honda's nimble new
Odyssey wouldn't exist. Like the Honda, Mercury's Villager is for buyers who want a
minivan that can carry a small bus-load of people and cargo some of the time without
feeling like a bus all the time.
That, and nifty styling, is its saving grace.