Most people associate the
Mercury nameplate with large and luxurious sedans such as the opulent Grand Marquis, or with rebadged
Ford economobiles such as the Tracer. Canadians may recall seeing that name on the tailgates of pickup truck trucks until a few years ago, but that particular aberration never made it to America.
Mercury product planners are as aware as anyone of what goes on outside their own domain, and the healthy sales of minivans led them to ask Ford for a van of their own.
Which is exactly what they almost got. As it happened, Nissan was looking to move deeper into minivan territory with something more mainstream than its existing vans, none of which were doing big box-office at the time. To make a long story shorter, Nissan and Ford joined forces to produce the Nissan Quest and Mercury Villager, near-identical twins assembled in a Ford facility in Ohio using components from Nissan parts bins.
One result of this venture is that the Villager started life with the Quest as a close competitor. Beyond that, all the Villager has to do is entice buyers away from such stalwarts as the Chrysler minis, Ford Windstar, Mazda MPV and others. A tall order.
Nonetheless, the Villager enters the arena with some definite points on its side. It may not be the greatest minivan of all (though it would be difficult, if not impossible, to pick an absolute greatest buy), but it's certainly good enough to deserve careful consideration from most minivan customers.
From a distance, the Villager looks petite. Your eyes deceive you; in reality it's less than an inch shorter than the extended
Ford Aerostar, and just over 3 in. shorter than the
Oldsmobile/
Chevrolet/
Pontiac vans. The illusion of smallness is created by careful proportioning of the sleek exterior and heightened by the two-tone paint applied to upper-level Villagers. With its long, sloping nose and raked windshield, the Villager looks like a cross between a van and a station wagon.
Mercury's trademark light bar runs across the nose over a plain air intake, differentiating
Mercury from
Nissan. A full-width reflector panel in the rear is also exclusive to the Villager.
Not all body design details are just for show. The "limousine" doors that wrap into the top make entry and exit easier, and the tailgate has a low liftover thanks to a neatly shaped rear bumper. The low-drag body shape also plays a part in keeping wind noise to a minimum.
The Villager is offered in two models: The base GS is a price leader that most buyers will want to dress up with an option or two, while the fancier LS is quite satisfactory as is. The Nautica appearance package is essentially an LS with leather seats, as well as special paint schemes (blue over white or white over blue) and trim.
All Villagers are the same mechanically. A 151-hp V6 engine sits transversely under the hood, driving the front wheels through a 4-speed automatic transmission. The only chassis option is a handling package that firms up the Villager's ride.
