2005 Mercury Mountaineer Test Drive

This Mountaineer's Aiming for the Top

In loading the Mountaineer up with more options than its bigger-selling twin, the Ford Explorer, Mercury has come up with one of the most refined SUVs in its class.

Should You Buy This Car?

The second row of seats in the Toyota Highlander have tiltable seatbacks, so you can get comfortable back there as well as upfront. This isn't an option with the Mountaineer, so your kids will just have to suck it up if they aren't comfy. By the way, if you have three kids of teenage years there's no rear-middle headrest, bad news in a sudden-braking situation.

These are little things that don't affect all buyers, but as we said, little things matter. And we think any potential Mountaineer buyer should also look at the Trailblazer and the Highlander (unless they need seating for seven) and also at the Acura MDX. The latter car is more expensive, although our loaded tester Mountaineer ran to more than $35K. And again, it is not ideal for towing, but if that's not a worry, driving all four cars is a good idea. This is an increasingly tough segment for carmakers, and the best thing for buyers is that all of these cars are clearly very good even if not one of them is absolutely perfect for every potential customer. Still, getting a dud is nearly impossible now, and the Mountaineer is yet another good entry in the mix.