Cougar debuted in 1998. In the United States, Cougar is called cougar. Just like a real cougar consists entirely of muscles, so the Cougar-car is filled with graceful beauty and the power of its living namesake. Such an analogy arises primarily due to the inclined profile line, which descends from the trunk to the hood, and is raised by a massive and narrowed towards the end of the stern with a sharp relief of the end part, girdled from below with a massive bumper. If you look at him "in the face", the similarity with the wild beast from the cat family becomes even more pronounced.
The narrowed eyes of the headlights with small "pupils" - the lenses of the lamps of the low and high beams and the long narrow slit of the lower air intake, as if predatoryly open mouth under the thick upper lip of the bumper. The three-door coupe-hatchback is built on the Ford Mondeo sedan platform and reflects the signature features of Ford's design in the New Age style. The Cougar turned out to be quite long, its size is even larger than that of the Ford Mondeo station wagon, which made it possible to improve the comfort of the rear passengers.
Dimensions are (length 4699 mm, width 1769 mm, height 1325 mm), but it looks rather low due to its “elongation”, which is enhanced by an impressive wheelbase (2704 mm). The interior is spacious and well equipped. Setting up the driver's seat is made using an electric drive, which is controlled on the basis of the seat cushion, under the left arm. Seat adjustment is carried out back and forth, up and down, and the angle of the backrest also changes. Upholstery material - leather with fine perforation. The steering column is adjustable to the angle of inclination, the steering wheel with leather upholstery of the rim in the hands does not slip.
In the hub mounted airbag. There is nothing superfluous on the functional and at the same time elegant torpedo, the unusual deflectors of the heating and ventilation system remind of the glorious sixties. A circular switch to the left of the steering column is responsible for external lighting, and a button on the ceiling near the internal rear-view mirror for the interior light.
A number of control lamps are placed on the mirror, for example, warning of the temperature outside the car. A yellow "snowflake" is lit - below three degrees, red - below zero. Special mention deserve the inner door panels. The upper part is trimmed with soft plastic and forms a comfortable armrest, and the handrail door handle passes with an elegant curve into the door pocket. In the back seat you can get, fold back the front seat, the corresponding semicircular handle is on the side of the backrest. Bucket seats have a fairly decent size, and there is plenty of legroom at the back, but only people of average height and build can sit comfortably in the “second row”.
But the trunk will please volume. That's where the “length” of the car “left” - after folding the back of the back seat, the Cougar can match the cargo capacity with a family sedan. The review is not bad - the low ceiling and side racks of the roof do not interfere with tracking the situation ahead through a large windshield, with a little less success it is possible to observe what is being done behind. Gasoline engines are installed on the vehicle: a four-cylinder volume of 2 liters and two V-shaped sixes of 2.5 liters. The most forced unit develops a power of 205 hp, acceleration to "hundreds" of this model takes only 7.8 seconds.
Only a manual transmission is installed on such a car, the first two engines can also be aggregated with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The package includes power steering, front and side airbags, ABS, ventilated disc brakes on all wheels. Suspension is quite suitable for such a car, tougher than the Mondeo, but not enough to cause reproaches of those who like comfort. It provides Cougar excellent handling thanks to new shock absorbers, anti-roll bars and shortened springs along with small overhangs. Low profile tires on 16-inch wheels also add to the Cougar driver’s confidence on the road.
In general, the Cougar can be described as a decent sports car, with much more options than the one hundred percent coupe. With this trunk, you can safely go on a long journey. In 2001, the release of the Cougar was suspended.
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