Ford launched Mercury in 1938 to fill the vast gap between the lowly Fords and grand Lincolns of the time. This gap isn't what it once was--the new Lincoln Zephyr costs only about $4,000 more than the related Ford Fusion when both are similarly equipped--yet Mercury is still with us.

Ideally, an additional brand is an opportunity to serve an additional set of customers through distinctive products. And every few years since 1938 Ford has claimed it was going to do just this with Mercury. To date, they've never come close. In recent years they've just been Fords with slightly different trim. And they've never been much more than that.

Ironically, GM has caught far more flack than Ford for failing to differentiate its brands. I suspect this is because no one has ever taken Mercury seriously to begin with. Intended to serve as Ford's Buick, it never had the strong identity or loyal following of Buick. Among automotive lines that sell in the hundreds of thousands, Mercury is easily the most invisible.

In recent years Mercurys have differed from Fords through art deco exterior detailing and brushed metal interior trim. This continues to be the case with the latest Mercury, the Milan. Other than trim, it's identical to the Ford Fusion.

Which might not be a bad thing. Ever since Ford killed the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique I've been waiting for them to issue another affordable V6 sport sedan. The Fusion and Milan are based on the Mazda6, widely recognized as the Camry alternative for driving enthusiasts. The Fusion has not yet appeared on lots near me, but the Milan has. I wasted no time taking one for a test drive.

Lincoln also has a version of this car, the Zephyr. To see how the two compared I drove a V6 Milan and Zephyr back-to-back. I presented my findings in a review of the Zephyr here. In this review I'll focus on how the Milan compares to the Ford Contour V6 I once owned and loved.

Styling

Though I like the styling of the very similar Ford Fusion, I am underwhelmed by the styling of the Milan. Don't get me wrong, it's a much stronger design than the ultra-bland Mercury Montego, and more attractive than the current Accord or Camry. But I'm now seeing a bit much of the same chunkiness that plagues the VW Jetta. The front overhang in particular appears massive--never a good thing. Cutting the headlamps back into the fender, as on the Lincoln, would help. As would wheels with fewer spokes. Wheels like those on the Fusion.

The interior falls even further from my admittedly lofty expectations. Viewed up close the instrument panel has a downmarket look and feel. The center stack and console in particular look cheap. I could not shake the sense that I was in a rental car despite the two-tone leather seats.

The main problem is that the center of the dash includes a number of different trim elements in different colors with no logical boundaries among them. The center stack's trim panel, faux metal in the Milan, does not continue down to the console. Instead, the climate controls are mounted within a separate matte black panel that looks like something out of a $10,000 car--from ten years ago.

Making matters worse, lower instrument panel vinyl forms a narrow band around the bottom of the climate control trim panel. With the camel or light gray interior this separates the trim panel in color as well as form from the matte black plastic of the center console. So, if your eye starts at the top of the instrument panel then works its way to the console it passes over black vinyl, faux metal, matte black plastic, and then a band of tan or light gray vinyl before reaching the console. I strongly recommend the dark gray interior from an aesthetic standpoint.

The Ford should be better, as its available all black interior should at least partially disguise the number of transitions.

Overall, the extra pizzazz added to differentiate the Milan from the Fusion backfires. The Fusion is the more attractive car.

Accommodations

The Milan's driving position is similar to that in a Mazda6. You sit well above the instrument panel, with an expansive view forward. The passenger seat, which is not height adjustable, if anything sits too high. The driving position in an Accord or Camry is lower.

Oddly, you can get leather seats without a leather-wrapped wheel. Generally the opposite is the case. I found the vinyl rim poorly shaped for my less than meaty fingers; get the Comfort Package to get the leather wheel.

The front seats don't feel quite as good as they look--the cushion could be a bit larger, the foam a bit more contoured--but they'll do. The side bolsters are spaced a bit too widely to clamp the average torso in hard turns, but you won't find better in this class. I still miss the firmer, more tightly spaced bolsters in my Contour. But I'm a bit extreme in this regard.

Despite the Mercury's five-inch greater length, it offers only a half-inch more rear legroom than the Mazda6. And even this small advantage is squandered by a poorly shaped rear seat cushion. This cushion is so flat that I could not keep myself from slouching a couple of inches. This might have been done to enable the seat to fold flatter. But many cars, including the Mazda6, have rear seats that are both comfortable and foldable.

At least the seat folds. The trunk is large, and this enables even larger items to be carried. When the seats are folded the opening is wide but not very high owing to a beam beneath the package shelf.

On the Road

The Milan should get a new 3.5-liter V6 good for about 245 horsepower in 2007 or 2008. Until then, it makes do with the latest incarnation of the Duratec 3.0-liter V6 introduced nearly a decade ago. This engine is good for 221 horsepower, but lacks the smoothness and sound quality of more recent designs. Nissan, Honda, and Toyota all field much nicer sixes in this segment.

Acceleration is acceptable, about the same as in the Mazda, but trails a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry SE. I'm somewhat puzzled by the Toyota's advantage, as on paper it is less powerful, with a 210-horsepower rating for 2006, and its automatic has one fewer ratio to play with than the Mercury's six.

Beyond the issue of acceleration, the 3.0 Duratec, unlike the 2.5, has never sounded particularly sporty. I used to love to rev the engine in the Contour. I felt no such compulsion with the Milan.

A manual transmission might help. Right now one is only available with the 160-horsepower four. Mercury is hinting that it might offer a manual with the V6, but I wouldn't count on it. If, on the other hand, they do offer a manual with the upcoming 3.5, another test drive will certainly be in order.

The Milan handles capably and very safely, but not quite sportily. The chassis feels nicely tied down and the rear is easily kept in line through hard turns, but turn-in could be quicker and sharper. I ended up not buying a Mazda6 in large part because the car's handling didn't do much for me, despite all of the raves in the press. The Milan handles much the same, but with a bit more understeer. Figure about halfway between a Mazda6 and an Accord, with a Camry, Sonata, or Malibu even lower on the sportiness scale. Good, but not nearly as entertaining as my Contour was.

One positive note: the Michelin HX MXM4 tires, the same tire model you'll find on many upscale sport sedans, kept quiet through some very hard turns. I've experienced more than my share of tires that felt the need to start screaming at the earliest provocation.

Ride quality similarly falls between the firmer Mazda6 and Accord and the softer Camry and Sonata. Easily acceptable, but nothing spectacular. The Accord and Camry both feel a bit more solid and substantial. Especially the Camry. The Milan is fairly quiet, but lacks the muffled, almost luxury-car interior "sound" of the other cars. Then again, that's what the Zephyr is for.

I suppose a comparison with the larger Mercury Montego is also in order. Quite simply, the Montego feels like a boat compared to the Milan.

Mercury Milan Price Comparisons and Pricing

The Milan starts out a bit more expensive than a similarly equipped Fusion, and ends up a couple hundred less expensive when both cars are loaded. Between these two buy whichever looks best to your eyes.

With the current $1,000 rebate, the Milan is about two grand less expensive than a similarly-equipped Accord or Camry. A Malibu LTZ lists for about the same, but adjusting for extra features like OnStar and chrome wheels give it a lower adjusted price.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Milan:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Milan.php

Last Words

The Milan is a thoroughly competent sedan that nevertheless fails to get the heart pumping. While a viable substitute for an Accord or Camry, with few weaknesses but also a much lower price, it needs more aggressive suspension tuning and a more sporting engine to appeal to enthusiasts. Car magazines complained about the Contour's back seat, but gushed about how much fun it was to drive. The Milan has a much roomier (if less comfortably shaped) back seat, but I'm not foreseeing any gushing about the driving experience. Respect, maybe, but respect isn't the same thing as love.

One thing the Milan certainly won't do is finally give Mercury an identity. Only bit of trim distinguish the Milan from the Fusion, and in most cases these worsen the appearance of the car. And for some reason I could not shake the feeling that I was driving a generic automobile. The interior design is the leading suspect, but also something about how the car felt. Between the Fusion and the Milan I'd rather have the Ford. This isn't how an upscale brand is supposed to operate.

To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough, up-to-date new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com. A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

A Note on Mercury Milan Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Milan rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Mercury Milan reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Milan--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. For non-participants, this access will cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

If you're an Epinions member, and you want to receive an email alert from Epinions when I post a new review, click here.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Ford Contour review
Ford Five Hundred review
Honda Accord review
Hyundai Sonata review
Lincoln Zephyr review
Mazda6 review
Toyota Camry review