Room with a view. That's one way to describe Ford Motor Company's 1995 Mercury Tracer wagon. The spunky, five-door, front-wheel-drive vehicle possesses generous amounts of head room, both in front and in back, sometimes hard to come by in compact-size automobiles. It's a small that accommodates the taller driver. Drivers also have good visual command of the road ahead, behind and to the side. No annoying or disturbing blind spots get in the way. Cargo room is also a plus. The wagon boasts 31 cubic feet of cargo space, one of the largest in its class. Both Tracer, and its corporate cousin, the Ford Escort are obtainable in station wagon editions. Station wagons, with their versatility, continue filling an important marketing niche. While minivans have fueled a tremendous growth in the light truck segment, and have become a popular choice of families with children, they are priced out of reach of many young families trying to get a foothold in the American dream. Ford's popular Windstar minivan starts $19,600 while Tracer and Escort wagons start around $11,800. Ford Escort burst onto the auto scene in 1981. From 1981 to 1990, it's Mercury twin was known as Lynx. Tracer replaced Lynx in 1991. New this model year is a second air bag protecting front seat passengers during front-end collisions. Driver-side air bags became standard in 1994. Other standard safety items include child-proof door locks, five mile-per-hour front and rear bumper protection and three-point rear seat belts. However, motorized shoulder belts, which automatically operate when the front doors open and close continue to be a necessary evil. The addition of a passenger-side air bag gave Mercury the opportunity to redesign the dashboard layout. No problem reaching the knobs and sliding switches that monitor climate controls. Our upgraded cassette stereo could use larger pre set and volume control buttons to more easily switch stations. Otherwise speedometer, fuel gage and tachometer gauges are all easy to read. In addition to the wagon, Tracer is also sold as a four-door sedan, and a sporty, more powerful LTS sedan. All models have a 98.4-inch wheelbase, the distance between the front and rear axle. Tracer wagons have a total length of 171.3 inches and weigh in at 2,498 pounds. Standard equipment includes power steering, intermittent wipers, rear windshield wipers dual power mirrors and rear defroster. With optional air conditioning, power door locks, cruise control, deluxe luggage rack and four-speed automatic overdrive transmission, the total cost of our test drive car was $14,090, including at $375 destination charge and Ford Motor Company discounts. Included was Lincoln/Mercury's Trio package which adds aluminum wheels and leather-wrapped steering wheel. Inside, power locks activate by pulling up or pushing down conventional knobs. The driver's knob controls all other door locks. When the driver's door is locked, all doors lock. From the outside, just insert the key in the driver's side door lock. One turn to the left unlocks all four doors and the wagon hatch, one turn to the right locks all doors. A retractable radio antenna slides in and out above the driver's door. This keeps things in tact when running though car washes. The 1.9 liter, sequential multi-port electronic fuel-injected engine is surprisingly quiet considering its four cylinder design. It's not uncommon for small engines this size to purr loudly, while noise seeps into the passenger compartment. Even at highway speeds, the engine quietly hums. However, with 88 horsepower, don't count on owning the fastest vehicle on the block. Tracer wagons feature 14-inch steel-belted radial tires, which improve handling and cornering. Many compact-sized vehicles, opt for the smaller, 13-inch tires which rob performance characteristics. Fuel ratings are estimated at 26 miles per gallon city, and 35 miles per gallon highway for models equipped with four-speed automatic transmissions. Our test drive model with 10,000 odometer miles checked in with only 26 miles per gallon combined city and highway cruising. The tank holds 11.9 gallons of unleaded gasoline. |
