We’ve written about the relationship between Texans and our trucks before on this site and why this is such a big state for the truck and SUV market. The open country, the need to haul a trailer, and simply the internal needs for wanting to go big or go home all figure into the equation. When it comes to Ford’s new super-truck, the F-150 SVT Raptor, there has already been plenty said and written about it as it’s been out for a few years now. Border agents along the Texas border were even some of the first to put in an order for some. So as you read this, and if you live in Texas, the answer to your inevitable question is yes. Yes, if you have the means to buy one, buy it!

Size: Because it’s all about Size…

2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor reviewed by txGarage

When the Raptor was introduced, it came in SuperCab configuration only. This means 2 doors with a small extended area in the rear. For the 2011 model year, Ford broke out with a SuperCrew variant stretching the Raptor and including another set of full doors. This move has been met with some scrutiny as this is a performance truck and adding size and weight doesn’t help with it’s performance. How much size and weight? Well the Raptor is already bigger than the average F-150 and even wider than a Hummer H1, but adding the second set of doors to the Raptor meant stretching it by a foot. The fuel tank capacity was increased by 10 gallons adding up to a total of a 36 gallon tank. Adding all this extra size to the already massive truck tipped the scales up by 300 pounds.

Engine: Because power solves all problems…

The extra size and weight in the 2011 Raptor we tested went basically unnoticed. This was helped by the new 6.2 liter V8 pushing 411 horsepower and 434 ft-lbs of torque; which is now standard on all Raptors. This mass is matched up with a 6-speed automatic transmission that provides full manual control via buttons on the shifter itself. Shifting this big truck in manual mode isn’t that easy with the small buttons on the shifter, but when you get used to it, you notice that the transmission wont shift up automatically on you and will allow downshifting at any speed. All this put together makes for a pretty quick truck, which is a weird sensation in such a big vehicle. Even with the big engine the Raptor can only tow up to 8,000 lbs as it’s let down by it’s off-roading suspension.

Inside: Because it’s Texas and you want to be comfortable while off-roading…

Obviously, the upside to the extra size and weight is it’s added room and roominess. The additional room at every seat in this truck cannot easily be described as I’ve never seen this much leg-room in a backseat! No matter where you ride in this truck, you get lots of room and comfortable, leather covered seats. One thing that bugs me with a lot of big off-roading trucks or SUVs that we test is the switches and buttons. When manufacturers create a big vehicle, they seem to have a need to make the dash full of over-sized buttons and knobs. In the Raptor, you get the basic F-150 dash layout, and it looks great. You get a few extras including an auxiliary switchboard in front of the shifter. The idea of this switchboard is to make aftermarket customization easier with prewired switches attached to the power distribution box for electrical accessories, say big off-roading lights for example. Also equipped within the speedo is a 4.2” LCD screen that provides the driver with lots of useful information. Just don’t leave this screen on fuel economy as it’ll make you want to drive off a bridge. Our Raptor was also equipped with another LCD screen in the middle of the dash with Ford’s SYNC system and and navigation.

Ride: Because it’s not always about off-roading…

Ford knew when building the Raptor that this would be an everyday driving truck as well as overly capable off-road truck. Squishy, off-roading suspension makes highway cruising smooth and easy. Moving between lanes and overtaking is easy as well thanks to the rigid chassis and powerful engine. To make the stretched chassis behave the way it’s supposed to behave, Ford tightened the steering ratio and stiffened the spring rates.

Off-Road: Because I wanna jump this thing in my backyard…

We’ve all seen the shots of the first generation Raptor jumping hills and making spectacular landings. There has been some controversy about the capability of the frame for off-roading and jumping, but last we’ve heard, nothing has came of it. What we do know is that this thing glides off-road with ease. There is nothing quite like mashing your foot to the floor pushing that 434 ft-lbs of torque to the rear wheels, creating rooster-tails of dirt and dust, and shooting across a country field. The temptation is so intoxicating that you don’t even want to wait to get to an open field. You have to constantly fight your subconsciousness to not drive right off the side of the road, or drop a few tires off into the ditch. You know this truck can handle it with ease.

Price: Because a bigger truck deserves a bigger price-tag…

This isn’t the most expensive F-150 in Ford’s stable, but it’s close. A base price of $45,290 is a lot for an off-roading toy, but this is really an everyday truck that’s incredibly capable off-road. The base price of the truck is just the first expense, the next big expense never stops. Filling the Raptor up with fuel, premium only, can become a mind boggling experience. We’ve tested high performance sports-cars here on txGarage that got bad gas mileage, but the Raptor takes the crown. Let’s just say that we struggled to stay around 12 mpg even with normal driving.

I still stand by my statement that if you have the means, this is the truck you want. There is really nothing out there that competes with the Raptor. Although Chevrolet and Dodge have both flirted with the idea of Raptor competition, neither have pulled the trigger, yet. The Raptor has caught on for sure. Ford’s last SVT truck offering was the Lighting and Ford has already stated that the Raptor’s annual sales rate nearly double that of the Lighting when it was launched.

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Related posts:

1. #10 the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
2. F-150 Raptor to a Border Near You:
3. 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser Reviewed:

2010 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost AWD

When shopping for a luxury sedan, there are many options to choose from and depending on exactly what you want to get out of the car in terms of driving experience, there are many options to weigh. If you want a slushy, detached ride that will whisk you away in comfort, you can find that. If you want a sharp handling ride with power that could keep up with the better sports cars out there, you can find that too. If you’re looking for a car that will bathe you in luxury and technology, there are many options for that as well.

The Lincoln MKS stacks up very well against its direct competition like the Infiniti M, Hyundai Genesis, Lexus GS, and Acura RL. The Infiniti M is a great car and has an indulgent interior that would please the best of them. I wouldn’t say, though, that it’s much better than the interior in the MKS and the styling points would have to go to the MKS in my book. The Hyundai Genesis has gone a long way in bringing the Hyundai brand more and more credit in every category. I think I’d still have the MKS on interior and styling though. The same goes for the Lexus GS and Acura RL, both extremely prestigious cars but still lacking something that the MKS seems to bring to the table. What about indirect competition to the MKS? Lincoln describes the new EcoBoost engine as having V6 fuel economy and V8 power, so someone decided to put that claim to a test against much more seasoned and expensive luxury cars. They pitted the MKS against the BMW 550, the Jaguar XJ, and the Maserati Quattroporte in a V6 vs. V8 challenge. When considering driving experience, any BMW should be around the top of anyones list (after all, it is their slogan), and in this challenge it ranked on top. The surprise for the test, though, was the second place ranking went to the less powerful, less expensive Lincoln.

So they may have a point with the power side of that argument, and sure enough after testing this car around the streets in Arlington, we never felt a lack of power. Drop that gear shifter into manual mode and use the shifters on the steering wheel and the peppy 3.5 liter twin turbocharged V6 comes to life. With 355 horsepower and 350 lb-ft torque it pushed this 4300 pound luxury car with ease. Dont get me wrong, your not going to light the streets on fire here -mainly due to the AWD system- but merging in traffic and using on ramps, this car gives you the confidence that you’ll be able to put your foot down and make it happen. Fuel economy is dead on in Lincoln’s claim as well. The 3.5 liter engine, although making significantly more horsepower has better fuel economy ratings than the standard 3.7 liter V6 offered in the car. The EPA ratings on the MKS AWD is 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. As we drove mostly city streets in Arlington and of course using the paddle shifters quite often, we still averaged 21 mpg and over.

Driving purists, much like us at txGarage, feel that the only way to go is rear wheel drive. In almost any circumstance, it’s just better and that much more fun. So how did we feel about the MKS’s AWD system? We are adamant that the Lincoln brand should switch to a rear wheel drive line-up if it really wants to compete in the luxury market of today and differentiate itself from its Ford platformed siblings. That being said, the AWD system worked well and was considerably better than trying to have the front wheels do all the work. Luckily, if you want the EcoBoost option, it is only offered in AWD. You wouldn’t want to see what 355 horsepower would do to the front wheels while they are also trying to steer you around a corner.

One of my favorite things about the new MKS is the styling. Not because its the most beautifully styled car out there, but because it finally shows that Lincoln is in the right century. This car basically takes over as the flagship sedan replacing the Town Car in Lincoln’s line up. Although Lincoln says the new split grill was inspired by the 1941 Continental Cabriolet, it is a fantastic new design bringing the Lincoln a more modern and sleek look. The headlights are thin and wide meshing with the split grill. They are jammed with features like adaptive lighting that turns the lamps as you turn the wheel, adaptive brights that will turn your bright lights on and off for you, and come standard with HID xenon lights. The high belt line and substantial c-piller of the MKS doesn’t assist in any way to visibility, yet they did it anyway. This means that they are actually thinking about design. More out with the old and in with the new is the integrated touch panel in the b-piller. Fords and Lincolns used to have a little touch panel of ugly buttons just above the door handle that allowed the driver to lock and unlock the vehicle with a code. Now with an illuminated touch panel, that hides away in the b-piller of the car. Not only can you unlock the car, but also input functions like rolling the windows up or down, or sliding the sunroof open. Coming around the back of the car, you’ll notice what I think are the best looking taillights put on a Lincoln. Maybe because they resemble those on a Maserati, but Lincoln designers specifically put them at the far corners of the rear to give the car a wider and more planted look. Don’t look now, but those are 3.5 inch dual exhaust tips starring at you too. Overall, the line work on this car is stunning for a Lincoln; the designers did a fantastic job!

The interior is more “out with the old and in with the new” as the first thing you notice sitting in this car is how comfortable and nice the seats feel. All the leather in the car is Bridge of Weir leather, the same leather put in Aston Martins, and is incredibly attractive. The front seats are standard with heated and cooled options, and are twelve way adjustable with two memory settings for the driver seat. The rear seats can also warm your buns as you cruise along in comfort, all while having plenty of room for your legs and shoulders. As a matter of fact, we fit five people in this car on a few occasions and all were surprised at just how much room they really had, and we’re talking Texas boys here. Of course, we have to keep our passengers entertained, thats where the THX 5.1 surround sound came into play. The SYNC system worked great, as to be expected, although the screen being up higher was more of a reach if you really wanted to touch it in the first place. We opted for the hands free voice commands that work so well with SYNC. More features packed into this car are adaptive cruise control that you can set the distance you want between you and the car infront of you, then the car will accelerate or brake for you. You also get park assist, a great feature to show off to friends, but in Texas unless, you go downtown into a major city there are not many real world times to use it. Pull alongside a group of cars and push the park assist button and the information system will tell you to pull up till the sensors on the car find an open spot. Once the car has found a spot for you, you pull forward till you hear a beep then stick it in reverse, take your hands off the wheel and let the car work the rest out for you. Our test car had the incredible dual pain sunroof that had shades that could slide back and forth with a touch of a button, and the front could tilt or slide like a traditional sunroof. This car is, for sure, a nice place to be especially when you do a lot of driving.

So where does this car fall in the slew of choices your faced when buying a luxury car? Good power, good fuel economy, and a great interior ,all at a decent price should put this at the top of the shopping list for any buyer. The direction that Lincoln is going is, finally, toward progress. We would still like to see the Lincoln brand switch away from front wheel drive platforms and would love to see a MKS coupe, at lease in a concept version, coming from Lincoln in the future. We’ll hold our breaths on those points though.

Related posts:

1. Review: 2010 Buick Enclave
2. Review: 2010 Chevrolet Equinox
3. Review: 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid

2010 Mustang GT vs 2010 Camaro SS

Some wars have been waging since the dawn of society with race vs. race, religion vs. religion, king vs. king. Other battles that are more short-lived but still remembered to this day like the Battle of the Alamo or the Battle of Waterloo. We just stumbled into such a battle that’s been waging on the streets for almost 50 years now. There has always been that epic battle between the Camaro and the Mustang spanning back to the late 60′s and revived today. This week at txGarage we were able to get a hold of a 2010 Camaro 2SS and a 2010 Mustang GT Premium, what else is there to do but race!

The Camaro:

The Camaro was brought back for the 2010 model year after being killed off in 2002. When redesigning the Camaro GM was going for the “retro” look to compete with the styling of the Mustang introduced in 2005. You just can’t beat the looks and styling of the new Camaro, it’s really one of the best looking “retro” interpretations out today. The car is low and wide, with great proportions and menacing looks. The interior is all modern with some retro looking gauges. Sliding into our test Camaro, your bathed in black and inferno orange, ambient lighting, accent stitching, and a plethora of buttons and knobs. The best part of the Camaro’s interior is the steering wheel, it is fat and has good hand placement and also has easy to uses and access controls. The biggest gripe I have with the interior is the huge plastic panel on the doors that swoop around the dash. In my opinion, for a $36,000 car they could have easily wrapped that in leather and it would have made ten-times the difference. We were also equipped with the Boston Acoustic premium nine-speaker audio system loaded with all the acronyms of the audio industry. – AM/FM, CD, AUX Input, USB port, Sirius XM Radio – The leather sport bucket seats were comfortable, 6-way power adjustable, and could heat your rear if the horsepower doesn’t already have you sweating.

The 2010 Camaro SS is armed with the LS3 6.2 liter V8 engine with SFI (Sequential Fuel Injection) and bolted to a 6-speed manual transmission. This combination gives you an instigating 426 horsepower and 420 lbs-ft of torque with a reasonable 16 MPG city and 24 MPG highway. You won’t have time to worry about your fuel economy though when you’re going from a standstill to 60 mph in only 4.6 seconds and cursing down the highway, the difference between 60 mph and 80 mph is a twitch of your big toe. To stop this 3,849 pound Camaro they equipped it with Brembo performance brakes with discs at all four wheels. The Camaro also comes with performance suspension, but to us it never really felt sporty just rough. To put the power down our test car was furnished with 20″X 8″ front wheels and 20″X 9″ rear wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero tires.

After digesting it all I’d have to say that the Camaro SS is far above what the Camaros of the past have been, and we are forever enamored by the looks of the exterior and interior of this 2010 Camaro. It did take me a day to get used to the Camaro’s clutch, I would like it to be heavier and release lower, and the shifter could have felt more mechanical but that’s a personal preference of mine. In the end the biggest problem with the new Camaro remains to be the Mustang.

The Mustang:

In 2010 the Mustang received two major changes that were desperately needed; most importantly of the two was the interior. The materials used and the looks of the inside of the Mustang has been a neglected afterthought for decades, so when we heard that the interior quality was going to be the main focus of the 2010 Mustang we forgave Ford for leaving the 4.6 liter engine that’s just as old. Our test car was a Grabber Blue GT Premium and the updated interior featured black leather trimmed sport seats with exposed blue stitching and a blue racing stripe down the center of the seat. The materials used in this car are on par with most Ford vehicles of today but are miles above the older Mustangs. Leather wrapped steering wheel, aluminum gear shifter, along with soft touch materials ensure that your touch points in the car are all pleasurable to the hands. This car also featured the Shaker 500 audio system and SYNC voice activated system with the usual SYNC goodies.

The second thing refreshed in the 2010 Mustang is the exterior. Although the dimensions of the car are mostly unchanged the looks are dramatically different, to Mustang enthusiast. It really looks like they stretched the skin of the Mustang over its muscle to expose the power and give it a more athletic stance. I love the rear end, which seems to be the hated segment from most Mustang enthusiast I’ve talked to, with the sequential tail lamps. I also love the new “Power Dome” hood; I think it looks much more muscular than the “fake” ram air hoods. The engine is the tired old 4.6 liter 3V OHC V8 tuned to the max with 315 horsepower and 325 lbs-ft of torque. Although it’s the same old engine, the 4.6 is a great, bullet proof engine that has served Ford well for years, and you still get good power for the 3,550 pounds the Mustang weighs in at. You also still get the five-speed -manual in our case- transmission with great mechanical shifting and an easy good feeling clutch peddle. Of course it has already been announce that the 2011 Mustangs will hallmark a new 5.0 engine with all the newest power and fuel saving technology. Look for that to push over 400 horsepower.

We can’t wait for the 2011 to be penned into our calendar to test but all in all the 2010 Mustang has impressed. It has the great looks a muscle car should have, it has the wheel smoking power a muscle car should have, and now it has a great comfortable interior the Mustang has always needed.

Back to the Battle:

Although they are both modern day muscle cars aimed at the same target audience, the Mustang vs. Camaro comes down to personality and preference. The looks of the Camaro are amazing and will turn more heads right now than most cars on the road, but the Mustang is not repulsive to the eyes by any measure. The Camaro is a fast beast that can burn rubber with the best of them, but the Mustang with 100 less horsepower has less weight and can match the Camaro in any situation. The interior of both cars are modern and comfortable. So which to choose? We liked the Mustang over the Camaro for the driving experience it offered. The shifter and clutch, steering and suspension, and engine and exhaust note won us over in the Mustang. It should still go without saying, though, that the Camaro is a great car and if we didn’t have the Mustang sitting in the driveway we would have been just as happy thrashing it around Texas.

Stats: 2010 Camaro 2SS

• 6.2L LS3 V8 SFI
• 6-Speed Manual Transmission
• As Tested Price $36,765
• 16 City / 24 Hwy MPG
• 426 HP @ 5900 RPM420 lbs-ft torque @4600 RPM
• Curb Weight 3,849 lbs.

Stats: 2010 Mustang GT Premium

• 4.6L 3V OHC V8 Engine
• 5-Speed Manual Transmission
• As Tested Price $33,830
• 16 City / 24 Hwy MPG315 HP @ 6000 RPM
• 325 lbs-ft torque @ 4250 RPM
• Curb Weight 3,550 lbs

Related posts:

1. Mustang vs Camaro
2. Update: Hennessey’s LS9 Camaro SS w/Video
3. First Drive: 2010 Camaro SS

Day 7 2010 Shelby GT500

Day 7 with the 2010 Shelby GT500 was by far the most fun we had all week. We worked hard and tried to get lots of video and pictures of the car to show to you guys. As we talk about in the video, after tearing up the streets of Texas for a week in the GT500 we were never faced with an obstacle that the car couldn’t handle. Ford, SVT, and Shelby have made a great car with this one and we cant wait to check out the 2011 GT500 with the all aluminum block!

Till then, check out our video!

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Check out Days 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 - 5 and check out our review!

Related posts:

1. Review: 2010 Shelby GT500
2. Day1: 2010 Shelby GT500
3. Day2: Shelby GT500

2010 Shelby GT500

When you think about the history of Carroll Shelby, his racing, and his cars, there is no doubt that performance Mustangs pop into mind. As a matter of fact, Shelby Mustangs have been ever improving for the past 45 years making Shelby one of the most signed names on a car in the world. Carroll graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas making him a Texas boy who’s heart never went to far from home. The Terlingua Mustang was named after the town where Shelby decided to open a ranch with Dallas friend David Witt.

No wonder the Shelby Mustangs fit in so well here in Texas, no matter if your driving down a long highway to the middle of nowhere or a back windy country road, this car does it all. In the 2010 GT500, this was apparent to us at txGarage as we never wanted to get out of the car. And although this thirsty beast needed to stop for fuel more often than we would have liked, it just gave us another reason to burn rubber out of a parking lot.. There really isn’t a lot that I could find wrong with this GT500. Yes the fuel economy wasn’t that great; yes the interior was still a little cheap for spending $51,000 – although it has improved greatly – and yes the ride was a little harsh and the clutch was heavy; however, all this stuff would be whisked out of your head as you smash down on the throttle sending the back wheels into a panic looking for grip and finally being far down the road from where you were a few seconds ago. The GT500 isn’t, by far, the most powerful car money can buy and it doesn’t put that power down as well as other cars out there, but for the shear and raw emotion and theater of it all, you simply cannot beat this thing. Never have we been so scared – entertained – in a production car. The shear madness of it is worth every penny! The looks are just about the most menacing you can find but when you climb into the cockpit, its actually quite comfortable and nice. The SYNC system is a great addition to all Fords and we still got great use out of it in this car, although it took us 3 days to even bother with touching it. The practicality, yes practicality, of this car can’t be beat as well. If I really had to pick one car to compare it to, it would be an Aston Martin for the British. Aston Martins are not the fastest cars you can buy for the money, but the pure emotion and beauty they portray are unbeatable. I think of the GT500 as the American Aston Martin: it’s beautiful and emotional. That is what makes the car so great, and on that thought its quite a bargain too.

The 2010 GT500 was built starting with the formula from the 2008 GT500KR. In 2011, the GT500 will be getting an all aluminum block right out of the Ford GT super car. The GT500 now has a steel block. Even if the power doesn’t go up, in which case there is no need, the car will be much lighter and hopefully add to the driving experience. Other potential down sides to the current GT500 are the all new 2011 GT with the reintroduction of the 5.0. This new GT will finally feature all the latest engine technology while also increasing horsepower and fuel economy. They already have a wonderful interior, and with a little shopping trip to Ford Racing, the 2011 Mustang GT could easily be made to run with the big boys of the Mustang brand. For the name -Shelby- and the looks of the GT500 though, it’s still a hard choice to pass up.

Mega Gallery: 2010 Shelby GT500

Related posts:

1. Day1: 2010 Shelby GT500
2. Day5: Shelby GT500
3. Day2: Shelby GT500

We had the 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid for a few weeks during the Christmas break and really enjoyed our time in it. This is our video showing a little bit of what we thought about the new Milan. For a full review check out our post here, or hit the jump to see the video.

Feel free to let us know what you think about the video in our coments here on txGarage or on our YouTube page.

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2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid

Driving on icy highways is no fun anywhere, but in Central Texas it becomes downright dangerous. A large percentage of Texans drive trucks, rear-wheel-drive with no traction. Couple that with the fact that we never seem to be prepared for ice or snow and it really gets dangerous. Heading home from visiting family for Christmas Eve, we hit the worst part of a bad snow day. A two hour long journey would be turned into a five hour marathon as we crept along the icy highways. We hit an enormous amount of traffic and hardship along the roads. Trucks would spin their tires desperately trying to climb hills; 18-wheelers would jackknife or would be unable to gain traction; Mustangs and 350Zs littered the ditches and medians; and mangled vehicles crept down the highway trying to get home. All I could think of, after the safety of my family of course, was not hurting this new press vehicle loaned to me by Ford. Surprisingly though, this 2010 Mercury Milan handled the snow and ice with ease, never did I think I would be happy that I was driving a front-wheel-drive car.

There have been quite a few rumors floating around for years now that “next year” is the year that Ford will dump its Mercury brand. Although the entry level luxury Marquee has been around since 1939, the brand hasn’t been a sales contender in any class for as far back as I can recall. The 2010 line-up consists of only three vehicles, the Milan, Mariner, and Mountaineer – you can also still buy a Grand Marquis, but only by special order now. So seemingly the skeptics are right. Ford isn’t investing much into Mercury and has been starving it for years.

I personally, after seeing and driving this new 2010 Milan, hope the rumors are not true. Although the Milan is still nothing more than a Ford Fusion with elegant sheet metal, at least it’s a big step in the right direction from previous generations. With the new looks and standard equipment on this car, it really does have enough to distinguish itself apart from the Fusion. For the money, I believe that the Milan is a much nicer and better looking than almost any other car in its class right now. I say “right now” because the upcoming Hyundai Sonata will be a fabulous car, not to mention the new Buick Regal that is going to hit the auto shows soon. With Ford absolving itself of Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin, you would think that in the coming years Ford would be able to put more R&D into the Mercury brand giving them a new life-line.

So why is this Milan so important and so much better than its predecessor? Well just look at it! Mercury was really allowed to break from the Fusion body design and produce something drastically different in looks to the Fusion. Starting with the trademark “waterfall” grille the Milan has a curvy and lustful appeal to the front end. The headlights are more squished and stretched to curve up into the hood with the flowing body lines. The rear of the vehicle is more of the same with a more rounded rear end and tear drop tail lights with a beautiful new lighting design.

The interior of the car, although not distinguished much at all from the Fusion, is still one of my favorite interiors to be in for a car in this class. By far one of my favorite things about the interior is what’s not there as much as what is, namely fake wood grain. Why car makers connect wood grain interior with luxury is beyond me, but Mercury opted for a darker grainy material that looks better and really gives the car an upscale feel. The second best thing about the interior is the seats. The two-tone leather with exposed stitching looks wonderful and the bolstering and eight-way power adjustable seats make it incredibly comfortable, even on a five hour drive. You also get creature comforts like heated seats, dual climate control, ambient lighting, and steering wheel mounted controls. The next best thing about this Milan’s interior is Ford’s SYNC system. It’s a system you have to play with to understand how great and easy it is, although do it before you take off otherwise you will crash your new car. The menus are easy to read and understand, you get lots of information at your fingertips. You also have a great voice interactive system that allows you to hook up a phone or a USB device (i.e. iPod). It didn’t take long before I had my iPhone hooked up and playing my playlists, and when a call came in I could simply answer it via Bluetooth with a touch of a button on my steering wheel. The SYNC system has been hailed as one of the best infotainment systems, even over Mercedes and BMW, and is now being copied by many manufacturers. The only real gripes I would have with the interior firstly would be the extra storage compartment on the top of the dash. It makes good use of the space, but is the only part of the car made of cheap plastic and didn’t look like it fit well. Secondly, my daughter’s car seat had a hard time fitting well in the back seat; it just wasn’t wide enough from seatbelt to seatbelt buckle. Lastly, would be a radio mute button. It is always nicer to be able to hit one button to mute the audio and hit it again to bring it back to the volume you had it, instead of turning a dial or holding the volume button down on the steering wheel. That’s it, my three complaints of the car and they are nitpicks.

I know what you’re saying, yes it looks good and yes it has a nice interior but how does it drive? This is an enthusiast site after all. Well for a simi-luxuries, hybrid, sedan it’s not that bad. The driving dynamics match directly with the Ford Fusion, as it shares the chassis and steering, and we really liked the Fusion. There is not a lot of body roll, although it does exist, and the steering is tight and gives good feedback. This isn’t a car you’re going to buy to take to the track or even drive enthusiastically, but it’s not the boring slush-mobiles of the past.

My test car had the hybrid system in it, with a 2.5 liter four cylinder motor and an electric motor under the hood. The battery pack is stuck back in the trunk taking away some of your space but I still found the room plentiful. You can also get this car with the standard 2.5 liter Duratec four cylinder engine pushing 175 hp and 172 lb.-ft. of torque, or the 3.0 liter Duratec V6 engine with 240 hp and 223 lb.-ft. of torque. No matter what engine you get, Ford says that the Milan and the Fusion are “America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan” thanks to the Duratec technology. Of course we got the most fuel-efficient option with the hybrid system that Ford says will do 41 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the highway, they say you can get 700 miles per tank, and that you can run the car in electric mode up to 47 mph. Let’s start with the mileage statistic because most MPG ratings on cars seem to be inflated. When I first got the car I reset the miles per gallon recorded in the information display, then drove the car like I would any normal day. My normal day of driving consist of two minutes of country road to the highway, then thirty-five minutes of highway driving to my exit, then about 2 more minutes of city roads to my office. So let’s just call that highway driving. My average, normal driving, on the highway was just at 38 MPG, astonishingly right at the advertised number. My next task was to reset the MPG again and take some time to drive some city streets. After a day roaming around Dallas wasting gas, I came away with 42 MPG. Thats 1 MPG higher than the advertised figure! What a great system this is! So I set out another task, two birds with one stone kind of task, where I would drive the car hard and see what kind of fuel economy I would get. This is a two bird with one stone approach because I was determined to prove to other drivers that hybrid drivers don’t have to be slow, pain in the neck, hyper mileage drivers. So after a few days of thinking not about fuel economy and jamming the right pedal to the floor, I came out with an average of 34 MPG. Most cars couldn’t get that if they tried their hardest. I was actually impressed. Of course all this great gas mileage comes at a price, almost $4,000. It is a hefty price for a great new technology, and living in a state where most commuters are like me – having a mostly highway driven round trip – won’t really get the benefit of the gas savings. We also have new technologies coming out with diesel engines and even Ford’s own EcoBoost engines that deliver great gas mileage without stripping an extra four grand from your pocket book. It would be more of a determination of your commute and where you live on if it would be worth it for you, although 34 MPG average is nothing to sneeze at.

All in all, I was pretty happy and impressed with the new Milan. It has a great new body that sets it apart from the Fusion. It has a fantastic interior, and it has fuel-efficient new powertrains. Ford still has a long way to go though to bring the Mercury brand up to a level above everyday Ford vehicles. They need to continue to differentiate their models with nice bodywork and upgraded interiors. They need to focus on competing with brands like Buick, Acura, and even Infinity, not with Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet. More exciting refreshes like the Milan will allow Mercury to compete with these brands if only Ford will give them the opportunity. Otherwise the rumors we all have heard may bring Mercury to the same fate as many other, now non-existent brands.

Related posts:

1. a Holiday Gift: 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid
2. The 2010 Ford Fusion
3. First Drive: 2010 Camaro SS