2010 Mercury Mountaineer

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The 2010 Mercury Mountaineer is one of the last of the old-guard SUVs with body-on-frame construction. Those who plan to tow large items should give it a look, but most consumers will be happier with a car-based crossover SUV. Aside from minor styling and equipment differences, the Mercury Mountaineer is basically an Explorer by another name, which means it’s a holdout from that bygone era when all SUVs employed tough body-on-frame construction.

The Mercury Mountaineer does have some old-school SUV company. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, Kia Borrego, Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota 4Runner can all be counted as spiritual brethren, proving that there’s still a market for nature-oriented ‘utes even in this day and age. And for on-road use, the Mountaineer is actually a pretty good pick among this group. But the Mountaineer’s on-road bias means you really should cross-shop it against crossovers more than traditional SUVs. And in this case, there are simply better choices than Mercury’s rebadged Explorer.

2010 Mercury Mountaineer Premier SUV

The 2010 Mercury Mountaineer is a midsize SUV available in base and Premier trim levels. Rear-wheel drive is standard on both trims, with all-wheel drive optional.

Base models seat five and include 17-inch wheels, a six-way power driver seat, cruise control, full power accessories, a leather-wrapped tilt steering wheel with audio controls, and a stereo with a CD player and auxiliary audio jack. Optional is a Five-Passenger Value Package that adds power-adjustable pedals, driver memory functions, reverse parking sensors, running boards, dual-zone automatic climate control, rear manual climate controls, leather upholstery, heated power front seats, satellite radio and the Sync voice-activated communication and entertainment system.

The Mountaineer Premier comes standard with 18-inch chrome wheels, rear parking sensors, aluminum-trimmed heated exterior mirrors with puddle lamps, aluminum roof rails, a sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, rear manual climate controls, leather upholstery, heated power front seats, driver memory functions and Sync. Options include 20-inch wheels, the tow package, power running boards, a power-folding third-row seat, a rear-seat entertainment system, second-row fold-flat bucket seats and a voice-activated navigation system with DVD audio and video capability, an internal hard drive, 10 gigabytes of music storage and an integrated real-time traffic feature that also provides local gas prices, movie times and sports scores.

The 2010 Mountaineer’s standard engine is Ford’s 4.0-liter V6, which makes a lackluster 210 hp and a more respectable 254 pound-feet of torque. Both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are available with either engine.

A V8-equipped AWD Mountaineer required 8.3 seconds to reach 60 mph in our instrumented testing. EPA fuel economy estimates for a rear-drive V6 Mountaineer are below-average at 14 mpg city/19 mpg highway and 16 mpg combined — the V8 is actually better at 15/21/17. Properly equipped, a rear-wheel-drive Mountaineer with the V8 can tow up to 7,220 pounds.

The 2010 Mercury Mountaineer fared quite well in crash tests, earning a perfect five stars across the board in all government frontal and side impact tests. The third-row option reduces available cargo space, but only slightly: Seven-passenger Mountaineers top out at 83.7 cubic feet, while five-passenger versions can swallow 85.8 cubic feet.

Tuned for on-pavement use, the 2010 Mercury Mountaineer features a four-wheel independent suspension, which results in pretty good ride and handling characteristics for a traditional SUV.