The Mercury Mystique was the Mercury-badged version of the Ford Contour, itself a close relative of the first-generation Ford Mondeo. It replaced the Mercury Topaz in North America and was sold until the Contour and Mystique were replaced by the Focus and later the Fusion.
Mercury Mystique at a glance
| Class | mid-size sedan |
|---|---|
| Related | Ford Contour, first-generation Ford Mondeo |
| Replaced | Mercury Topaz |
| Replaced by | Ford Focus, later Ford Fusion |
| Mondeo launch | unveiled 23 November 1992 |
| European sales began | 22 March 1993 |
| Mondeo bodies | four-door saloon, five-door hatchback, five-door estate |
| Front-wheel drive | yes, as with the mainstream Mondeo |
| Programme cost | US$6 billion, one of Ford’s most expensive new-car programmes |
| Award | 1994 European Car of the Year for the Mondeo |
The Mystique is mentioned only briefly in the English Wikipedia article on the first-generation Mondeo, which is the only source used here; the article is based on one source and is shorter than usual.
History of the Mercury Mystique
The car behind the Mystique
The Mercury Mystique was Mercury’s version of the Ford Contour, the North American derivative of the first-generation Ford Mondeo. The Mondeo was developed from 1986 under the code CDW27, a reference to its position between the C and D size classes and to its role as a “world car”. The design and marketing were shared between Ford in Dearborn and Ford of Europe, the project was led by John Oldfield from Ford Dunton in Essex, and the programme cost Ford US$6 billion, making it one of the most expensive new-car programmes ever. The car was unveiled to the public on 23 November 1992 and sales began on 22 March 1993. It replaced the Ford Sierra in Europe, the Ford Telstar in much of Asia and other markets, while the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique replaced the Ford Tempo and Mercury Topaz in North America.
Not quite a world car
Although billed as a world car, the Mondeo shared very little with the Contour at first: the only exterior items common to both were the windscreen, the front windows, the front mirrors and the door handles. The floor pan was designed to accept almost any drivetrain, from a transverse inline-four to a longitudinal V8, which left an intrusive and mostly unused transmission tunnel and made the front footwells feel cramped. The car was front-wheel drive in its most common form, with a rare four-wheel-drive version available only on the first-generation Mondeo. It had new manual and automatic transmissions and sophisticated suspension with subframes front and rear. Safety was a priority: a driver’s airbag, side-impact bars, seat-belt pretensioners and, on higher models, anti-lock brakes. The Mondeo was the first car sold from the start with a driver’s airbag in all versions, which helped it win the 1994 European Car of the Year title.
A Mercury for the family
In North America the Mystique gave Mercury a modern front-wheel-drive mid-size sedan to replace the ageing Topaz, and it shared the Contour’s engineering and its relationship to the European Mondeo. The Mondeo was replaced in 2000 by a larger second generation, and in the United States and Canada the Contour and Mystique were replaced first by the Focus and later by the Fusion, the car whose Mercury version became the Milan.
What it meant for Mercury
The Mystique was a badge-engineered Ford with its own grille and trim, sold alongside the Contour through Mercury dealers until the 2000 model year, after which the Contour and Mystique gave way to the Focus and later the Fusion.
Design and features
- Contour twin: Mercury’s version of the Ford Contour with its own front and rear styling.
- Mondeo relative: developed from the same CDW27 programme as the European Mondeo.
- Safety-first design: a driver’s airbag in every version and side-impact bars.
- Subframes: sophisticated suspension for its class, tuned for ride and handling.
- Topaz replacement: the end of the rear-wheel-drive-era Mercury compact.
Mercury Mystique versions
- Mystique: the standard Mercury version of the Contour.
- Ford Contour: the sister car sold through Ford dealers.
- Ford Mondeo: the European and world-market relative on the same programme.
- Later replacements: the Ford Focus and then the Fusion, whose Mercury version was the Milan.
The Mystique replaced the Topaz and was eventually succeeded by the Milan. More cars are in the Mercury collection.
Video: 1999 Mercury Mystique LS 2.5L V6 Start Up, Quick Tour, & Rev With Exhaust View – 144K
Video by Intechdude300 on YouTube.
Sources
- Ford Mondeo (first generation), English Wikipedia: CDW27 programme, launch dates, engineering and the Contour/Mystique replacement
