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The Bottom Line:
The jazzy look of the 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid will make you feel a little better about driving "green."
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the Mariner's front fascia takes the brunt of the redesign
a more understated, slightly more upscale look
changes include a new mix of materials with 'satin pewter' trim
Changes
you can't see are truly transparent. One is the thicker windshield with an added
noise-absorbing laminate. The second are the thicker side windows, also upgraded
for noise abatement. Refinement is what Mercury is chasing with changes like
these. To reduce sound levels even further, the doors have more sound
insulation, the carpeting is thicker, and the headliner has an added acoustic
barrier.
Just about everything inside the Mariner has been upgraded. The glass is thicker, carpets plusher, and seats fancier. Note the new center stack and the digital readout at the very top.
Refinement is also why designers updated the Mariner's interior with new seats, door panels, and a completely new center stack. The new design puts the main display up near eye level, helping drivers keep their eyes higher and closer to the road. Digital readouts for the audio and climate control systems display up top.
Lighting for the entire gauge set is now blue – it's slick looking and a true boon for those with color blindness (approximately 1 out of 100 males) that makes reading red LEDs all but impossible. The center console is also new, and yawns widely enough to swallow a laptop. Interior bits finished in satin pewter and chrome complete the interior's update. The new interior looks good and certainly freshens things up.
The Mariner's conventional powertrains (a 2.3-liter four-cylinder and a 3.0-liter V-6) were left unchanged, but the hybrid received attention. Significant refinements were made to the controller that coordinates the complex interplay of this full hybrid's four-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine, 70-kilowatt electric motor, and continuously variable transmission. The results include better integration and smoother transitions between power sources themselves, and between the powertrain with the regenerative braking system. Further improving efficiency, the rack-and-pinion steering system is now powered electrically, instead of using a conventional hydraulic pump.
