2000 Mercury Villager: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Villager offers a rear-seat video entertainment system for 2000. Mercury's minivan shares its design with the Nissan Quest and comes in base, Sport, and luxury Estate models. All have dual sliding rear doors, a 3.3-liter V6 engine, and automatic transmission. All models seat seven. Second-row seating consists of a 2-person bench on base models and a pair of bucket seats on Sport and Estate; the second-row bench seat is a no-charge option on the Sport. Twin integrated second-row child seats are no longer available. All Villagers have a 3-passenger third-row bench that slides fore and aft on floor tracks. Optional is an adjustable-height rear parcel shelf behind the third-row seat. Side airbags and power sliding doors aren't available, but all models gain rear child-seat anchors for 2000.
The new rear-seat entertainment system is a $1295 option and includes a VCR with remote control, 6.4-inch flip-down LCD screen, and three headphone jacks. Quest offers this system at no extra charge. Also for 2000, remote keyless entry/alarm is standard on all Villagers, and leather upholstery is standard on Estate. Mercury and Nissan have announced that production of these minivans will cease during model-year 2002.

COMPETITION

Chrysler started the minivan trend back in 1984, and they remain one of our Best Buys today. Though the competition has heated up, we still feel that the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Voyager are two of the best you can buy. They offer all of the creature comforts in a pleasing package at a fair price. Our other Best Buy is the Honda Odyssey. It's a little bit smaller than the Chryslers, but more sporty to drive, and it has a super-convenient flip-and-fold-away rear seat.
Trailing at a close second are the Recommended Chevy Venture and Ford Windstar. Though these vans are comparably priced and offer loads of neat features, we feel they can't match the road manners of our Best Buys.