When I was looking for cars for today, I found these two that didn’t really go together. Try as I might, I couldn’t come up with anything that really went with either one, at least that I felt like writing about, so screw it – they’re facing off against each other. They’re about the same age and price, at least, so that’s something.
Let yesterday’s Showdown be a lesson to anyone trying to sell a car: Presentation matters. Especially if you’re asking top dollar for a car. I don’t think that Buick wagon was as scruffy as the photos made it out to be, but it did not make a good impression. The uber-clean and well-photographed Chrysler LeBaron absolutely trounced it. If the Buick’s seller had taken an hour or two to wash, vacuum, and carefully photograph it, it might have been a closer contest.
I choose the LeBaron anyway, which I’m sure will come as no surprise to regular readers. I really like that body style, and maroon is a good color for it. The basic 2.5 and automatic combo is a bit of a letdown, but it’ll get the job done, and I know that engine well enough to trust it. That’s a good price for that car, too.
So, a bit of an odd couple for today, then. We’ve got a formerly-nice Lexus sedan that has lived a hard life, and an orphaned Ford product that has barely lived at all. Which one is more deserving of your three grand or thereabouts? Read on and decide.
2000 Mercury Cougar – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter DOHC V6, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: San Mateo, CA
Odometer reading: 74,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Mercury Cougar nameplate bounced around between Ford products for most of its existence: it was at various times a Mustang, a Torino, and a Thunderbird. But this final Cougar had no Ford equivalent; instead, it was one of Ford’s cast-offs. This car was meant to be the third-generation Ford Probe, but the Probe was discontinued before it was launched. The development work was already done, so Ford slapped a Mercury Cougar badge on it and sent it out anyway. Unlike earlier versions of the Probe, which were Mazda-based, this one is based on the European Ford Mondeo, sold here as the Contour and Mercury Mystique.
Two different engines and two different transmissions were offered, and this car has the best combo: a 2.5-liter Duratec V6 paired with a five-speed manual. It’s front-wheel-drive, but so were all its competitors at the time. And honestly, if you’re still shunning FWD cars in this day and age, you’re going to find your pickings slim indeed. This car has just 74,000 miles on its odometer, and the seller says it runs and drives “excellent.”
The interior looks great; honestly, I didn’t think these cars were this nice inside. It’s a classic example of Ford’s “New Edge” styling, with grand sweeping curves and almost no straight lines. Whether you’re a fan or not, you have to admit it’s better than a giant screen glued to the dash. I do think I see a modern touchscreen stereo, but if that annoys you, you can always change it.
The New Edge theme continues outside, and I have always thought the Cougar pulled it off better than some other examples. It’s not an exciting color, but that’s all right. It’s clean and shiny, and it shouldn’t have any rust to worry about. The aftermarket wheels are a matter of taste; I would usually rather see stock wheels on a car, just for proper fitment, but these don’t look bad, and I think they’re the stock size.
2001 Lexus IS 300 – $2,850
Engine/drivetrain: 33.0-liter DOHC inline-6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Lake Stevens, WA
Odometer reading: 228,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, with a couple warning lights
Lexus sedans were a hit in the US from the start, and quickly gained a reputation for excellent quality and reliability, but they weren’t generally seen as a whole lot of fun. With the IS, Lexus aimed to change that perception and set its sights squarely on the BMW 3 Series. This car has an inline six driving the rear wheels, and it’s tuned more for handling than for ride comfort. Those attributes didn’t steal that many buyers away from BMW, but they did make the IS popular among a certain type of secondhand buyer. A lot of them were lowered, equipped with loud intakes and exhausts, and beaten within inches of their lives. This car seems to have led such an existence, but its current seller has been trying to bring it back to some level of respectability.
One thing that made the IS 300 such a darling of the tuner crowd is its engine, Toyota’s 2JZ inline six, shared with the Supra. It’s an already powerful engine that takes modifications well and is capable of making ridiculous horsepower in the right hands. But it’s also a Toyota engine, which means that if you just keep it stock and treat it nicely, it will keep happily spinning indefinitely. This one has no modifications besides a “cold air” intake and an aftermarket exhaust, meaning it’s probably just louder than stock, not really faster. It runs and drives well, but it currently has a check-engine light for an oxygen sensor. In addition, the ABS and traction control lights are on, which probably means a rear wheel sensor has failed or is disconnected. I believe both systems use the same sensors. The car had previously been lowered, but the seller raised it back up to stock ride height, and I have a suspicion that a wire may have been severed during that process.
There are no photos of the interior in the ad, which worries me a little. All we get is this view of the center stack showing the aftermarket Kenwood stereo. This car was most recently driven by a high-school kid, and I know how they treat their cars – after all, I was one once. I hope this isn’t the case, but I fear the interior is in sorry shape, hence no photos. At least the air conditioner works.
The fact that this car was even offered in screaming yellow shows Lexus’s intentions with it. The fact that it is no longer all yellow shows that some previous owners’ intentions were not honorable. Both bumpers and one front fender have been replaced, but not painted to match. There is also some minor damage to the trunk lid and the driver’s door. A new used trunk lid is included, but it’s blue.
With one of these cars, you’re looking at what it is, exactly as it sits: a sports coupe with a somewhat spotty reliability record that’s in really nice condition at the moment. With the other, you’re looking at potential: it was once a nice sports sedan and it could be again with a little love, or it could be the basis for a much wilder build. It all depends what you’re in the mood for.
can’t believe i’m saying this, but i’ll take the cougar
I was tempted to blow off the IS until I saw they managed to shoehorn a 33(!) liter engine. Man, the Japanese are amazing at packaging.
Typo aside, it’s an easy vote for the Mercury. I knew someone who had a Contour with that drivetrain, and it seemed like a fun sedan. The IS has a couple of warning lights and plenty of warning signs.
Cougar! This was easy- while the Lexus is good for reliability, that’s about the only good thing w/ this one; once I saw the photo of it, it was all over…yeah, no thanks. I’m “crazy bout a Mercury” and miss Mercury. This is a gorgeous Cougar w/ a stick and a nice example of one: it’s so sleek and in great shape…what a fun car. This is a great deal for such low miles…I will have a ton of fun cruising in it!
Cougar. It looks too good to be true. The IS is something a Canadian would launch off a cliff. I hear parts are hard to come by for that 33.0 liter engine.
IS300 simply because it has build potential and I’m already familiar with working on a 2JZ. Oh, and rwd.
No pictures of the inside is a no deal for me.
Cougar it is. (I’m intrigued by the is300 though. Condition of the rusty spots and interior are the key questions. I hate the over-compensating exhaust.)
I’m suspecting the IS300’s interior is as bad as we expect and it has the sticky dash. It doesn’t have a turbo… now.. so lord knows what nonsense this one like 99% of them has experienced. My coworker had a holy grail, all stock with the 5MT, he traded it on a Tesla, against me advice of selling it privately, I’m sure even with one Lunar on the clock he could have gotten 2X whatever Tesla gave him. Now I’d be in on the IS if this was “choose your PCH” but it’s not, I’ll take the Duratech, manual no question.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Every IS300 I encounter around me is a clown fiesta of questionable decisions, if all the clowns were putting on a show while doing harvesting at Taylor Farms.
Anther young coworker has one, auto of course. It looks lowered but his intention is to fix it’s issues and leave it as is. There’s hope for the next generation.
Yep, there’s always some who get it and put in the effort. But too many times they think it’s a quick fix and “easy” and it gets further clapped out.
All the ISes around me are absolute piles. It’s been at least a decade since I’ve seen a truly nice one.
My first car I bought was a red 1999 Cougar with a V6 and a five speed. It truly represented everything that was great and terrible about Ford for the era. The design played up the feline angle with the Cheshire cat grin at the front and lots of lovely triangles. Those seats were supremely comfortable and the transmission was slick (and I say this is as someone who was taught to drive stick in an early 90s Honda). It handled well, the V6 was tiny but light and made plenty of power for the size of the car, the styling was epic, and the little row of warning lights up by the map lights made you feel like a fighter pilot (not to mention having a car that told me when a taillight was burned out was so cool to me). You could program a new electronic key yourself without going to the dealer or needing fancy software…you just needed two keys already programmed and needed to know what the sequence was for sticking them in the ignition and pulling them out before sticking a new blank key in. The hatchback style was also incredibly practical. I hauled all my stuff across the country for college in it and, despite having only two doors and some deeply scooped and deeply uncomfortable back seats, I often was hauling friends to town or on road trips across the west coast in it (including one trip down to the Napa Valley with four people, all our travel gear, and a cello).
The major downsides included an incredibly wonky electrical system which often falsely caused the aforementioned burnt out light bulb warning light to flicker. That system was poorly regulated and known for eating alternators (which it did on mine). Those alternators were way at the bottom of the block, which was tightly squeezed into these cars, and necessitated removing part of the steering assembly to access if I remember right. The sunroof tracks on the 99s and 00s were made of a brittle plastic that cracked when it got too cold outside (which of course never happened in Ohio), or too hot (which never happened in Ohio), or just from the weight of the sunroof over time (which also happened on mine, fortunately in the closed position). 01-02 cars had aluminum tracks, so I had one of those installed). I also added some parts from an SVT Contour to give it a little more oomph.
For whatever reason, I was hit in that car several times (parking lots, freeways, driveways, it was a target for some reason) but my silliest memory of the car was when I was driving to a music gig early one morning (an hour early too, because I forgot to set my clock ahead for DST) and the headlights went out. I replaced the fuse, got two more blocks and lost em again. I drove through the empty Spokane, WA streets using street lights hoping a cop wouldn’t see me. Later I checked some forums (remember those?) for info on what might be overloading the headlight fuse. A forum member said they were on the same circuit as the light that illuminated the headlight switch, which sometimes drew too much power. I thought that sounded ridiculous but I was like, hey, I’m a broke student teacher, what have I got to lose? I installed an LED to backlight that switch and you no what? I never blew that fuse again. Possibly a coincidence, but there was no doubt that car’s electrical system had all the engineering logic of a setup designed by Lucas.
I loved that car and might still be driving it were it not for the accident that led to its demise. I went down to Walla Walla, WA to do my exit interview with my college’s education department after I got my teaching license. I was on my way home to Spokane where I was working part time and had been student teaching. It started snowing and two cars in front of me got in a head on collision. I ended up running into them and totalling the car. I was ok but the car was not. That car was with me through some major milestones and incredible memories. That car will forever have a place in my heart as one of my favorite vehicles I’ve ever owned.
IS300.
I spent my best trolling years on the IS300 forums.
Having owned a ’99 Mystique with the V6/5-speed combo, I can attest to how enjoyable the drivetrain is. Plus, this is about the cleanest Cougar I’ve seen in a while. Choosing it over a clapped out Lexus is about an easy a choice there is.
An additional bit of information: the Cougar was sold in Europe and Australia (assembled in Germany) as the “Ford Cougar.”
That IS hood looks awfully short for a thirty-three liter engine, just sayin’.
The Cougar looks super clean and actually looks like a good deal. The IS screams “run away!”
I really loved that Cougar back in the day but, never pulled the trigger. Always hated the
Toyota AltezzaLexus IS.I realize that it’s totally irrational.
That IS should be scrapped. I mean probably not really, but man that was the easiest vote this week.
Was thinking “neither”, but that Cougar is impressively clean.
Let’s see, a sub-100,000 mile clean car that just needs some wheels or a beat-to-shit wanna-be-drift-kiddie car that’s got one foot in the scrap yard. Hmmm, tough choice.
No matter how good a model the car is, the condition matters more than anything. I really like the IS and wouldn’t mind owning one, but all of them are in about this condition. So I’m taking the Mercury, that Lexus is more valuable as a parts donor.
Yeah. The wheels on the Mercury only subtract value.
“Most recently driven by a high school kid” and the different-color fender tells me all I need to know. That Lexus has been beaten up inside and out.
The Merc, on the other hand, looks like it just got rolled off its museum plinth into the sunlight. That’s my choice today. V6 and man 5, looking as good as that after 25 years? Easy choice.
The Cougar reminds me of the Eclipse more than the Probe, and I’d unironically drive it. Nevermind the 2JZ, the high mileage and an automatic make me think the Lexus isn’t worth the effort to restore.
The side profile looks like an oversized last gen Celica to me. Which is not a bad thing, honestly
You don’t restore the Lexus, you build it. If the 2J has been maintained it could be used as a base, but you’re better off swapping in another motor which would mean a new presumably manual transmission. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this haha.
Those coupe Mondeos were hard to get parts for 20 years ago. That probably hasn’t improved. Plus all the little electrical gremlins they have. I’ll learn to drift instead.
I’d rather ride with a 2JZ by my side than Jay Z.
If I were looking to build a drift car I might consider a beat to shit IS, but, alas, I am not. Cougar wins by default.
A lotta Cougars speak to me. 😉
Are they as clean as this one?
I am without speech.
We have a friend who brags about being the cougar who seduced and married her graduate student.
Condition matters. This the the price range for someone looking to get from point A to B and that Lexus is going to be nothing but problems. It will also likely cost more buy the time the work is done to make it legal to pass smog and register.
I came into this meaning to make a Mrs. Robinson joke but seriously that Cougar has barely been around the block and deserves a gentle bit of fun.
Beat to crap car or one in better shape. Not a tough choice really.
Cougar today, because . . . Well . . . Just look at the IS.
The 1st gen IS was an impressively well executed car (Subsequent generations, not so much), I’d gladly take one in good shape and well cared for.
My absolute favourite car I’ve owned. Not this one though.