Click on the photo for a gallery of the 2008 Mariner in action
Ford provided the journalists assembled in Dearborn the chance to drive many of their 2008 models back-to-back with their 2007 equivalents so that the new models' improvements could be experienced firsthand. Among the vehicles available to us were Ford's compact crossovers, the Escape and Mariner. AutoMKGreen recently did a
full review of the 2008 Escape Hybrid that you can check to find out what it's like to live with. We'll focus here on the improvements made to the '08s in general.
Out front, the new Mariner has a much more distinct and upscale face compared to the Escape. While the Escape is styled with more of a family resemblance to the big F-Series trucks, with a bumper that stands in front of the grille, the Mariner sports the Mercury family's vertical bar grille, sharing itd DNA with the Milan and new Sable. It flows all the way down to the bottom of the bumper and definitely looks more carlike than Escape. Once you climb inside, everything else applies equally to both the Mariner and Escape the driving experience is identical, save for some color/trim differences.
Check out our impressions of the Mariners old and new along with a video after the jump.
