MERCURY Montego Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Introduced in July 2004 as a 2005 model year, the Montego was Mercury's version of the Ford Five Hundred and was the more luxurious version of its blue-oval-badged sibling.

Ford worked closely with Volvo when it developed the new platform for its full-size sedan vehicles, suitable for front- or all-wheel drive applications. That resulted in a huge gain for the Montego, which was lighter by its bigger sibling Grand Marquise by 500 lbs (227 kg), but it was just 2" (5 cm) shorter. Yet, the car was unsuccessful and stayed on the market for almost three years. Finally, in April 2007, the automaker decided to pull the plug on this model due to slow sales that peaked at just a little over 27,000 units in 2005.

The Montego's appearance was impressive since it was the tallest Mercury sedan ever. Its front fascia sported the known waterfall grille with chromed vertical slats. Its new-edge-design styling was not that much appreciated but adequate. Its profile revealed a cabin extended beyond the rear axle, with a third side window behind the doors. At the back, the automaker installed corner-mounted, triangular taillights.

Thanks to its generous wheelbase, the Montego boasted a spacious interior. The high roof allowed the carmaker to install a higher-mounted rear bench than the front ones in a so-called "theater seating." Although, that arrangement was necessary due to the rear axle components. Thanks to the 60/40 split-folding rear seats' seatback, owners could load items up to 10 ft (3 m) long.

But the problem was under the hood, where the automaker considered that an older-generation 3.0-liter V6 should be enough to move the 1.7-ton vehicle. For the FWD version, Mercury installed a six-speed automatic. On the AWD version, a CVT sent the torque in all corners.