Mercury Tracer

Mercury's sibling to the Ford Escort, the Tracer offers a line of small, economy sedans and wagons. Competing against such models as Honda Civic, Hyundai Excel and Mazda Protege, the Tracer team presents a 2-model lineup consisting of base and sporty LTS 4-door sedans, and a single trim level station wagon.

Year-to-year changes

1995

While there are no changes to Tracer's exterior appearance, the big news inside is a passenger's-side airbag. Unfortunately, the annoying motorized belts are still retained. An integrated child safety seat for the rear seat debuts on the option list, and style-conscious Tracer fans will be glad to learn that the instrument panel will now be color coded to the car's exterior.

The power lineup begins with the base 88-horsepower 1.9-liter 4-cylinder engine that comes standard with a 5-speed manual transaxle. A 4-speed automatic is an option. The hotter LTS sedan comes with a 127-horsepower, 1.8-liter engine with the same choice of manual and automatic. The LTS also comes standard with 4-wheel disc brakes, larger tires, cruise control and an uplevel stereo. A Tracer Trio option package really spiffs up the car with 7-spoke aluminum alloy wheels, rear decklid spoiler, leather-wrapped steering wheel and special badging.

The option list includes 4-wheel antilock brakes, Premium Sound System upgrades, power moonroof, tilt steering wheel, power locks and windows and dual power mirrors. Like most Ford products, options can be grouped together into packages for considerable savings.

Retail prices

• $10,350 (1994 Mercury Tracer 4DR Sedan)
• $10,620 (1994 Mercury Tracer 4DR Wagon)
• $12,660 (1994 Mercury Tracer LTS 4DR Sedan)

As of early 1995:

• $11,380 (1995 Mercury Tracer 4DR Sedan)
• $11,900 (1995 Mercury Tracer 4DR Wagon)
• $13,240 (1995 Mercury Tracer LTS 4DR Sedan)

Shipping prices

• $375 (1994 models)
• $390 (1995 models)

Gallery

1995 Mercury Tracer 4-door sedan

1996 Mercury Tracer 4-door sedan

1996 Mercury Tracer 4-door wagon