2009 Mercury Milan

Until Ford discontinued the brand in 2011, Mercury sat in the middle of the company’s lineup—fancier than Ford but not as luxurious as Lincoln. The brand had its heyday from the 1950s through the 1980s, with cars like the Cougar, Monterey, Montclair, and Turnpike Cruiser still commonplace at classic car shows. Nearly all recent Mercury models were based on Ford counterparts. The Mercury Milan was a gussied-up Ford Fusion and the Mercury Grand Marquis was a more comfortable take on the Ford Crown Victoria. Since the brand has been gone for many years, most Mercury vehicles will lack modern convenience and safety features, and used examples will likely have high mileage.

This very good family sedan delivers a ride that is firm and controlled, while handling is alert and responsive. However, the wide turning circle is a drawback. We preferred the leather seats, which were more supportive than the standard cloth seats. Rear-seat space is fairly generous. The 2.3-liter, four-cylinder performs adequately and returned 23 mpg overall in our tests, but it's noisy. The 3.0-liter V6 offers more zip. With its smooth, six-speed automatic it averaged 20 mpg overall. Stability control was added as an option for 2009.