IN STOCK ... PHOTOS COMING SOON... CALL FOR MORE INFO, , The Mercury Mountaineer is a mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) manufactured by the Mercury brand name and owned by the Ford Motor Company since 1997. The Mountaineer shares many features with the Ford Explorer, and in terms of hardware, the vehicles are virtually identical. Externally, they are styled somewhat differently, and the Mountaineer is positioned with a more upscale interior, with the Mountaineer's MSRP coming in at $1,000–$6,000 more than the Explorer. The Mountaineer has been praised for its excellent handling and stability. , , Although the redesigned Explorer had already been out for two years, Mercury introduced an Explorer twin called the Mountaineer. The Mountaineer was only slightly different from the Explorer, although it did offer a few extra luxury features that the Explorer lacked, such as a standard 302 cu in (5.0 L) 215 hp Windsor V8. ,