1997 Mercury Villager Nautica Enhancing the value quotient. By Kevin Ransom, New Car Test Drive .com

Now that the minivan market is as crowded as lunch hour in Hong Kong, carmakers

know it's not just about space any more.

That is, a minivan's kid- and cargo-hauling capacity is only one of

many consider-ations pondered by today's minvan buyers. Gone are the days

when the minivan with the most space was the hands-down victor.

Granted, they're called minivans, but woe to the carmaker who builds

a van that actually rides like a van. No, what today's minivan buyer wants

is spaciousness along with a car-like ride--and car-like performance.

Ford Motor Co. and Nissan never lost sight of that when they threw in

together to design and build the front-drive Mercury Villager and its mechanical

twin, the Nissan Quest. Introduced in 1992 as a '93 model, the Villager

offers the smooth, quiet ride and road-responsiveness of a sedan.

The Villager and Quest were designed by Nissan and are powered by a

Nissan engine and drivetrain, but are assembled in Ford's Avon Lake, Ohio

assembly plant, using Ford-supplied components.

Since the Villager is now in its fifth year without a major redesign,

the folks at Mercury knew it was time to add to the list of goodies and

make a few design tweaks. For '97, the Villager has added such safety features

as dual airbags and a childproof sliding-door lock, optional anti-lock

brakes and optional integrated child safety seats.

Our test vehicle--the top-of-the line Nautica sport-luxury model--has

a base price of $27,495, including Mercury's $580 destination charge. The

price was boosted to $30,835 by such options as a $100 anti-theft system;

a $370 preminum sound system; and a $2870 preferred equipment package--which

includes an eight-way power driver's seat, flip-open liftgate window, leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated outside mirrors, illuminated visor mirror, electronic

automatic climate control, keyless entry and electronic instrument cluster.

However, the preferred equipment package was discounted $1370, leaving

the final MSRP at $29,465.