The front-wheel drive Mercury Sable - available in both four-door sedan and station wagon body styles - has delivered a combination of style, comfort and practicality since its debut in 1986. For 2003, Mercury continues to boost Sable's quality, reliability and style with a special emphasis on interior craftsmanship and refinement. From new interior fabrics and exterior colors to shielding the driver from unpleasant noises, the Sable continues to build on Mercury's commitment to offer understated sophistication and value for the midsize car buyer.

The 2003 Sable is available in three trims: GS, GS Plus and LS Premium. A choice between a 155-horspower and 200-horsepower V-6 engines is offered.

Sable has earned double five-star crash safety ratings from the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration for four straight years.

It is built at Ford's Chicago, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia, assembly plants.

Design and Package
For 2003, the Sable Platinum Edition debuts. In addition to a series of interior upgrades, the Sable Platinum Edition includes a satin aluminum grille spear and decklid appliqué, exclusive satin aluminum alloy wheels and Platinum Edition fender badging.

The modern and distinctive Mercury Sable has a 108.5-inch wheelbase that contributes to a smooth ride and visual strength.

The Sable's jeweled headlamps and tail lamps contribute to the smooth, clean exterior surfaces. Standard 16-inch wheels reinforce the balanced overall proportions. LS Premium models have seven-spoke alloy wheels.

Sable sedans are offered as both five-passenger and six-passenger models. Five-passenger models feature a floor-mounted shifter and front center console. Six-passenger Sables feature a flip-fold center seat that can be configured to present a center armrest, two cupholders, a coin holder and cassette storage. A 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback allows for maximum passenger and cargo versatility.

The Sable GS station wagon is offered in a eight-passenger configuration. The Sable LS Premium wagon is offered in either a seven- or eight-passenger configuration. A rear-facing third row seat is standard in both wagon series.

The Sable sedan trunks have 16.0 cubic feet of luggage volume, with a low liftover height of 26.0 inches for easy loading and unloading.

The Sable wagon has 81.3 cubic feet of cargo volume with the rear seatbacks folded down, and 38.8 cubic feet with the seatbacks in their upright positions. The Sable wagon's liftgate features a flip-up rear window to make loading small packages easier.

French Blue Clearcoat Metallic and Gold Ash Clearcoat Metallic are new exterior colors for 2003.

Interior Refinement, Comfort
New interior color schemes and improved seating fabrics, both leather and cloth, and a new process to apply wood grain to interior trim further improve the quality and appearance of the 2003 Sable interior.

Two-tone cloth seats with a more pleasing pattern are now available, as is milled pebble leather, which is softer and better grained, providing improved feel, comfort and durability.

The use of lighter-colored materials brightens the interior of the 2003 Sable. A new manufacturing process is now used to create more realistic wood grain trim parts for Sable models so equipped. These hydrographic wood grain plastic trim parts typically are found on more expensive vehicles. To create this more realistic wood trim, plastic parts are dipped into a liquid tank where the wood grain pattern is deposited on the part. In the past, a wood grain film was applied to a plastic part.

The Platinum Edition raises Sable's interior sophistication to a new level. Applied to the instrument panel mask, center stack and console is an upscale and contemporary satin aluminum trim. Premium perforated leather seating is also included.

Quiet Cabin
Improvements in noise, vibration and harshness for 2003 include additional damping in the floor pan and a series of quality measures to reduce air leakage and cabin noise, including the use of expanding foam in the A-pillar and the use of new sealing material in weld access holes. These actions, all part of Ford Motor Company's 6-Sigma "Black Belt" quality actions on the Sable, better seal the vehicle and greatly reduce noise and wind leaks in the cabin.

Performance, Ride and Handling
The Mercury Sable GS sedan and station wagon are powered by a 3.0-liter, 12-valve OHV Vulcan V-6 engine that produces 155 horsepower at 4,900 rpm and 185 foot-pounds of torque at 3,900 rpm. The 3.0-liter 24-valve Duratec V-6, which powers the Sable LS sedan and station wagon, produces 200 horsepower at 5,650 rpm and 200 foot-pounds of torque at 4,400 rpm.

Both engines are designed to go 100,000 miles before the first scheduled tune-up with normal fluid and filter changes.

Sable's fuel tank holds 18 gallons.
All Sables deliver power to the front wheels through a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission with adaptive shift control programming that maintains the same shift quality throughout the life of the transaxle.

Sable's standard MacPherson strut independent front suspension includes a front stabilizer bar to control body lean.

Sable sedans use a quadralink rear suspension design with nitrogen gas pressurized shocks. Wagon models use a short- and long-arm independent rear suspension with nitrogen gas pressurized shocks and progressive rate springs, which help maintain ride comfort at various loading levels. The rear suspension is designed with a raised rear roll center that is closely aligned to the vehicle's center of gravity to reduce body sway while cornering.

Sable sedans have power-assisted front disc and rear drum braking. Wagon models have four-wheel disc brakes. The anti-lock braking system, which is a no-charge option on all Sables, helps prevent braking-induced wheel lockup and maintain driver control while braking. The optional all-speed traction control helps limit wheel slip under acceleration for enhanced performance and stability.

Variable-assist power rack-and-pinion steering reduces assist levels at highway speeds to improve driving feel. It increases boost at slow speeds for reduced effort in slow speed maneuvers such as parking.

Safety is Cornerstone
The Mercury Sable has earned a dual five-star crash test rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the driver and right front passenger.

The Sable's standard Personal Safety SystemTM adjusts deployment of the air bags based on data collected in the first milliseconds of a crash. Front outboard safety belt pretensioners take up slack in the safety belts prior to air bag deployment. Safety belt energy management retractors gradually slacken the safety belts, if necessary, to reduce the force of the belt on the occupant's chest.

The Personal Safety SystemTM can adjust the deployment of the dual-stage front air bags to help protect the front occupants. The system determines if both or none of the air bags should deploy, and at what level, depending on the severity of the accident and safety belt usage.

The system uses an electronic crash severity sensor, Personal Safety System Restraint Control Module, driver's seat position sensor, safety belt pretensioners, energy management retractors and front outboard safety belt usage sensors to help protect the driver and right front passenger in certain frontal collisions.

A complement to the system is BeltMinderTM, which chimes to remind drivers to buckle up.

Standard security features on the Sable include a remote keyless entry system and a SecuriLockTM passive anti-theft system that requires the ignition system to communicate with a specially encoded chip in the key before the vehicle will start. As a convenience, Sable also has an accessory delay feature that allows the use of all windows for up to 10 minutes after the ignition is turned off and before any door is opened.

A perimeter anti-theft alarm system, which monitors doors, windows and trunk, is standard on LS Premium sedan and wagon models.

All-speed traction control and front seat side-impact air bags are offered together as part of the optional Secure Package.

For security, an auto-locking feature automatically locks all closed doors when the vehicle has reached 5 mph.

Sable Value
Beyond its proven quality, safety and performance, the Sable treats its occupants to a lengthy list of standard features including power windows and locks, tilt steering, floor mats, AM/FM stereo cassette and six passenger seating.

Every 2003 Sable comes with a 3-year/36,000-mile limited warranty, including adjustments, for the full coverage period, as well as a five-year, unlimited-mile, limited corrosion warranty. In addition, the Mercury Commitment gives 24-hour roadside assistance, providing peace of mind on those occasions when an owner might need a few gallons of fuel, a jump-start or the mounting of a spare tire.