The Sync voice-activated communication requires blue tooth technology on your phone and hands free communication is a good feature of this entertainment system.

Under the Hood- The 171 horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder motor is peppy for around town driving and manages well on the Hwy. The Mariner did away with its hydraulic steering system in favor of electric power-assist steering, resulting in better gas mileage. The 3.0-liter V-6 uses a new compression ratio to give it a power boost, up from 200 to 240 hp. Both engines can be mated to an optional six-speed automatic transmission, but the five-speed manual is still standard. Front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is optional. The Mariner has drive-by-wire electronic throttle control, retuned suspension and steering for better ride comfort and handling, and a re-calibrated antilock braking system. The thing to remember with this type of vehicle is it’s not a sports car.

Safety- Side-impact and side curtain airbags are standard, as are antilock brakes. An electronic stability system with Roll Stability Control is also standard. Roll Stability Control is designed to help prevent rollover accidents. The model has a tire pressure monitoring system and standard antilock brakes.

The high cost of getting to the riding area is the basis for this review and fuel economy is one of the best ways to reduce this cost. We've shown it's possible to get much better mileage than we have from our trucks. We averaged 22 mpg driving in the city and the highway, mostly Hwy. This can easily be taken a step further by adding the Hybrid engine to the Mariner which as we mentioned before, should add an additional 10 mpg to this number and 32 mpg is nothing to sneeze at. The Hybrid feature adds about $7,000 to the price tag which is basically a new bike. Gas prices are not going to be coming down soon, if anything they’ll be going up and better fuel economy will be a top priority for those who are driving an hour or more once or twice a week to go riding.