2011 Mercury Mariner Safety

When it comes to safety, the 2011 Mercury Mariner is no slouch. The Mariner comes standard with a wealth of safety equipment, including a rollover sensor, traction control, anti lock brakes, full length head curtain air bags, and front seat side air bags.

The Mercury Mariner was evaluated by the more rigorous front and side crash tests for the 2011 model year by the government, and it received five star ratings for both kinds of crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also evaluated the Mercury Mariner for frontal offset and side crash tests and provided it with its highest rating of "good". This indicates that the Mercury Mariner fares well when it comes to protecting its occupants from crashes, whether those crash impacts occur to the front or rear of the vehicle or from the sides, and whether the passengers are in the front or in the rear of the vehicle.

However, the shortcomings of the Mariner, at least when it comes to safety, can be found in its braking performance when it is on the road in day to day situations. When it comes to decelerating from highway speeds, such as 60 miles per hour, to a complete standstill, the Mariner revealed its weakness by taking up to 140 feet to come to a complete stop. While this stopping distance is not terrible, it certainly is not nearly as good as drivers have come to expect from vehicles of this size, and it is an area where the Mariner could stand to improve in future revisions.

When it comes to driving, the traction and stability control of the Mariner are assets that make it easier to control in a range of weather and terrain conditions.