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Here’s the report after a week of driving the 2006 Mercury Mountaineer in our recent spate of inclement weather: It’s sure-footed and has room for seven, an elegant black-and-white interior and a neat running board that appears when doors open.

However, it also comes with poor gas mileage and a sticker price that tops $40,000.

The Mountaineer and its sibling, the Ford Explorer, were completely redesigned for the 2006 model year. That means a new look inside and out, added safety features, a better ride and a new engine/transmission combination.

The Explorer was the bestselling SUV from when it went on sale early in the 1990s until 2004. The Mountaineer, nearly identical mechanically, is for those who prefer a more exclusive brand and a bit more of an upscale appearance.

On the new Mountaineer that means things such as its satin-silver grille and matching roof rails, its brushed aluminum dashboard trim and vent rings and its rear lights that are decorated with a cage-like trim.

To me, however, the nicest touch on our test vehicle was the two-tone seats, which were covered in black leather and a grayish-white suede. The effect makes the Mountaineer’s interior inviting and distinctive.

The Mountaineer seats seven. The rear two seats are power-operated; a push of a button folds them forward and flat or raises them upright. The middle row, which is comfortable territory for three adults, splits in a 60/40 configuration. Two handles can be lifted to make them flat, too, to allow a cavernous 82.8 cubic feet of cargo space. (It’s an adequate 13.6 cubic feet when you’re carrying seven people.)

Otherwise, the Mountaineer is pretty much an Explorer below its skin.

The base V-6 engine carries over, but offers a bit more power this year. This 210-horsepower, 4.0-liter V-6 is combined with a five-speed automatic transmission. The cheapest version is offered in rear-wheel-drive only.

Our test vehicle, the Premier edition, features the all-new 292-horsepower, three-valves-per-cylinder, 4.6-liter V-8. It offers improved horsepower, torque and fuel economy over last year’s V-8 option. This engine comes with an also-new six-speed automatic transmission.

With all-wheel-drive, our Mountaineer was rated 14 mpg in city driving and 20 mpg on the highway.

On the road, the engine is plenty powerful, and the transmission helps apply that power smoothly. Ford Motor engineers gave the Mountaineer a stiffer frame, a new independent rear suspension and bigger brakes.

On a very soggy day on the coast near Half Moon Bay, as our family searched for the rarely seen red phalarope along the Pacific Ocean — we found some in the Princeton-by-the-Sea harbor — the Mountaineer proved a fine companion. It felt sure and solid on the slick and sometimes muddy road, and easily glided through standing water, which we tried to avoid when possible.

Neat touches help the Mountaineer rise above the ordinary.

The DVD navigation system (a $1,995 option), for instance, allowed us to “bread crumb” our travels. We could see — with white dots on the mapping screen — where we traveled west along Highway 92, then north up Highway 1 to Pacifica, then south on Skyline Boulevard and finally back over the San Mateo Bridge toward Fremont. It would be a big help off-road, but was still fun to watch during our on-road travels.

The power running boards ($695) were again both useful and a good conversation starter. As you open your door, they spring out from the vehicle. Quickly in place, they provide a good first step for those in need of one. Then, once doors close, they return to their home inside the Mountaineer’s body.

Much has been written about the demise of the truck-based sport-utility, such as the Mountaineer, and the rise of the car-based crossover-utility. Buyers are checking off CUVs and avoiding SUVs in search of better gas mileage, smoother rides and cheaper window stickers.

All those points are true here as the Mountaineer gets only 14 mpg in the city, had a window sticker of $40,000-plus and, while it drove fairly smoothly, it wouldn’t be confused for a sports sedan.

That said, the Mountaineer has a bit of elegance, some neat tech toys, can seat seven in comfort and can tow more than 7,000 pounds when properly equipped.

Much like the Hummer H3 and Jeep Commander, two of this year’s other new mid-size sport-utilities, the Mountaineer offers enough unique character to appeal to buyers who want what it offers.

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Contact Matt Nauman at mnauman@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5701.