In line with other Mercury vehicles, the Montego was styled with a vertical waterfall-style grille with satin aluminum exterior trim (limiting chrome to the roofline). Exclusive to the Montego, HID headlamps and LED taillamps were standard equipment (the latter, the largest array of LED lights on any Ford vehicle worldwide). Ford chief designer, George Bucher, said "it was a challenge to sculpt a Ford-styled body around a Volvo chassis, and added that designers used what he calls plainer surfaces with taut lines to give the car a modern look without losing its passenger-car proportions." Interior In contrast to both the Grand Marquis and the Sable, the third-generation Montego was available solely in a five-passenger configuration. In line with the 2001-2003/2005 Grand Marquis LSE and 2003-2004 Marauder, the Montego was configured with bucket seats and a console-mounted shifter. Slotted in between the Five Hundred SE and SEL, the Montego Luxury featured cloth seats as standard, with leather seats as optional. The Mercury equivalent of a Five Hundred Limited, the Montego Premier featured leather seats as standard; all-wheel drive and a sunroof were among the few available options. In contrast to the Grand Marquis, the Montego offered a 60/40 fold-down rear seat, expanding the 21 cubic-foot trunk space. With the decklid closed, objects up to 10 feet in length could be transported within the car (when using the optional fold-down front passenger seat). At its launch, two airbags were standard, with four more available as an option (front-seat airbags and side-curtain) A design feature of the Montego includes its overall height to add interior space to the vehicle. To appeal to buyers of both sedans and sport-utility vehicles, Ford raised the viewpoint of the driver. Marketed as Command Seating, the Montego features high H-point seating (the location of the occupants hip-point relative to the road or the vehicle floor); its H-point is closer to the ground than that of a sport utility vehicle, but higher than a typical sedan, easing entry and exit. Also, the distance from the H-point to the floor of the vehicle is reflective of more upright seating. At its press launch, Ford said the Five Hundred's H-point is up to four and a half inches higher than its competitors. The Montego also features theater seating, where second row seats are higher: in the front row, the distance between the H-point and the heel point, where the occupant's foot