The Mercury Villager and Nissan Quest were the products of a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Nissan. The goal was to produce a smaller and more stylish minivan to compete in the traditional minivan market. The vans debuted at the 1992 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The two minivans differed only cosmetically(such as a lightbar between the headlights on the Villager which was common on Mercury vehicles in the early 90s) and shared a Nissan engine. They were built in a Ford plant in Avon Lake, Ohio.

The first-generation Villager was available in three trim levels: GS, LS, and the luxury Nautica Special Edition. All Nautica models came with a two-toned blue and white, or red and white paint scheme, an elegant yellow pinstripe, second row captain's chairs, and blue and white, or grey leather upholstery. The second-generation Villager was also available in three trim levels: base, Sport, and the luxury Estate.

The joint venture for this vehicle was a marriage of convenience between Ford and Nissan. The Ford Aerostar minivan was aging and lagging in sales, and its replacement, the Windstar, was not yet ready for market. Ford had money to build an assembly plant, but lacked vehicle design engineering resources due to other vehicles. Nissan was lacking cash but could contribute vehicle engineering and an engine built at its Smyrna, Tennessee facility. The initial project was code named "VX54" within Ford.

The vehicle was initially very successful, but competitive offerings began to overshadow it in the late 1990s. There was a minor freshening in 1996 which included a new front fascia, head & tail lights (the lightbar was gone) and a major one in 1999, but nothing more could be done and Ford pulled the plug after a brief run of 2002 models were produced, ending the Ford and Nissan joint venture. Nissan pursued the development of the 2004 Nissan Quest while Mercury received a version of the Ford Freestar called the Monterey.