Ford's Crown Victoria is a traditional rear drive American automobile. It's big, heavy, safe, reliable, and basically everything that Cadillac's 1970 Eldorado wanted to be.
It's also simple.. as a matter of fact, the basic underpinnings date back about 20 years, which is probably how Ford has managed to hold the price under $25,000. Order the base model and you can pick up a new Vic for $22,000. That's right. Less than you'd pay for a stripped Camry.
Value is the appeal of this car. I can think of no other automobile with 6 seats, RWD, and a V8 for under 30 large. At least, not a new one. Unbeknownst to journalists everywhere, Ford is actually targeting teenage Mustang buyers with the Crown Vic. Funny thing is, only 50-year-old codgers seem to be buying it. Pity, that. More proof wisdom arrives with age.
Toys and technical wizardry no longer impress at this point. Tried and true is the ultimate asset, reliability paramount. And of course, if a vehicle is to qualify, it must have a cabin large enough to roast hot dogs. At the bar-b-que you're hosting. In the back seat.
On all counts, the Crown Victoria delivers with authority.
5/03 and 30,000 miles on the clock. Has it fallen apart yet?
No. Not quite. But it isn't on par with our last Vic.
An intermittent ~50 MPH transmission shudder has plagued this CV (and, if Google searches are any indication, many others) for the last few months. It feels like something has disengaged in the drivetrain, and it takes a second of grinding to pop it back into place. Replacing the transmission fluid cut the occurrence frequency in half, but it's still a regular fixture every 5 to 10 minutes. Apparently there is a chip one can buy to completely ameliorate the problem.. but why should I have to do that?
This car really despises lock-to-lock steering maneuvers.
Something beneath the car is
somehow conflicting with the steering rack/wheels/tires/suspension/heavenly-essence, inciting a metallic ping whenever I turn the wheel hard over either direction.
And that's about it. Nothing else of interest comes immediately to mind.
We haven't had any head-smacking problems, like, say, the malfunctioning thermometer in my sister's 8 month old Chevy Malibu that invited a week of shop work through a veil of white smoke. 8 MONTHS, people. I mean, honestly.
Performance.
Floor it off the line and the Vic will hit 60 MPH in around 8 seconds. Ford's single overhead cam 4.6L V8 resides under the hood, an engine similar to that of the Mustang GT. A deep reservoir of torque is available early in the rev range, 220 HP a few thousand RPM later. Unlike my Impala, this engine likes to rev.
220 HP? For a 3900 lb. car? Don't kid yourself. The Vic will accelerate like a banshee from 3000 RPM on up, even more so with the HPP package that bumps horsepower to 235. Highway cruising and passing are effortless at any speed. Cops like it for good reason.
...and that reason has nothing to do with the left pedal. Sure, jam the brakes and this car will haul down as quickly as any other. 130 feet from 60 on reasonable asphalt, say. But it's feel I take issue with. The Vic's binders have an inch or two of loose slop before anything happens, and then a sudden grabby feeling as the pads begin to bite. How hard one shoves the pedal doesn't seem to correlate to how quickly she'll stop.
So how 'bout handling?
Well I'm glad you asked.
I wouldn't go so far as to say the suspension setup is archaic (read: Yes I would), but it isn't exactly performance car material in stock form. Actually,
rodiem has a very nice article about it right here:
http://www.epinions.com/auto-review-7713-3BF9EC2C-3A1FC974-prod6
The Vic rides as smoothly as one would expect. It handles potholes and various pavement irregularities with aplomb, but lord help you if you hit road undulation in the middle of a turn. A solid rear axle, floaty ride, and anything-but-independent rear suspension make for a car that unsettles easily under such circumstances.
Happily, light steering with a slight on-center dead spot makes corrections easy at speed. No, let me say that again.
Light steering with a slight on-center dead spot. You can drive the Vic with a single finger. Even a pinky finger. While parking. It's irrelevant, the wheel is just as easy to turn at 5 MPH as it is at 80. Steering feel compared to a BMW is.. who am I kidding. Steering feel compared to a dump truck is absolutely stellar. Really, no dump truck comes close. You can tell you're driving on pavement, whether or not that pavement has bumps and ruts, and if you've accidentally veered onto the median. It's plenty for the application.
Commence handling rant...
The biggest problem with this car from a driver's perspective is that it doesn't have a sense of place. You're not so much driving as much as
piloting. This massive hood looms out in front, no matter how high you move the electric seat. The wheel is absurdly easy to turn at any speed and it doesn't load up at all, regardless of how close you may be to overwhelming the front tires. This overpowered-by-a-sneeze steering mechanism also causes a bit of wandering at nearly any speed.
Now, I can't fault absolute grip. Compared to my Impala (or any front-driver, for that matter), this car could just as easily be running slicks. Dare I make reference to the oddly similar Viper? Superlative absolute limits, no idea where the hell they are.
...conclude handling rant.
A quick note on
winter driving: the standard Michelins mounted on a RWD car just don't cut it in snow. It takes two tries to get the wildly fishtailing Vic up my driveway on the rare occasion that we experience cold weather in GA. I've never actually tried this in my 2WD Suburban. I like our mailbox as it is, standing up.
The transmission?
Personally, I drive as though the throttle were an on/off switch. The 4 speed automatic hates me for it. You can tell when you've pushed the Vic too hard; the engine freewheels for a second, you can feel the car coast, then a sudden kick in the behind as the transmission reengages and the car shoots forward with a vengeance. But if you motor like a sane person, the automatic is one smooth operator.
I once drove 15 miles on rough pavement while my mother held half a birthday cheesecake balanced on the edge of flimsy cardboard carton. Both mom and cheesecake made it back in one piece, thanks more to the Vic than anything I did.
Is performance all you care about?
Yep. But there's much more to like about the Vic.
For one, a large trunk. Perhaps 'cavernous' would be a more apt description. It's quit possible to fit 3 full-sized suitcases into the main area; 4, if it weren't for the spare tire. Entire neighborhoods have been lost in the depths of our trunk. When we roadtrip, my Dad packs a years worth of beef jerky and a Mazda Miata in the sidewells for good measure.
Interior space nearly equals that of the boot. I'm about 6'3". This is the only car that has a back seat I can comfortably use, exception given only to Nissan's Maxima. Side bolstering is almost nonexistent on either bench, although I can't say I really want it when I'm driving a girl around. Ford's only lapse in quality control appears when you check the leather option. I can see yellow foam stuffing around the seatbelt mounts, which have conveniently sheared away from the leather around them. Honestly.. I don't care... but the aesthetic lawn gnome inside me doesn't much like looking at it.
Styling is subjective. I think the car is devastatingly handsome in black. A squashed front end marred previous Crown Vics, but the post-1998 models have been blessed with a prominent-but-rounded chromed front grille. It's actually quite nice. Combined with a wide and upright stance, clean rear styling, and new-for-2002 16" rims, the Vic has what few other cars attain:
Understated Presence.
It's just plain cool. In black with the HPP package and a slightly more raucous exhaust note, it's Impala SS cool. Apparently, I'm not the only one with this opinion; Ford is introducing a hybrid Grand Marquis in 2003 with the Vic's hindquarters and a 300 HP engine from their in-house tuner Mustang, the SVT Cobra. It'll sticker for a hair over $30,000.
If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
I've appraised the '02 Marquis, the Crown Vic's Mercury twin, from a slightly different and more comprehensive perspective here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_48691252868
As a daily driver, the Vic will handle just about anything you throw at it. Parking is a pain, but you get used to piloting the largest car in Ford's lineup after a little practice. Gas mileage hovers around 20, and the stock stereo isn't bad at all.
What can I say? In this size bracket, Ford reigns supreme.
CarsBelowInvoic e
