I looked for several months to find this car. This 82 has been well maintained and garage kept. Interior looks like new. Yes, it was driven by a little old lady. Had 104.000 miles and know has 125,000. I love this car. Very comfortable seats. Has good handling and a great highway ride. Holds the road well at highway speeds. 5.0 engines has plenty of torque for highway passing. Very well built for domestic. Handles as good and performs as well as my 2000 Altima.

Gas mileage in town. Only impresses people who know.

Overall, this is a fine automoble. (In 82) Ford advertised it could compare to a Rolls.

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Drove a 2001 and there is very little difference. The new one has a little better off the line pickup. Better bet $$$$ is a used, well maintained car. Should not be too hard to find. 5.0 can be easily modified for more horsepower if the original ever wears out.

responsive, roomy, attractive, larger wheel size was the best improvement ever. lots of everything for a relatively low price

this was fixed after 94, the piston rings in the 91-94 4.6 liter v8 went soft after about 70,000 miles. there was no performance problem, but it sure caused a lot of smoke-especially when taking off from an idle. the check engine sensor would clog up and cause the idiot light to go off-i had it fixed once, but gave up on it. all the nylon sprockets on the power window regulators gave out-275 bucks apiece to fix. all of these dont take away from my opinion of the car.

i have driven the crown vic since 1995, first the 1992, then the 1994, then the 1997-all as leo. i drive a 94 as p.o.v. that i literally bought from a lil ol lady in december 1998. there was 63k on the meter-currently 115k. i have replaced brakes myself, given regular maintenance, put new goodyear radials on it, but other than what i've listed in weaknesses, it has never been on a jack! i have never ever ever been disappointed with the performance. i have seen these vehicles poorly maintained (no oil on dipstick at beginning of shift checks!) abused, sworn at-even shot at, but they will not die-die-die! i am thinking of calling my next one "christine". this cars' a workhorse, whether it gets your groceries or your criminals. you ask and it will gratefully give, without complaint. i am currently workin a deal for a 98...when i turn in my 94, there'll be tears on the steering wheel!

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lumina, caprice, olds ciera, pontiac j2000. i have driven all of these as leo-no comparison at all. my best car experience that even comes close was my wifes' 85 trans am-all the power without the room

Powerful, Sturdy

The electronic overdrive module in the transmission was malfunctioning when I purchased the vehicle. I had the repair estimated at $2,000. The car would nuetral out when I went passed 40 mph on the highway because of this problem. I had to hit the O/D button on the shifter to turn off the overdrive so I could accelerate past 40 mph. To add, Ford replacement parts are very, very expensive! They wanted $700 for a new interior door panel w/o the electronic controls(power lock, window buttons). They wanted $3,650 for a new, unpainted, plastic, front bumper. JUST THE PLASTIC PIECE!!

I know Ford has a recall list. But, this transmission problem is not on their list. I have heard this problem before with the CRN VIC's that have electronic O/D. If you have this problem, take it to Ford and complain.
Please e-mail me, TMGG0927@aol.com I am building a case against Ford!

Thank You

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Fantastic looks and incredible ride. Smooth and quiet.
Good value for the money.
Some problems, but nothing major.
Good mileage for a big car.
Seats adjust to nearly any position.
Great sound system.
Relatively quiet engine.

Lack of foot support.
Lack of storage spaces.

I really love this car, but I would not recommed it for driving long distances, or long periods of time. Even though there is plenty of leg room, there is no for the driver to prop his or her left foot. I don't know how others cope with this but it puts a terrible strain on my knee when driving for more than half an hour. Also, I don't know how tall drivers deal with the lack of sufficient head room. I am approximately 5'6" and my head seems awfully close to ceiling. Yet lowering the seat worsens the foot and leg problem. The interior of the car looks great, but there is plenty of room for improvement. The fuse box cover, the glove compartment door latch, and the bottom of the dash have all either fallen off or loosened at some point. Another problem is the lack of places to stash things. There is no place for tapes, CD's, and other little goodies that most people keep in their cars. This is definitely NOT the car you want to take on a cross-country trip. I'm sure the designers of the Crown Victoria did not intend for it to be a workhorse, but I, for one, hate leaving all of my little creature comforts on the passenger seat. These problems may seem minor but collectively they take away from a potentially wonderful driving experience.
I have had to replace the fuel pump, and at around 50,000 miles I needed some brake work, but these things should be expected as a car gets older.

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Very powerful V8 for its size. Car can fly even with all its weight. Handles excelent.

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Ford made this Crown vic with a very powerful 281 4.6L V8. Even at its size it will fly. Very powerful fun car to drive.

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1994 Crown Vic police

It has a 3.55 rear axle ratio, rear air suspension, thicker rear anti-roll bar (21mm), dual exhaust, comfortable seating for 5, tight steering (a full sized car should not feel that great!!! It's like driving a FWD Escort except you have 4200 lb. under you), soft suspension, and excellent braking. It has dual piston calipers up front with 12.4" disc brakes, and a single piston disc brake in the rear. Stopping distances are about 120-150 ft for a 60-0 mph stop, depending on road conditions.
0-60mph in about 8.55 seconds, gas mileage is around 14-16 mpg in the city and 18-21 on the highway. This is with the Handling and Performance Package/Police Interceptor. The guys with the base Vics and the puny 2.73s will get 18-21 mpg in the city and 25-35 mpg on the highway.

The Handling is SUPERB thanks to the Watt's Linkage. A lot of smaller Imports try to take me on in the turns and curves, but the Vic outhandles them all. They have to brake in a turn while I can take a 90 degree turn at 45-50 mph with my foot jamming down the brake (ABS is a wonderful thing).

I have the all speed electronic traction control, and it works good only in the rain. Otherwise, turn it off!!!

I do like the factory equipped transmission and power steering oil coolers. You get a 24,000 GVW (that's what I heard it has, if anything it's greater than 19,000 GVW and less than 28,000 GVW) stacked plate ATF cooler with a thermostatic bypass valve - the radiator is NOT used. The power steering oil cooler is a tube/fin heat exhchanger.
For what its worth, these are the same coolers used on the Police Interceptors, except the civilian Crown Vics do not have the SVO/PI engine oil cooler.

The transmission is excellent - the 2000 model comes with the 11.25" torque converter so you can take it to 5000 RPMs and above. As long as you lock out the OD around town, you should be fine.

The average lifespan for the Crown Vic is about 150,000 miles to 250,000 miles with normal maintenance and abuse. Again, this is not your ordinary Japanese import with a puny and frail FWD transaxle and a cheap engine that's missing 4 cylinders and about 3 liters of displacement.
The Crown Vic has a 4.6L SOHC V8 producing 215 hp @ 4500 RPM and 285 lb-ft torque @ 3000 RPM, and a 4R70W transmission w/ a 8.8" rear axle with a 3.55 final drive ratio. This is heavy duty stuff! Try jumping a curb with an Accord.

It needs a 3.73 or 4.10 rear axle ratio, 2.5" dual exhaust with dual x-pipe crossovers, better mufflers, Police Interceptor springs all around, Heavy-Duty Bilstein shock dampeners, polyurethane bushings, boxed rear control arms, and LESS chrome.

The engine is too quiet when you first drive it home. But if you treat it very nicely it'll remain that way. I, on the other hand, treated it like any other sports car. Wide open throttle everywhere, jackrabbit starts, stoplight "races", wide open throttle shifting (it shifts from 1st to 2nd at 5250 RPM), etc. It also has a speed limiter set at 105/106 mph. The Police Interceptor can run 130 mph to 140 mph if you remove the limiter.

The suspension is TOO soft - it was designed for an older person w/ a weak back or something. I had to install Heavy Duty Bilstein shocks in the rear to get better handling, and Gabriel Gas Ryder Light Truck shocks in the front.
It needs the stiffer Police coil springs in the front.

The exhaust is too quiet, apparently some older folks don't like the Mustang GT exhaust sound so Ford had to drop in resonators and super restrictive mufflers.

It needs the 99-01 Mustang GT cylinder heads and camshafts for 260 hp and 302 lb-ft of torque. Meaning, it needs more hp and a better suspension.

First, the Crown Vic is NOT a mid-sized or a compact, it's a FULL SIZED, RWD, V8 SEDAN. Usually its classified as a luxury car, but never a mid-sized or compact. That's your average Import.

I would definitely recommend the Crown Vic if you're looking for comfort, performance, safety, and durability.

Let me ask you something, when have you seen a cop car stall out or die while in pursuit? Not bloody likely, but you do see plenty of Dodge mini-vans, SUVs, and imports have plenty of powertrain problems.

For the guys that like to modify their cars, the Crown Vic can be made to do 260 hp at the flywheel with the GT heads and camshafts, after all the Crown Vic has the same engine as the Mustang GT, only with different cylinder heads and camshafts.

The trunk is HUGE, and you can seat 5 people comfortably.

The stock tires are garbage so plan on replacing them asap.

If you're looking to buy a Vic, plan quickly, the Crown Vic might not be available for civilians starting 2002 (MIGHT not be, Ford is making a lot of plans to get rid of it). Sales for the Vic have dropped significantly, and soon you'll only be able to buy the Grand Marquis (Mercury's Crown Victoria) which has TOO much chrome.

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I had a 1988 Dodge Aries with the 2.5L I4 engine, and I have a 1981 Ford Thunderbird with the 5.0 and the AOD transmission.

The Crown Vic out handles and out-steers the T-bird, but is comparable to the Aries (tight steering, precise cornering, etc). In no way, shape, or form does the Crown Vic handle for its size.

Safety, durability, and room are this vehicles strong points.

EGR (emissions equipment) problems.

Surpisingly good fuel economy with this much power. We typically get between 22 and 24 MPG highway, and 19 to 20 'round town. Our car, purchased used in early 1998 now has 192,000 miles on it and NO major components have been touched! New thermostat, belts and tensioner 2 years ago, and new power steering pump last summer. We still have not spent $1000.00 on service and repairs, and it's been just over three years! (Yes that includes tires and brakes once each). We are currently considering trading up to a 1998 CV probabally a used police so we can pull our small boat and have a newer car. Have heard about some coolant leakage problems from the intake manifold area on the 1998 and 1999 models, we'll have to check into that before we buy.
It's the ONLY American car for us (family of 5), but we cannot swallow the new cost.

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Volvo, Mercedes, Oldsmobile. Equal or superior except for Volvo is more reliable and equally safe.

Car handles like a dream. Power & acceleration much better than 302. Extreemly durable, even with 130,000 Trooper miles before I got it.

Fuel economy is non-existant, but you should expect that with this kind of car. Grey metallic clearcoat paint peeling

This car has been a daily driver since I bought it. It is unique in combining creature comforts & size with power & handling. A new engine is in the works as this is written, & it will be repainted when the motor work is complete.

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89 Grand Marquis same lousy paint, could run faster. 86 Grand Marquis, Same but not as bad as the 89

Excellent ride and handling

Transmission/rear end/processor problems. Early production 2001 vehicles had 3.55 rear end installed with the performance package. Had major problems during first 2,000 miles of operation . Vehicle would kick out of overdrive and transmission light would flas. Could not reset overdrive unless I pulled over to the side of the highway and shut vehicle down and restarted and operated okay until the next time it did it and I would have to go through the same procedure again. Transmission would hesitate and then slightly overspeed when shifting into 3rd and 4th gear. At extremely slow speeds in traffic the transmission would clunk when going into 2nd and 3rd gear.Highway gas mileage was never over 20 mpg. Spent many hours in Ford agencies trying to effect repair but they were not able to fix problem. Ford agreed there was not a fix at the present time for the problem and swapped me out for a new Crown victoria in April of 2001. New vehicle now has a 3.27 rear end installed with the performance package and to date I have not had "any" of the problems that I experienced with the first 2001 vehicle.

I am still a solid Crown Victoria owner in spite of the problems experienced with the first 2001 vehicle. I cannot in good conscience down grade the vehicle rating because of a manufacturing problem. I have been totally satisfied with the ride, handling and performance of the newer Crown Victoria.

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Big, powerful, well-handling ride. This car rides like a Lincoln Town Car, but handles much better. Roomy interior, easily accessible dashboard controls, comfortable seats, sharp-looking ride, and not too bad on gas for a big V8.

None that I can see. However, check the trunk regularly for small families that may be dwelling there!

I have had this 98 Crown Vic for almost a year now. I bought it from a private owner. There were approx 27k mi on the vehicle. I upsized the tires to 235/16's to add a bit more bite to the road. Looks cool and does improve handling somewhat. What can I say, I love this car. It's fast, comfortable, handles well, quiet, and the gas milage isn't bad for a cruiser of this size. I'm looking to get another one...mabey a "97 that I can trick out a little. I highly recommend considering a Crown Vic if you're looking for a V8 rear-wheel drive sedan.

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95/96 Chevy Caprice can't compare to the Vic....I don't care what the cops say.