Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

[LoneRanger]

Like ZZMan, I drive them daily, albeit not in a patrol capacity anymore (xferred to admin unit after promo last year, hey its dayshift). I don't see the attraction some people have to them, myself. When I worked investigations I had an '03 light blue unmarked for a take-home unit for approx 3 yrs. Although we were allowed to drive them around the county on our off-duty hours, I often left it parked at home and drove my personal car because I like driving and the art of the machine and the Vic never impressed me a lot. Big yacht-like feel that the old full size Chevy Caprices didn't have so much, at least not to me. I usually take one of the line cars (fleet squads) to lunch by grabbing a key from the patrol sgt's office. Honestly, our '08's that have only 24 - 30K miles so far are all rattle traps, hitting a railroad crossing launches the interior into a symphony of plastic on plastic creak or chattering, and this in cars without a prisoner partition installed. The seats are the cheapest feeling thing you can imagine, although the cloth they use front seats is rugged and durable. One of them, I went to grab the mic to respond to the dispatcher once, and the mic holder was really tight-- it was mounted to the dash between steering wheel and pullout ashtray assembly-- well the entire dash trim piece pulls loose from the driver side end before I can get the mic holder bracket to let go of the mic.

I don't know, they're good for what they are used for-- police/taxi where you want a body-on-chassis platform that is inexpensive to repair and maintain, but the quality is only average at best. I'm not slamming them nor the Vic lineup-- I'm sure the quality is better on the consumer versions. Our dept. tried in 2001 and 2002 some of the FWD Impala's Chevy built up as a police pkg. Transaxles didn't hold up for squat. The rest of the car and the engine were okay, but the FWD GM transaxle was not ready for prime time or I guess not ready for severe service.

My $0.02 from the inside.

 

[sparkplug]

I love Crown Vics. I would love to own a 05 or newer one. I've had a 96 CVPI for a long time and she just started to rust out. Very comfortable and gets great mileage for a tank.

 

[Buffman]

a charger has a higher top speed than the CVPI mainly because the CV has a worthless driveshaft that vibes. It is faster in the quarter mile, but even then the 5.7 hemi chargers will only run low 14s in showroom condition (not adding police equip). Unless the police are tromping around in Z06s, they're not going to "catch" any sports bike, given an experienced rider, and no use of a helicopter or reinforcements.

 

[Oldswagon]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Buffman
better off with a 94-96 LT1 caprice/roadmaster/impala

Meh, a Termi-swap Vic would rape one

That's a stupid comparision. Spend the same amount of money on a Caprice that you did to do that Crown Vic swap, and you'll be just as fast with the Caprice. Caprices have there issues too (Optispark to name one), but that's not the topic of discussion here anyway.

Like ZZMan and Loneranger, I drive these cars on a daily basis. I have more miles behind a Crown Vic than any other model of car. Overall, they are excellent vehicles, lots of room (I am very tall), decent power, decent gas mileage (for a V8 powered car), and I'd say above average reliability. Our cars see extreme use, so they are in the shop regularly, and parts break often. Suspensions, transmissions and brakes are the highest wear components on our cars. However, they are very tough and it's surprising the abuse they can take.

Under normal use, I am sure you'd see much less maintance and problems, but don't expect zero problems.

Handling is excellent for a 4200 lb nearly 18 foot car. Stick to the 2003 and newer models, chassis upgrades are worth it. Our 2003's did have lots of suspension issues. Brakes are decent, but will fade under extreme use. Engine power is okay, good top end but very little bottom end punch. Traction in snow is okay with snow tires, not good with all seasons. The biggest issue I find with these cars is they are VERY prone to oversteer skids (with the traction-lok rear). I have NEVER driven a car that is as tail happy as these cars are in the snow, and I have only owned RWD cars and trucks all my life. It can be fun, but sometimes it's just annoying. I'd invest in some decent snow tires if you see winter in your area.

Build quality on these cars is okay, not great. Body panel fit and interior fit is okay at best. The dash and door panels use a lot of hard cheap plastics, but for fleet use that's what you want. The seats are not great, and I find offer poor support. Power seat adjustment is a necessity to get comfortable as I find they sit too low otherwise. The seat backs are not very strong and will flex without a cage.

Personally, I'd avoid a use patrol car, and try to find a detective or fire used CVPI. Not only are patrol cars abused, they also can see some pretty nasty people and bodily fluids over their liftime. That's enough to keep me from ever buying one.

And for what its worth, I much prefer a Crown Vic to a Charger. The V6 Charger is slower (acceleration) than a CVPI. The Hemi blows the doors off a LT1 Caprice with ease, but in reality it's more power than is needed in 90% of police situations.

Furthermore, in Ontario, police pursuits are prohibited with motorcycles, so it doesn't matter how much faster the bikes are than a Charger (and I agree, a Charger wouldn't stand a chance anyway).

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Oldswagon
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Buffman
better off with a 94-96 LT1 caprice/roadmaster/impala

Meh, a Termi-swap Vic would rape one

That's a stupid comparision. Spend the same amount of money on a Caprice that you did to do that Crown Vic swap, and you'll be just as fast with the Caprice. Caprices have there issues too (Optispark to name one), but that's not the topic of discussion here anyway.


RELAX! It was a joke!

But it IS viable

look at the Marauder! Obviously the Termi engine will swap in there without issue. There are two Termi engines in the GTA for sale right now, one complete, the other a longblock and both are cheap (5,500 bucks with 500Km on one). A Mustang tuner who used to work for Steeda in Milton had a set of twins on his stock Termi setup (HP Turbo setup) and it made 750RWHP on pump gas in daily driver trim; 850+ RWHP on the dyno for "look what it will do" pulls. The fact that it is a factory boosted app and you don't have to build an engine to handle boost is a HUGE plus here.

Not saying the Caprice can't be built; it obviously can, but the only factory-boosted engine that I can think of is that from the ZL1, and you sure aren't picking up one of those for cheap. And unless I'm mistaken (possible for sure), the LSx engines were not used in the Caprice, only the LT1, correct? Meaning some additional work would be necessary.

I think the Termi-swap would be cheaper, but both can sure be a whole lot of fun!!!!

 

[Oldswagon]

I wasn't unrelaxed, tone doesn't translate well via the keyboard. I was just pointing out that it was a poor comparision, and not really that valid to this thread. Yes, some like the Caprice better (like that one poster), and both cars can be made fast with mods.

The thing with the LT1 and the Caprice is that you don't need a boosted engine to make serious power. The LT1 can be modded with a supercharger (there are lots of kits), but if you want the serious power numbers your talking about, a big block swap is very easy. I don't know what the cost difference would be, and I don't really care. Both cars can be modded to be much faster than stock relatively easy, with or without an engine swap. Enough said.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

If I didn't drive a Toyota Corolla for the gas mileage, I would most certainly drive a Crown Victoria police interceptor (with two spotlights, of course!!).

 

[pidster]

Never owned one myself but they are very comfortable and spacious, easy to see out of all sides, and felt quite crisp and responsive (handling as well as powertrain) for a car of that size. The owner never had any major issues, forget the year/exact mileage but was over 300,000km, couple parts neeeded replacing I think a fuel pump and alternator, maybe a starter besides the usual brakes/tires. He changed oil every 6-7k km, all other fluids/filters on time.Built like a Tank is the impression you get looking underneath.

All in all, he loves his car. If I had $$$ for a second car I'd be looking for one myself. Short of a really good quality luxury sedan this is the least tiring car, for drivers and passengers alike on an all-day highway trip. Shame we won't be getting new ones anymore.

 

[andrewg]

I've had two panther platform vehicles. One was a 2001 CV, the other is an '04 Grand Marquis. Neither car is a 'granny' car unless you are a granny. Ride is very comfortable and the handling very good for a large, heavy vehicle. MPG's are really good on the highway....especially for a V-8. Drivers seat can sag a bit prematurely but over all the interior can be pretty nice. Safety factor in accidents is good. The 4.6 engine, if properly taken care off, can give you 200k plus miles easily. I know of fleet vehicles with over 3-400k on them. Reliability is in the upper regions.
If you could find one on a lot that wasn't a previous police vehicle, in my opinion, you would be better off. You can find many with around 100k on them very cheaply....and they won't be as abused as a cop car.

 

[SteveSRT8]

The Panther is a durable car. One of the most durable ever made.

But it is far from the handling standard for 4 doors. Even in police models.

Pretty sluggish unless heavily modded, then the question becomes Why?

Leave it alone and drive it, but don't fool yourself imagining performance.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: sifan
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/cto/963860331.html

I am tired of those tailgaters, and thinking of buying an used Ford Crown Victoria Police interceptor. From the Internet the owners claim these cars offer above average reliability and excellent handling due to the police package (heavy duty components and suspension). The gas mileage is very good for a V8 engine (25 MPG on highway)


If you decide to get one make sure its a one driver take home and not a pool car that everyone uses....If you can find a supervisior car that would be awesome...Try to get the service records...A Black and White one will definitely keep the tailgaters off your bumper and when you pull out onto a busy highway someone will always let in immediately...BTW I got 26 MPG on my last trip with the a/c on...A friend got a supervisiors 00 CVPI a couple of years ago [former Miami-Dade] and all is well.

 

[SteveSRT8]

we have purchased these cars in the past from county fleets that were used as transportation by school board employees. Real police Interceptors.

They were really in nice shape and had regular maintenance.