1992-2008 Mercury Grand Marquis: Road Test

Mercury's flagship, the Grand Marquis, offers adult-size space front and rear with limousinelike entry and exit. Extra room is what you expect with the Grand Marquis, and you get it. There's over 20 cubic feet of cargo space in the deep trunk, but much of the volume is in a center well that doesn't easily accept bulky objects. Under the hood sits Ford's overhead camshaft V8, which provides the car with more than adequate amounts of horsepower and torque. The engine is also quiet and enables the Grand Marquis to accelerate the way you expect a large car to do. Stoplight launches aren't exactly the best, but highway passing power is more than ample. We averaged a mediocre 17.3 mpg, with nearly half of the driving on highways and expressways. Marauder V8s move out with more authority--reminding us of the mid-90s Chevy Impala SS models. Surprisingly, we averaged 17.6 mpg with the high-output V8, but premium-grade fuel is required. Steering on base model is feather-light, devoid of feel, and base suspension still tends to be on the soft side, so try to find a model equipped with the optional Handling Package, which includes a rear air suspension, larger stabilizer bar, tuned suspension parts, dual exhausts, a 3.27 rear axle ratio, and larger 225/60R16 tires mounted on alloy wheels. The beefed-up suspension helps reduce body roll and gives the car better cornering grip. Marauder models hold the road much better and have sharper steering, but their performance tires are not suited for winter driving.

Value for the Money
The Grand Marquis stacks up just fine against its rivals from GM: the Buick Roadmaster and Chevrolet Caprice, both of which were eliminated in 1997. Overall, however, we recommend some of the more efficient front-drive full-size sedans, such as the Buick LeSabre, Pontiac Bonneville SSE, Chrysler LHS, and Dodge Intrepid.