2011 FORD Crown Victoria

Crown Victoria - a greatly under appreciated car

Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 5

I bought my 2011 Crown Victoria used with 35,000 miles on it about 3 years ago. The car now has 65,000 miles on it and the only items that have needed attention are 4 new tires and a new battery. Regular oil changes with synthetic oil every 6,000 miles. People complain about how plain the car is, especially the interior. I must say that I enjoy this. No built in navigation system that breaks (very expensive fix) or requires purchase of updates (again, expensive). No built in control of everything system (see Ford Connect). If you have used the current Ford Connect system, Acura Navigation system or BMW iDrive system, then you know just how terrible they are and how very expensive they are to fix when they stop working (and they will). The seats are comfortable, the car handles very well (for a vehicle of its size), the A/C is fantastic and it is a fantastic open road car. My driving is 75% city/ 20% highway. The car handles very well in the city. The car rides fairly firm at low speeds and is a bit more floaty at speed. I drive the car rather hard and get 15 MPG city and 24 MPG highway. Not bad for a heavy V8 whose driver has a lead foot. The Good: Little electronic integration. Few 'high end' gadgets to break (and fix) very simple mechanically very inexpensive to fix good ride in town and on interstate comfortable seats very powerful HVAC gets around just fine in snow WITH snow tires The Bad: The cup holders are a very sick joke The auto HVAC system can be annoying to use (can be difficult to find the 'right' temperature) The radio is..um..not good. An aftermarket unit would be a good investment. The tow rating is kind of low for a vehicle of this size While the 4.6 V8 is a nice unit, something bigger would have been nice like most RWD vehicles, the car can be tail happy in rain/snow -- but this can add to the fun if you know how to drive I am very happy with this car. I have seen Crown Victoria cabs in NY with over 1 million miles on them. This bodes well for me keeping this car for the next 10 years.