Ford Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor - DAILY DRIVER
Discussion
This is my readers cars thread on my 2008 Ford Crown Victoria P71 Interceptor (CVPI) – I tend to go on at great length in a lot of my posts, so I’d like to apologise in advance for the novel you’re about to read. While there are occasional photos dotted throughout the wall of text, if all you’re you’re not interested in reading my post there will be a bunch of photos at the end.
THE INTRO
I’ve always loved American cars, everything from a 1930s Duesenberg to a modern-day Hellcat, but whilst I’ve always loved them, I’d always insisted that I’d never ever own one. I’ve said that about a lot of cars I’ve owned though.
I said I’d never own an MX-5 because it was a hairdresser’s car. I bought one and loved it.
I said I’d never own a Boxster because it’s a poor-man’s Porsche. I bought one and loved it.
I said I’d never own a Mustang because they fall apart and can’t go round corners. I bought one and love it.
Funny how tastes change though, isn’t it?
In a day and age where every car on the road has the same bland styling, bland engines, bland interiors, bland colours, bland everything, American performance cars really do stand out now and have genuinely become the only thing to really interest me anymore. Whilst I naturally wouldn’t turn down a Ferrari F8 Tributo, I am genuinely more interested in something like a Shelby GT500.
I had spent 2 years saving to replace my 987.2 Boxster S with an F10 BMW M5 but a test drive left me so disappointed. It was fast but I felt nothing while driving. It pushed me in the direction of a sixth generation Mustang which I ended up buying and ultimately opened my eyes up to the prospect of actually owning more American cars – not just admiring them from a computer screen.
THE BACKSTORY
I’ve always loved the Crown Victoria. I have fond memories of being in NYC Taxi’s as a kid in the late 90s and early 00s with my dad, and as a massive movie and TV nerd I’m so used to seeing them on screen. They’ve just become so iconic. Even though I grew up and live in the UK, my mind instantly thinks of a P71 whenever someone says, “police car”. As the years went on, my admiration for the CV grew but I never expected to own one.
A few years ago, I was running a £500 Daewoo Nubira which in some ways did remind me of a CV – I even referred to it as ‘my’Crown Victoria’ on my readers car thread, see the extract below:
It all started back in January, a few months after buying my first house, I found myself in a surprising situation where I had a decent chunk of money saved up thanks to a massive pay rise just before I’d moved in. I can’t remember exactly why I’d thought about Crown Vic’s at the time, but I’d been searching for them and saw a 2002 P71 CVPI for sale on eBay so I messaged the seller.
It was down in Cornwall (and I live in the southeast) so a long way for me to go just to view it, I wasn’t overly serious about the purchase but engaged in a few emails with the seller. It was a genuine P71 car, with all the police livery, sirens and lights. The interior had all the police kit, and the boot even had a shotgun rack. It had a push bar/nudge bar (although not the style I prefer) and for a 130k mile, 19-year-old service car it did look good, but I felt it was massively overpriced.
After a chat with the other half, I made the seller a genuine offer, but I’ll admit it was probably a little insulting. The car was up for £10,500 and I offered £7,000. He dropped to £9,000. I offered £7,500 but he declined and it sold not long after to someone else.
Looking back, I am relieved because it really wasn’t worth that money to me and it really wasn’t an appropriate time for me to have bought it. There were others for sale, however they all seemed to be too expensive and looked very tatty in the photos, so I didn’t even follow those ads up.
Over the following months, I continued to look in the classifieds but due to the rarity in the UK they didn’t come up much and ones that did often had 150K+ on them which whilst I know isn’t a problem if they’ve been well looked after, given I have no mechanical knowledge whatsoever, I didn’t want to be buying a car that was quite possibly on the verge of some big bills. I’ll take the punt on a £2,000 car but I can’t afford to do that at this value.
In early July, I stumbled across a 1973 Pontiac Grand Safari for sale, it was priced at £30,000 but looked to be in stunning condition. The vendor had offered me a PX for my Mustang, with cash my way. I viewed the car and fell in love. A 70s wagon is one of my dream cars. It was very, very tidy – one of the tidiest examples of these old land yachts in the world, I reckon.
I really did consider it but just wasn’t brave enough to trade in my Mustang and run a nearly 50-year-old 2.3 ton, 20 foot long, 7.5L V8 station wagon as a daily car. There was too much risk for me and given how clean it was, using as a daily would have probably ruined it. I took a step back and realised I wasn’t at that point in my life where I could throw that sort of money at something with the potential to be so ruinous.
With car values being so mental right now and the Mustang being worth a fair chunk more than I paid for it 2 years and 20,000 miles ago, the itch to buy something else still needed to be scratched. In addition to the Mustang, I also own a 2007 Suzuki Swift Sport track car:
This could be used as a daily (not that I’d want to), as well as an old Perodua Kenari shed which I could also daily, so being in a position where I could sell the Mustang, add in my savings and have potentially £40-45k for an impractical toy which made me broaden searches somewhat, I’ve always wanted a Morgan Three-Wheeler but just don’t think I’d use it that much, so moved on from that idea. I then briefly considered buying a DB9 largely because I’d love to own a manual V12 while I still can, but I opted against it because I felt I wouldn’t use it as a weekend car and unfortunately it just wouldn’t be appropriate to pull up to the office in every day.
So then I started looking at Ferrari’s. My ultimate dream car is an F40 but I can’t afford one of those. My ‘realistic’ dream car is a Ferrari 355, which you can’t get for £45k anymore. I could just about squeeze myself into a 348 though – and that is a car I feel would be special enough to be a weekend car.
Now, at this point I’ll say I’ve never lusted after a 348 – I do like them but the truth is a 355 is the one I really want. At 18 I told myself I’d have a Ferrari by the time I was 30. At the time everyone laughed at me. I’m 29 now, I’ve got a year left to achieve that unrealistic dream and the 348 was the most realistic way for me to do that (or a leggy 456 GTA but I’m definitely not brave enough for that).
The hunt for a Ferrari 348 began… And stopped almost immediately. I saw sense and realised that just because I could, it doesn’t mean I should. I started to look at 355’s instead, which I could afford with some finance. I’d worked out rough finance costs over 4 years, as well as researching what I’d need to put away each month to run one.
On paper, I could afford it. Just. But it would mean every penny I have left after my bills would be put into that car every month, for 4 years. As much as it upset me, I shelved the idea. I couldn’t stomach the thought of every penny being tied up for that length of time. What if an unexpected bill came in for the house? I’d be stuck, it’s silly to get caught up in that all for a car and would be irresponsible of me, even if it was to literally make one of my dreams come true.
You’re probably reading all this thinking “what are you on about, where is the Crown Victoria I clicked on this thread to see? I don’t want to read about some idiot bragging that he can afford a Ferrari!” and you’d be totally right for thinking that, but to be fair I did warn you that this would be a long thread and also, I can’t afford a Ferrari sadly.
So, throughout this whole Pontiac, Morgan, Aston Martin and Ferrari hunting period, I’d still been regularly checking out what Crown Victoria’s have been up for sale but there just weren’t that many due to their scarcity in the UK and while I didn’t go off the idea, I just never thought the stars would align and the universe would present me with the right car for the right price.
A couple of weeks ago though, another Crown Victoria appeared on my searches, on Facebook Marketplace of all places. The car looked pretty clean in the pictures, the ad was passable (I have unrealistically high standards), and the price seemed to be more realistic than most up for sale. Because I’d been looking at much more exotic metal, I wasn’t overly excited at the time but messaged the seller, nonetheless.
On Friday 23/09 he got back to me, saying unfortunately the car had been sold subject to payment/collection but to give him a call the next day to talk about the car in case it doesn’t sell. I was a little disappointed to hear that but agreed to call him anyway. The next day we had a 10-minute chat where he told me all about it, when it came to the UK, who owned it first, how long he has had it, what he has done to it – all the expected stuff. It sounded great and the disappointment really sunk in – that was “the one” but I’d got there too late, with the new owners due to collect the following day.
I checked in with the seller 24 hours later to see if the car had been collected – it hadn’t. The buyers had been unable to get fuel (this was at the start of the ‘shortage’ we’ve had) but were trying to sort something out.
On Tuesday 28th, the seller messaged me saying that the buyers had gone quiet on him, he considered the car up for sale again, so I said I’d come and view it at the weekend.
Saturday 2nd, I drove down there to have a look. It was the first one for sale I’d viewed in the flesh, so in truth I had nothing to compare it to – but in pictures alone it was leagues above the rest I’d seen. It was low mileage and had a low amount of engine idle hours which is quite important in these. During the test drive, the engine and gearbox seemed to be in good working order, no odd noises or anything to worry about. I’ve watched enough YouTube videos of what to look out for in these and throughout the entire viewing process my excitement had only increased more and more. This was the Crown Vic’ for me.
The car was up for £8,000. Based on how much these typically go for, it genuinely seemed like a fair price, all things considered. Thing is though, I don’t think these should be £8,000. To me, they’re a £5,000 car – for the best examples. If you want one though, you have to pay the going rate, so the negotiations began and after a few minutes we agreed on £7,300.
I am happy with the price I paid – but I still don’t think these should be selling for more than £5,000.
I picked the car up the next day, Sunday 3rd October 2021 and this is where my journey began with my Crown Victoria and now, after nearly 2,100 words, this thread can actually begin…
THE BASICS
My Crown Vic’ is a 2008 model which was built in Canada. It has a little over 89,000 miles on the clock, with under 2,000 engine idle hours. It is a genuine P71 Police Interceptor, which can be proved by the VIN and it was in service at the University of Birmingham, Alabama so probably wasn’t abused too much – though that also means it probably spent most of its time with drunk students in the back and not being used in some over the top police chase.
Over the course of its life, fleet sales made up for a whopping 90% of the Crown Victoria’s total sales with the majority of those going to police departments across the United States and were known as P71s.
The CV is a very simple car. It’s based on Ford’s Panther Platform which is an old school body-on-frame design from 1978, it uses the Ford AOD 4 speed automatic gearbox from 1980 and is powered by the 4.6 Ford Modular V8 from 1990.
Despite being manufactured up until 2011, the Crown Victoria really is the last of the classic American cars and whilst not as premium and upmarket as the Cadillacs of the 60s and 70s, it’s without doubt the last ‘land-yacht’ produced at just under 18 feet long.
It’s simple, robust design is what made it so well loved by the police, with many departments sad to see it phased out once production had ended, relucant to move on to the Charger and Explorer replacements which have ended up being more unreliable than the trusty old Crown Victoria.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT TO A REGULAR CROWN VICTORIA?
The P71 Interceptors have several upgrades over the civilian spec cars, some of which were department optional extras. The CVPI has an external oil cooler, marginally higher idle speed, more aggressive transmission shift points and the transmission itself is built for firmer and harder shifts.
The 2004–2011 Police Interceptors are equipped standard with an open 3.27:1 ratio rear axle with an optional traction-lock (Trac-Lok) 3.27:1 ratio rear axle or 3.55:1 ratio traction-lock rear axle also being available. My car has the optional 3.27.1 rear axle with the Trac-Lok LSD, giving it one of the most desirable rear ends among Crown Victoria enthusiasts. The 3.27.1 ratio was designed for highway use, with the 3.55.1 ratio designed for city use – again indicating that my car likely had a relatively easy life in sweet home, Alabama.
Another difference the P71 has against the civilian spec cars is Ford's "severe duty" shock absorbers that offer a stiffer ride than the standard Crown Victoria but are better suited to smashing up curbs and driving over areas where cars shouldn’t be driving. They also have black steel wheels with stainless steel (or chromed plastic) hubcaps. CVPIs have higher-rate coil springs, around 0.8 inches of additional ground clearance, thinner rear antiroll bars and they also come with T-409 stainless-steel, dual exhaust systems without resonators.
CVPIs came standard with manual cloth bucket seats but a velour split-bench seat was optional, with a power-adjustable driver's seat being optional on both the split bench and standard bucket seats – I do have the power seats option. The CVPI also has a calibrated 140 mph speedometer with ‘certified calibration’ meaning the speedometer would read ‘true’ speed, rather than running a couple of mph under like normal cars do.
THE ENGINE
While a police car powered by a 4.6L V8 might sound impressive, the figures suggest otherwise. Being one of the later examples produced, my CVPI has 250bhp at 4,900rpm and 297ib-ft at 4,100rpm with the motor redlining at just 5,750rpm. They’re not bad figures by any means – but they’re not great either, especially when the car weighs in at around 1,870kg giving it a rather measly 133bhp/ton.
The sprint from 0-60mph took around 7.5 seconds in the later years of the Vic’ and it’ll do a standing quarter mile in 16.29 seconds which whilst isn’t fast, it’s not slow either – especially for a nearly 2-ton cruiser with such ancient architecture. While peak power and torque do arrive late in the rev-range, the torque curve provides a lot of low-down grunt, developing around 63% of peak torque from just 1,500rpm. Planting your foot down does provide a noticeable surge of torque, although that sensation is quick to drop off.
The Ford modular V8 was fitted to a load of different cars throughout the years from pickup trucks to Koenigsegg’s and was available as a 2-valve SOHC, 3-valve SOHC with variable camshaft timing or 4-valve DOHC depending on the application. The Crown Victoria has the 2-valve version and is nearly identical to the version used in the SN95 Mustang, so this police car doesn’t just have a V8, it has a Mustang V8 – how cool is that! From what I’ve read online, a few cheap bolt-on mods will get you Mustang power. The 5.0 ‘Coyote’ V8 fitted to current generation Mustang is an evolution of that same modular V8 architecture, utilizing a 4-valve DOHC configuration and Ford's first implementation of its cam-torque-actuated twin Independent Variable Cam Timing in a V8 engine, providing improved power, fuel economy and reduced emissions.
Over the last 31 years, this engine design has evolved significantly, starting out with just 190bhp and 260ib-ft and now producing 480bhp and 420ib-ft in the US spec 2021 Mustang Mach 1. Cosworth have even tuned it to 500bhp and 430ib-ft for the fictional 2020 TVR Griffith.
To my knowledge the most powerful naturally aspirated variant of the engine is the 5.2L ‘Voodoo’ found in the Mustang Shelby GT350R, featuring a flat-plane crank configuration among other enhancements to produce a whopping 526bhp and 429ib-ft but the most powerful variant of the Modular V8, thanks to the help of a supercharger, is the 760bhp 625ib-ft 5.2L ‘Predator’ in the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 which utilized the more traditional cross-plane crank layout like all other Modular V8s.
THE GEARBOX
The P71 Interceptor uses the 1980 Ford AOD (automatic overdrive) transmission. This is a 4-speed automatic gearbox, with 4th gear being an overdrive.
The gearset design is based on the Ford "X" automatic transmissions used during the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
The CV uses the 4R75W 2003 revision of this transmission with a stronger ring gear that had 24 lugs, as opposed to 6, for the output shaft sensor to read off of, a new torque converter, a revised front pump assembly and a vehicle speed sensor that complements the output shaft sensor to improve shift quality and efficiency. These improvements allowed the 4R75W to handle more power while being more efficient and economical.
As you would expect, this relic doesn’t perform as well as a modern-day double clutch auto would. It shifts much slower or more lazily than most people are used to, however, it must be said that the shifts are incredibly smooth when you’re just cruising without much enthusiasm. There are no clunks when the box’ shifts up and down a ger, nor are there any worrying noises when you’re changing between Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive on the old-school and forever cool column-shifter. The gearbox suits the car well, although I have seen manual swaps of these for owners in the ‘States who track and rally their Crown Victoria’s.
The SN95 Mustang also had the AOD gearbox (albeit the pre-2003 4R70W version), which I cannot see suiting the car at all. While I’ve never driven an SN95 thus cannot say for sure, I imagine this gearbox would ruin the driving experience in a pony car like the Mustang.
THE CHASSIS
The Crown Victoria uses a not-so-sophisticated body-on-frame design with live rear axle suspension, which Ford dubbed the ‘Panther’ platform. Originally slated for discontinuation during the early 1980s, the Panther architecture was used for 33 model years, the longest-produced platform in North American automotive history.
Developed as a successor to the 1969 Ford chassis, the rear-wheel-drive Panther platform was used by the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury brands. Throughout its entire production life, all Panther platform vehicles were equipped with a V8 engine and the Modular V8 engine was the first overhead-cam V8 engine used in an American vehicle.
Although introduced in 1978, the Panther platform has undergone major changes along the way. Through its design life, it has been produced in three distinct generations:
The first generation was the only version produced in body styles other than four-door saloons and the only generation to use the Windsor V8 engine. The second generation had extensive redesigns of both the exterior and interior and saw the introduction of the Modular V8 engine. The final generation, which my Crown Vic is, featured frame and suspension redesigns and upgrades to improve handling among several other changes.
The Crown Victoria really was the last of the old fashioned American ‘Land Yachts’ and the last proper traditional full-sized saloon. The second-generation model I have, which debuted is 1998, was a foot longer than a long-wheelbase E38 7 Series of the same era – or 2 feet longer than an E39 5 Series.
In 1998, Britain’s best-selling car was the MK4 Fiesta which is over 5 feet shorter than a Crown Victoria. I appreciate they are in very different classes of car, but can you imagine how huge and imposing one of these CV’s would be driving down our roads in the late 90s!
THE EXTERIOR
Looks are subjective and I can totally understand how someone would look at the P71 and want to vomit – but personally, I love the styling and always have. Whilst I am not too fond of the first generation, the 1998 second-generation absolutely nailed the looks which didn’t really change at all until production wrapped up in 2011.
It has a very simple, clean design. It’s not styled for the sake of it – it was built largely with fleet sales in mind and therefore made to be simple, robust and with parts being easy to replace and that’s why I love the styling so much – because there isn’t any. It’s been designed for a purpose and that’s what I like about it, it isn’t a fashion accessory, it’s just a car.
To my eyes, what really makes this car look so good is the driver-side spotlight, the black steel wheels with chrome center hubs and of course the big, menacing push bar on the front.
These are the bits that really make it stand out as something special.
As you can see, my car is painted white like most ex-police interceptors and does not sport any police livery. Whilst adding some department decals would look undeniably cool, for a daily driver, I do prefer the more understated look my plain white car has. It means that car doesn’t just stand out for the sake of it but ends up being an “if you know, you know” kind of car.
Overall, the bodywork is in very good condition for its age and for the use it would have had. It isn’t perfect by any means, whilst it looks very clean in photos, there are various marks over several different panels but to me, those marks add to the history in a car like this. I wonder how they got there – if there is a story behind them. I doubt my car was involved in any exciting high-speed pursuits but it’s nice to pretend, isn’t it?
There is nothing I would want to change about the exterior, it looks just right to me – although one day it may well get some police stickers on it if it’s ever retired for weekend use.
THE INTERIOR
The interior is easily the weakest point of the car – but given that it is an American car, designed for fleet used, based on a 1970s platform, would anyone really expect it to be nice?
Even though it isn’t nice, I still like it. The seats themselves are very comfortable, although I’m not quite sure how they were ever considered to be ‘bucket’ seats as they offer no support whatsoever. The backing of the seat has stab-proof plating in which is cool.
The 2-spoke steering wheel is very ugly and very worn, I might eventually buy an OEM replacement if I can get hold of one.
There really aren’t many toys (although the toys it does have are exceptionally fun). The instrument cluster is very basic, with a simple speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge and temperature gauge, as well as an analogue dial showing what drive mode you are in.
It does have a digital mileage counter and trip computer, though it is very basic showing the cars mileage and your trip distance, although my Vic’ also has the optional “engine idle meter” integrated into the digital display, which shows hour many hours the motor has spent idling. My car has under 2,000 hours, which is very low. It’s said you don’t really want to buy a car with more than 5,000 idle hours.
Thankfully, I do have cruise control, which was a $225 option and it works perfectly, although has a minimum operating speed of 30mph.
The heater controls are as basic as they come but the car does have AC which still blows out ice-cold – probably the best AC I’ve ever had in a car. The heater also feels like a proper old car heater, it’s hard to explain what I mean by that but if you do understand, you’re probably smiling right now.
The head unit is ghastly. It’s a horribly double-DIN piece installed by the previous owner, who also uprated the speakers and put a small sub under the passenger seat. The original head unit was included with the sale. At some point, I will put a more tasteful Android-based screen in that has Android Auto functionality as I do miss having Android Auto already.
All 4 windows are electric, with there being a switch to lock/unlock all doors on both the driver and passenger side. The car also has electric mirrors.
It also has a trunk release mounted in the centre of the dash, only available in police spec cars, so that both the driver and passenger can open the boot quickly during a gunfight, to go and get the shotgun. It feels cool writing that, imagine what it’s like actually doing it!
You control the external spotlight via a handle on the A-Pillar. It’s easy to manoeuvre and it does work and is extremely bright. It is a little temperamental though.
The exciting aftermarket addition to my car is the police sirens. It has a Whelen system installed with various settings, including the classic ‘bull horn’ (which I pretty much use as my horn) as well as full police sirens with various tones. It’s tremendous fun and something I am so pleased I have despite not being bothered about when I first viewed the car.
Obviously, I wouldn’t dare use the sirens on the road, but they’re fun to show off to friends and family and they’re very, very loud. Ear-piercing loud, in fact.
The car also has a red ‘ticket’ dome light installed which would have been on the original police car. Being a red light, the officer would be able to write tickets in the dark, whilst also being able to see outside clearly.
The rear seats are comfortable, and you do have a decent amount of legroom. A lot of departments would have had a partition between the front and rear seats with vinyl or plastic rear seats – I would have liked that in mine, but ultimately my cloth seats work better for a general daily use car.
It also has the biggest boot I’ve ever had for a car.
BUT HOW DOES IT DRIVE?
How do you think an ex-police car that’s based on very old underpinnings drives? You’re probably right – but not as right as you might think you are! When you first drop into the big comfy seats and turn the key, the lazy, unstressed V8 burbles into life instantly. Whilst you can hear it rumble away, it doesn’t sound sporty or aggressive at all. Not even ‘nice’ – it just sounds like what it is – an engine. When you put it into drive and pull away, there is no drama at all as it effortlessly gains speed. In truth, I’ve not launched it yet – because I really didn’t buy for that, but under heavy throttle, it really does pick up speed relatively well and much better than the figures imply. You get so much torque low down that you never really feel that you’re out of the powerband.
When you’re rolling along and mash the throttle, you do have to wait for the gearbox to figure out what to do and kick down but when it does the surge of power is fairly satisfying, if short-lived.
I bought this car as a daily driver for my 15-mile commute. Doing 30 miles per day isn’t big mileage but I still wanted something soft and comfortable and automatic for the journey where I spend most of my time on the A127 and M25. Generally, I’ll sit at 60mph with cruise control on, never in a rush to get to work or even to get home and at this speed, the Crown Victoria does just fine. There is a little bit of wind noise, and the tyre noise is fairly loud (though I suspect better tyres would minimize this) but apart from that it’s pretty quiet, you can have a conversation without raising your voice. When you’re just driving sensibly, the gearshift is incredibly relaxed, smooth, and almost unnoticeable and it’s a breath of fresh air for me to be back in an auto as a daily driver. The heavy clutch on my manual Mustang made sitting in M25 traffic an absolute chore of an experience and it’s so nice not having to deal with that now.
At 70mph, you’re doing a smidge over 2,000rpm. I’ve not really had it above 80mph yet, but at that speed, it was as composed as you’d expect.
The handling, however, is somewhat surprising. I really expected this car to have the structural integrity of wet cardboard. A body-on-frame chassis with a live rear axle and nearly 2-tons to lug about isn’t exactly a recipe for Nürburgring lap records but credit where credit is due, the P71 holds the road a hell of a lot better than I had ever anticipated. It’s running 4 new tyres from a budget brand I have never heard of (and would never buy, personally) but despite that, grip is surprisingly good in both wet and dry conditions. Whilst I’ve not exactly gone to ‘ten tenths’, it’s had no trouble getting around corners at speeds it has no right to be going at! There is body roll, but not as much as you’d expect, it genuinely keeps fairly composed in the corners. I really don’t want this to be taken out of context though, I’ve done a few seasons racing and currently have a dedicated track car, while I am no driving God, I am an experienced driver and competent behind the wheel of a car, having qualified a tenth of a second behind Tiff Needell at Thruxton a few years ago, although I never raced him as my engine went pop in the last few minutes of qualifying. When I say the Crown Vic’ can handle, I’m not suggesting it has Elise levels of feedback, composure, or grip, but for a 14-year-old American car with 90k on the clock and such ancient, basic architecture I honestly think it’s mighty impressive, especially considering the stereotype American cars have when it comes to handling. Something I find quite amusing is that the civilian spec cars come with traction control, but the CVPI has it disabled from the factory, I can’t see myself getting into much trouble without it, even in the wet, but it does seem strange that a safety feature like that is disabled on a fleet vehicle.
While it is a heavy old beast, it doesn’t feel it at all. It feels quite light on its feet, changes direction rather sharply and so far, has handled everything I have thrown at it (which admittedly, isn’t much) remarkably well. The only complaint I have with the handling is the lack of support in the seats, so while the car itself remains composed in corners, the driver and passengers are flung about like there’s no tomorrow!
The brakes are also better than I’d initially anticipated, I haven’t tried any emergency stops but the heavier braking I have done has been quite good, stopping quickly in a controlled manor.
The ride is comfortable overall, it absorbs bumps and potholes reasonably well – while you can hear some crashing, you don’t really feel any of it. It’s no Rolls Royce but it’s still does a good job. The interior doesn’t really have any knocks, rattles, or squeaks. Some of the interior trim isn’t fitted very well but I suspect it was like that when it was new to be honest. Overall, it’s a nice place to sit for my drive to work, the fact it’s so barebones and basic inside compared to a modern car is very refreshing and relaxing. There is nothing to distract you, no touch screen that controls every function. It’s just… A simple honest, easy to use workhorse.
While it is a big car, modern cars really aren’t that much smaller. The Vic’ doesn’t seem too oversized on the roads. I’ve driven on some very tight B-roads and it’s been absolutely fine. Being left hand drive is quite handy in that regard, as you really can get right over on the very edge of the road, despite the fact it’s wider than my Mustang I find it easier to drive on narrow roads or through width restrictions and I became accustomed to left hand drive instantly, there was no settling in period like I expected. Parking is a bit of a pain, it’s way too long for our bays, so I do typically take up 2.
This is the part where I would normally talk about the fuel economy and general running costs but given that I’ve just bought it and haven’t even re-filled since my first fill-up, I can’t actually tell you what it is like on fuel. Not great, I suspect – but I am being optimistic given that on a run I’ll squeeze 40mpg out of the Mustang and have averaged 25.5mpg over the last 2 years.
Ford claim 14mpg City, 21mpg Highway with an average of 16mpg for the car – these are US miles though, so converted to imperial shows that theoretically I should be averaging about 19mpg which isn’t too bad really. VED is around £280 for the year and insurance through Adrian Flux has cost me £350 for the year.
I won’t service the car myself because I’m an incapable oaf who is not practical in any sense of the word, but there are several US Import specialists in my local area and from what I’ve read online, prices are generally low to run these. Rock Auto stocks virtually every part you could think of and they’re all cheap – I’m sure that for bigger parts it’ll be the shipping costs that will make up most of the invoice total.
WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT IT?
It’s a big, wallowy, thirsty, sluggish mess – just like me. So, what’s not to love?
In all seriousness, it’s an American police car that’s been in thousands of movies, it has a Mustang V8, sirens, push bar and a spotlight. To me, it’s almost impossibly cool and is one of those cars that everyone seems to love. I’ve been stopped for photos, people asking about it, constant stares etc. I didn’t buy it for that, but I’d be lying if I said didn’t like it – because of that, the car does feel special even though objectively it’s actually quite boring.
I love stepping out of my house and seeing it on the drive and I love seeing it’s reflection when I’m driving about.
I even love the name – the Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor. It’s just straight up cool.
Something also rather special, is some of the paperwork the car came with includes the original bill of sale with the options the purchasing police department ticked.
And to top it off, it even includes one of the shift sheets for the officers using the car – it’s a little worse for wear but its great to have.
WHAT DO I HATE ABOUT IT?
Hate is a strong word and I’ve not owned it long enough to truly hate anything yet, although I must point out that the wing mirrors are terrible. They’re far too small and I really am struggling to get them in a position I am happy with and as a result I tend to just look over my shoulder instead of using them.
The headlights are like candles, which is annoying but the spotlight more than makes up for it on country roads and has the bonus of being really fun to position and use.
Also, it has no cupholders, armrest or any centre console! There is a gap between the driveshaft tunnel and the seat where I can wedge a drink and it is fine, but it’d be nice to have some actual storage.
WHAT ARE MY PLANS?
To drive it! I have no interest in shows or showing it off. I bought it to use as a daily driver. To me it’s just a usable and ultimately disposable car. I do feel like I’ve genuinely managed to snag a good example, so I do hope it ends up being reliable, but my eyes are firmly open and prepared for the worst.
As previously mentioned, I would like to get a better-looking head unit installed and possibly a police spec centre console that has some cupholders and maybe a storage bin but that’s about it. As much as I’d love to bring it up to ‘as new’ cosmetically, given I’ll be daily driving it, it does seem a bit pointless.
I imagine I’ll have to get it undersealed though; it doesn’t seem to have any rust now, so I best not let it rot away any time soon.
The one thing I really want to do is contact the police department where it was in service to try and find out some more information about, what it was used for, if it was involved in any exciting chases and maybe even to try and get in touch and speak with the actual officers that drove it and maybe even trade photos with them – that would be truly awesome.
THE CONCLUSION
As you’ve figured out as I’ve rambled on for so long, so far I adore my Crown Vic’. It should make for a good, reliable and unique daily car. Cars like this, that have engines like this are dinosaurs so close to extinction and we only have a limited amount of time left with them. I’m in my late 20s so I imagine I’ll live to see the death of ICE’s on the public road.
I may not have the Ferrari 355 I’ve always wanted – but I am lucky enough to have one of my dream cars and I’m grateful for that and having two V8s on the drive is a wonderful feeling. My wallet isn’t so keen though.
Over 6,500 words later, that’s about all I have to say about my Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. I hope you’ve enjoyed the long read, I’ll finish it up with some more photos below.
Thank you for reading.
THE INTRO
I’ve always loved American cars, everything from a 1930s Duesenberg to a modern-day Hellcat, but whilst I’ve always loved them, I’d always insisted that I’d never ever own one. I’ve said that about a lot of cars I’ve owned though.
I said I’d never own an MX-5 because it was a hairdresser’s car. I bought one and loved it.
I said I’d never own a Boxster because it’s a poor-man’s Porsche. I bought one and loved it.
I said I’d never own a Mustang because they fall apart and can’t go round corners. I bought one and love it.
Funny how tastes change though, isn’t it?
In a day and age where every car on the road has the same bland styling, bland engines, bland interiors, bland colours, bland everything, American performance cars really do stand out now and have genuinely become the only thing to really interest me anymore. Whilst I naturally wouldn’t turn down a Ferrari F8 Tributo, I am genuinely more interested in something like a Shelby GT500.
I had spent 2 years saving to replace my 987.2 Boxster S with an F10 BMW M5 but a test drive left me so disappointed. It was fast but I felt nothing while driving. It pushed me in the direction of a sixth generation Mustang which I ended up buying and ultimately opened my eyes up to the prospect of actually owning more American cars – not just admiring them from a computer screen.
THE BACKSTORY
I’ve always loved the Crown Victoria. I have fond memories of being in NYC Taxi’s as a kid in the late 90s and early 00s with my dad, and as a massive movie and TV nerd I’m so used to seeing them on screen. They’ve just become so iconic. Even though I grew up and live in the UK, my mind instantly thinks of a P71 whenever someone says, “police car”. As the years went on, my admiration for the CV grew but I never expected to own one.
A few years ago, I was running a £500 Daewoo Nubira which in some ways did remind me of a CV – I even referred to it as ‘my’Crown Victoria’ on my readers car thread, see the extract below:
TREMAiNE said:
I’ll never own a Crown Vic, as much as I’d like one I can’t see it being a car I ever end up buying. As silly as this might sound to you, the Nubira is my Crown Victoria and that’s why I have such an affection for it. It’s reasonably powerful and torquey, it’s a relaxing drive and if you show it a corner it rolls around like crazy. It’s fit for purpose – it gets you from place to place in comfort and gives you no grief or drama. At least not in the dry. If you squint your eyes, you could even say it looks a little bit like a Crown Victoria – at least from behind. A little. In my eyes, at least.
Little did I know, I really would own one 2 years later!It all started back in January, a few months after buying my first house, I found myself in a surprising situation where I had a decent chunk of money saved up thanks to a massive pay rise just before I’d moved in. I can’t remember exactly why I’d thought about Crown Vic’s at the time, but I’d been searching for them and saw a 2002 P71 CVPI for sale on eBay so I messaged the seller.
It was down in Cornwall (and I live in the southeast) so a long way for me to go just to view it, I wasn’t overly serious about the purchase but engaged in a few emails with the seller. It was a genuine P71 car, with all the police livery, sirens and lights. The interior had all the police kit, and the boot even had a shotgun rack. It had a push bar/nudge bar (although not the style I prefer) and for a 130k mile, 19-year-old service car it did look good, but I felt it was massively overpriced.
After a chat with the other half, I made the seller a genuine offer, but I’ll admit it was probably a little insulting. The car was up for £10,500 and I offered £7,000. He dropped to £9,000. I offered £7,500 but he declined and it sold not long after to someone else.
Looking back, I am relieved because it really wasn’t worth that money to me and it really wasn’t an appropriate time for me to have bought it. There were others for sale, however they all seemed to be too expensive and looked very tatty in the photos, so I didn’t even follow those ads up.
Over the following months, I continued to look in the classifieds but due to the rarity in the UK they didn’t come up much and ones that did often had 150K+ on them which whilst I know isn’t a problem if they’ve been well looked after, given I have no mechanical knowledge whatsoever, I didn’t want to be buying a car that was quite possibly on the verge of some big bills. I’ll take the punt on a £2,000 car but I can’t afford to do that at this value.
In early July, I stumbled across a 1973 Pontiac Grand Safari for sale, it was priced at £30,000 but looked to be in stunning condition. The vendor had offered me a PX for my Mustang, with cash my way. I viewed the car and fell in love. A 70s wagon is one of my dream cars. It was very, very tidy – one of the tidiest examples of these old land yachts in the world, I reckon.
I really did consider it but just wasn’t brave enough to trade in my Mustang and run a nearly 50-year-old 2.3 ton, 20 foot long, 7.5L V8 station wagon as a daily car. There was too much risk for me and given how clean it was, using as a daily would have probably ruined it. I took a step back and realised I wasn’t at that point in my life where I could throw that sort of money at something with the potential to be so ruinous.
With car values being so mental right now and the Mustang being worth a fair chunk more than I paid for it 2 years and 20,000 miles ago, the itch to buy something else still needed to be scratched. In addition to the Mustang, I also own a 2007 Suzuki Swift Sport track car:
This could be used as a daily (not that I’d want to), as well as an old Perodua Kenari shed which I could also daily, so being in a position where I could sell the Mustang, add in my savings and have potentially £40-45k for an impractical toy which made me broaden searches somewhat, I’ve always wanted a Morgan Three-Wheeler but just don’t think I’d use it that much, so moved on from that idea. I then briefly considered buying a DB9 largely because I’d love to own a manual V12 while I still can, but I opted against it because I felt I wouldn’t use it as a weekend car and unfortunately it just wouldn’t be appropriate to pull up to the office in every day.
So then I started looking at Ferrari’s. My ultimate dream car is an F40 but I can’t afford one of those. My ‘realistic’ dream car is a Ferrari 355, which you can’t get for £45k anymore. I could just about squeeze myself into a 348 though – and that is a car I feel would be special enough to be a weekend car.
Now, at this point I’ll say I’ve never lusted after a 348 – I do like them but the truth is a 355 is the one I really want. At 18 I told myself I’d have a Ferrari by the time I was 30. At the time everyone laughed at me. I’m 29 now, I’ve got a year left to achieve that unrealistic dream and the 348 was the most realistic way for me to do that (or a leggy 456 GTA but I’m definitely not brave enough for that).
The hunt for a Ferrari 348 began… And stopped almost immediately. I saw sense and realised that just because I could, it doesn’t mean I should. I started to look at 355’s instead, which I could afford with some finance. I’d worked out rough finance costs over 4 years, as well as researching what I’d need to put away each month to run one.
On paper, I could afford it. Just. But it would mean every penny I have left after my bills would be put into that car every month, for 4 years. As much as it upset me, I shelved the idea. I couldn’t stomach the thought of every penny being tied up for that length of time. What if an unexpected bill came in for the house? I’d be stuck, it’s silly to get caught up in that all for a car and would be irresponsible of me, even if it was to literally make one of my dreams come true.
You’re probably reading all this thinking “what are you on about, where is the Crown Victoria I clicked on this thread to see? I don’t want to read about some idiot bragging that he can afford a Ferrari!” and you’d be totally right for thinking that, but to be fair I did warn you that this would be a long thread and also, I can’t afford a Ferrari sadly.
So, throughout this whole Pontiac, Morgan, Aston Martin and Ferrari hunting period, I’d still been regularly checking out what Crown Victoria’s have been up for sale but there just weren’t that many due to their scarcity in the UK and while I didn’t go off the idea, I just never thought the stars would align and the universe would present me with the right car for the right price.
A couple of weeks ago though, another Crown Victoria appeared on my searches, on Facebook Marketplace of all places. The car looked pretty clean in the pictures, the ad was passable (I have unrealistically high standards), and the price seemed to be more realistic than most up for sale. Because I’d been looking at much more exotic metal, I wasn’t overly excited at the time but messaged the seller, nonetheless.
On Friday 23/09 he got back to me, saying unfortunately the car had been sold subject to payment/collection but to give him a call the next day to talk about the car in case it doesn’t sell. I was a little disappointed to hear that but agreed to call him anyway. The next day we had a 10-minute chat where he told me all about it, when it came to the UK, who owned it first, how long he has had it, what he has done to it – all the expected stuff. It sounded great and the disappointment really sunk in – that was “the one” but I’d got there too late, with the new owners due to collect the following day.
I checked in with the seller 24 hours later to see if the car had been collected – it hadn’t. The buyers had been unable to get fuel (this was at the start of the ‘shortage’ we’ve had) but were trying to sort something out.
On Tuesday 28th, the seller messaged me saying that the buyers had gone quiet on him, he considered the car up for sale again, so I said I’d come and view it at the weekend.
Saturday 2nd, I drove down there to have a look. It was the first one for sale I’d viewed in the flesh, so in truth I had nothing to compare it to – but in pictures alone it was leagues above the rest I’d seen. It was low mileage and had a low amount of engine idle hours which is quite important in these. During the test drive, the engine and gearbox seemed to be in good working order, no odd noises or anything to worry about. I’ve watched enough YouTube videos of what to look out for in these and throughout the entire viewing process my excitement had only increased more and more. This was the Crown Vic’ for me.
The car was up for £8,000. Based on how much these typically go for, it genuinely seemed like a fair price, all things considered. Thing is though, I don’t think these should be £8,000. To me, they’re a £5,000 car – for the best examples. If you want one though, you have to pay the going rate, so the negotiations began and after a few minutes we agreed on £7,300.
I am happy with the price I paid – but I still don’t think these should be selling for more than £5,000.
I picked the car up the next day, Sunday 3rd October 2021 and this is where my journey began with my Crown Victoria and now, after nearly 2,100 words, this thread can actually begin…
THE BASICS
My Crown Vic’ is a 2008 model which was built in Canada. It has a little over 89,000 miles on the clock, with under 2,000 engine idle hours. It is a genuine P71 Police Interceptor, which can be proved by the VIN and it was in service at the University of Birmingham, Alabama so probably wasn’t abused too much – though that also means it probably spent most of its time with drunk students in the back and not being used in some over the top police chase.
Over the course of its life, fleet sales made up for a whopping 90% of the Crown Victoria’s total sales with the majority of those going to police departments across the United States and were known as P71s.
The CV is a very simple car. It’s based on Ford’s Panther Platform which is an old school body-on-frame design from 1978, it uses the Ford AOD 4 speed automatic gearbox from 1980 and is powered by the 4.6 Ford Modular V8 from 1990.
Despite being manufactured up until 2011, the Crown Victoria really is the last of the classic American cars and whilst not as premium and upmarket as the Cadillacs of the 60s and 70s, it’s without doubt the last ‘land-yacht’ produced at just under 18 feet long.
It’s simple, robust design is what made it so well loved by the police, with many departments sad to see it phased out once production had ended, relucant to move on to the Charger and Explorer replacements which have ended up being more unreliable than the trusty old Crown Victoria.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT TO A REGULAR CROWN VICTORIA?
The P71 Interceptors have several upgrades over the civilian spec cars, some of which were department optional extras. The CVPI has an external oil cooler, marginally higher idle speed, more aggressive transmission shift points and the transmission itself is built for firmer and harder shifts.
The 2004–2011 Police Interceptors are equipped standard with an open 3.27:1 ratio rear axle with an optional traction-lock (Trac-Lok) 3.27:1 ratio rear axle or 3.55:1 ratio traction-lock rear axle also being available. My car has the optional 3.27.1 rear axle with the Trac-Lok LSD, giving it one of the most desirable rear ends among Crown Victoria enthusiasts. The 3.27.1 ratio was designed for highway use, with the 3.55.1 ratio designed for city use – again indicating that my car likely had a relatively easy life in sweet home, Alabama.
Another difference the P71 has against the civilian spec cars is Ford's "severe duty" shock absorbers that offer a stiffer ride than the standard Crown Victoria but are better suited to smashing up curbs and driving over areas where cars shouldn’t be driving. They also have black steel wheels with stainless steel (or chromed plastic) hubcaps. CVPIs have higher-rate coil springs, around 0.8 inches of additional ground clearance, thinner rear antiroll bars and they also come with T-409 stainless-steel, dual exhaust systems without resonators.
CVPIs came standard with manual cloth bucket seats but a velour split-bench seat was optional, with a power-adjustable driver's seat being optional on both the split bench and standard bucket seats – I do have the power seats option. The CVPI also has a calibrated 140 mph speedometer with ‘certified calibration’ meaning the speedometer would read ‘true’ speed, rather than running a couple of mph under like normal cars do.
THE ENGINE
While a police car powered by a 4.6L V8 might sound impressive, the figures suggest otherwise. Being one of the later examples produced, my CVPI has 250bhp at 4,900rpm and 297ib-ft at 4,100rpm with the motor redlining at just 5,750rpm. They’re not bad figures by any means – but they’re not great either, especially when the car weighs in at around 1,870kg giving it a rather measly 133bhp/ton.
The sprint from 0-60mph took around 7.5 seconds in the later years of the Vic’ and it’ll do a standing quarter mile in 16.29 seconds which whilst isn’t fast, it’s not slow either – especially for a nearly 2-ton cruiser with such ancient architecture. While peak power and torque do arrive late in the rev-range, the torque curve provides a lot of low-down grunt, developing around 63% of peak torque from just 1,500rpm. Planting your foot down does provide a noticeable surge of torque, although that sensation is quick to drop off.
The Ford modular V8 was fitted to a load of different cars throughout the years from pickup trucks to Koenigsegg’s and was available as a 2-valve SOHC, 3-valve SOHC with variable camshaft timing or 4-valve DOHC depending on the application. The Crown Victoria has the 2-valve version and is nearly identical to the version used in the SN95 Mustang, so this police car doesn’t just have a V8, it has a Mustang V8 – how cool is that! From what I’ve read online, a few cheap bolt-on mods will get you Mustang power. The 5.0 ‘Coyote’ V8 fitted to current generation Mustang is an evolution of that same modular V8 architecture, utilizing a 4-valve DOHC configuration and Ford's first implementation of its cam-torque-actuated twin Independent Variable Cam Timing in a V8 engine, providing improved power, fuel economy and reduced emissions.
Over the last 31 years, this engine design has evolved significantly, starting out with just 190bhp and 260ib-ft and now producing 480bhp and 420ib-ft in the US spec 2021 Mustang Mach 1. Cosworth have even tuned it to 500bhp and 430ib-ft for the fictional 2020 TVR Griffith.
To my knowledge the most powerful naturally aspirated variant of the engine is the 5.2L ‘Voodoo’ found in the Mustang Shelby GT350R, featuring a flat-plane crank configuration among other enhancements to produce a whopping 526bhp and 429ib-ft but the most powerful variant of the Modular V8, thanks to the help of a supercharger, is the 760bhp 625ib-ft 5.2L ‘Predator’ in the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500 which utilized the more traditional cross-plane crank layout like all other Modular V8s.
THE GEARBOX
The P71 Interceptor uses the 1980 Ford AOD (automatic overdrive) transmission. This is a 4-speed automatic gearbox, with 4th gear being an overdrive.
The gearset design is based on the Ford "X" automatic transmissions used during the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
The CV uses the 4R75W 2003 revision of this transmission with a stronger ring gear that had 24 lugs, as opposed to 6, for the output shaft sensor to read off of, a new torque converter, a revised front pump assembly and a vehicle speed sensor that complements the output shaft sensor to improve shift quality and efficiency. These improvements allowed the 4R75W to handle more power while being more efficient and economical.
As you would expect, this relic doesn’t perform as well as a modern-day double clutch auto would. It shifts much slower or more lazily than most people are used to, however, it must be said that the shifts are incredibly smooth when you’re just cruising without much enthusiasm. There are no clunks when the box’ shifts up and down a ger, nor are there any worrying noises when you’re changing between Park, Reverse, Neutral and Drive on the old-school and forever cool column-shifter. The gearbox suits the car well, although I have seen manual swaps of these for owners in the ‘States who track and rally their Crown Victoria’s.
The SN95 Mustang also had the AOD gearbox (albeit the pre-2003 4R70W version), which I cannot see suiting the car at all. While I’ve never driven an SN95 thus cannot say for sure, I imagine this gearbox would ruin the driving experience in a pony car like the Mustang.
THE CHASSIS
The Crown Victoria uses a not-so-sophisticated body-on-frame design with live rear axle suspension, which Ford dubbed the ‘Panther’ platform. Originally slated for discontinuation during the early 1980s, the Panther architecture was used for 33 model years, the longest-produced platform in North American automotive history.
Developed as a successor to the 1969 Ford chassis, the rear-wheel-drive Panther platform was used by the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury brands. Throughout its entire production life, all Panther platform vehicles were equipped with a V8 engine and the Modular V8 engine was the first overhead-cam V8 engine used in an American vehicle.
Although introduced in 1978, the Panther platform has undergone major changes along the way. Through its design life, it has been produced in three distinct generations:
The first generation was the only version produced in body styles other than four-door saloons and the only generation to use the Windsor V8 engine. The second generation had extensive redesigns of both the exterior and interior and saw the introduction of the Modular V8 engine. The final generation, which my Crown Vic is, featured frame and suspension redesigns and upgrades to improve handling among several other changes.
The Crown Victoria really was the last of the old fashioned American ‘Land Yachts’ and the last proper traditional full-sized saloon. The second-generation model I have, which debuted is 1998, was a foot longer than a long-wheelbase E38 7 Series of the same era – or 2 feet longer than an E39 5 Series.
In 1998, Britain’s best-selling car was the MK4 Fiesta which is over 5 feet shorter than a Crown Victoria. I appreciate they are in very different classes of car, but can you imagine how huge and imposing one of these CV’s would be driving down our roads in the late 90s!
THE EXTERIOR
Looks are subjective and I can totally understand how someone would look at the P71 and want to vomit – but personally, I love the styling and always have. Whilst I am not too fond of the first generation, the 1998 second-generation absolutely nailed the looks which didn’t really change at all until production wrapped up in 2011.
It has a very simple, clean design. It’s not styled for the sake of it – it was built largely with fleet sales in mind and therefore made to be simple, robust and with parts being easy to replace and that’s why I love the styling so much – because there isn’t any. It’s been designed for a purpose and that’s what I like about it, it isn’t a fashion accessory, it’s just a car.
To my eyes, what really makes this car look so good is the driver-side spotlight, the black steel wheels with chrome center hubs and of course the big, menacing push bar on the front.
These are the bits that really make it stand out as something special.
As you can see, my car is painted white like most ex-police interceptors and does not sport any police livery. Whilst adding some department decals would look undeniably cool, for a daily driver, I do prefer the more understated look my plain white car has. It means that car doesn’t just stand out for the sake of it but ends up being an “if you know, you know” kind of car.
Overall, the bodywork is in very good condition for its age and for the use it would have had. It isn’t perfect by any means, whilst it looks very clean in photos, there are various marks over several different panels but to me, those marks add to the history in a car like this. I wonder how they got there – if there is a story behind them. I doubt my car was involved in any exciting high-speed pursuits but it’s nice to pretend, isn’t it?
There is nothing I would want to change about the exterior, it looks just right to me – although one day it may well get some police stickers on it if it’s ever retired for weekend use.
THE INTERIOR
The interior is easily the weakest point of the car – but given that it is an American car, designed for fleet used, based on a 1970s platform, would anyone really expect it to be nice?
Even though it isn’t nice, I still like it. The seats themselves are very comfortable, although I’m not quite sure how they were ever considered to be ‘bucket’ seats as they offer no support whatsoever. The backing of the seat has stab-proof plating in which is cool.
The 2-spoke steering wheel is very ugly and very worn, I might eventually buy an OEM replacement if I can get hold of one.
There really aren’t many toys (although the toys it does have are exceptionally fun). The instrument cluster is very basic, with a simple speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge and temperature gauge, as well as an analogue dial showing what drive mode you are in.
It does have a digital mileage counter and trip computer, though it is very basic showing the cars mileage and your trip distance, although my Vic’ also has the optional “engine idle meter” integrated into the digital display, which shows hour many hours the motor has spent idling. My car has under 2,000 hours, which is very low. It’s said you don’t really want to buy a car with more than 5,000 idle hours.
Thankfully, I do have cruise control, which was a $225 option and it works perfectly, although has a minimum operating speed of 30mph.
The heater controls are as basic as they come but the car does have AC which still blows out ice-cold – probably the best AC I’ve ever had in a car. The heater also feels like a proper old car heater, it’s hard to explain what I mean by that but if you do understand, you’re probably smiling right now.
The head unit is ghastly. It’s a horribly double-DIN piece installed by the previous owner, who also uprated the speakers and put a small sub under the passenger seat. The original head unit was included with the sale. At some point, I will put a more tasteful Android-based screen in that has Android Auto functionality as I do miss having Android Auto already.
All 4 windows are electric, with there being a switch to lock/unlock all doors on both the driver and passenger side. The car also has electric mirrors.
It also has a trunk release mounted in the centre of the dash, only available in police spec cars, so that both the driver and passenger can open the boot quickly during a gunfight, to go and get the shotgun. It feels cool writing that, imagine what it’s like actually doing it!
You control the external spotlight via a handle on the A-Pillar. It’s easy to manoeuvre and it does work and is extremely bright. It is a little temperamental though.
The exciting aftermarket addition to my car is the police sirens. It has a Whelen system installed with various settings, including the classic ‘bull horn’ (which I pretty much use as my horn) as well as full police sirens with various tones. It’s tremendous fun and something I am so pleased I have despite not being bothered about when I first viewed the car.
Obviously, I wouldn’t dare use the sirens on the road, but they’re fun to show off to friends and family and they’re very, very loud. Ear-piercing loud, in fact.
The car also has a red ‘ticket’ dome light installed which would have been on the original police car. Being a red light, the officer would be able to write tickets in the dark, whilst also being able to see outside clearly.
The rear seats are comfortable, and you do have a decent amount of legroom. A lot of departments would have had a partition between the front and rear seats with vinyl or plastic rear seats – I would have liked that in mine, but ultimately my cloth seats work better for a general daily use car.
It also has the biggest boot I’ve ever had for a car.
BUT HOW DOES IT DRIVE?
How do you think an ex-police car that’s based on very old underpinnings drives? You’re probably right – but not as right as you might think you are! When you first drop into the big comfy seats and turn the key, the lazy, unstressed V8 burbles into life instantly. Whilst you can hear it rumble away, it doesn’t sound sporty or aggressive at all. Not even ‘nice’ – it just sounds like what it is – an engine. When you put it into drive and pull away, there is no drama at all as it effortlessly gains speed. In truth, I’ve not launched it yet – because I really didn’t buy for that, but under heavy throttle, it really does pick up speed relatively well and much better than the figures imply. You get so much torque low down that you never really feel that you’re out of the powerband.
When you’re rolling along and mash the throttle, you do have to wait for the gearbox to figure out what to do and kick down but when it does the surge of power is fairly satisfying, if short-lived.
I bought this car as a daily driver for my 15-mile commute. Doing 30 miles per day isn’t big mileage but I still wanted something soft and comfortable and automatic for the journey where I spend most of my time on the A127 and M25. Generally, I’ll sit at 60mph with cruise control on, never in a rush to get to work or even to get home and at this speed, the Crown Victoria does just fine. There is a little bit of wind noise, and the tyre noise is fairly loud (though I suspect better tyres would minimize this) but apart from that it’s pretty quiet, you can have a conversation without raising your voice. When you’re just driving sensibly, the gearshift is incredibly relaxed, smooth, and almost unnoticeable and it’s a breath of fresh air for me to be back in an auto as a daily driver. The heavy clutch on my manual Mustang made sitting in M25 traffic an absolute chore of an experience and it’s so nice not having to deal with that now.
At 70mph, you’re doing a smidge over 2,000rpm. I’ve not really had it above 80mph yet, but at that speed, it was as composed as you’d expect.
The handling, however, is somewhat surprising. I really expected this car to have the structural integrity of wet cardboard. A body-on-frame chassis with a live rear axle and nearly 2-tons to lug about isn’t exactly a recipe for Nürburgring lap records but credit where credit is due, the P71 holds the road a hell of a lot better than I had ever anticipated. It’s running 4 new tyres from a budget brand I have never heard of (and would never buy, personally) but despite that, grip is surprisingly good in both wet and dry conditions. Whilst I’ve not exactly gone to ‘ten tenths’, it’s had no trouble getting around corners at speeds it has no right to be going at! There is body roll, but not as much as you’d expect, it genuinely keeps fairly composed in the corners. I really don’t want this to be taken out of context though, I’ve done a few seasons racing and currently have a dedicated track car, while I am no driving God, I am an experienced driver and competent behind the wheel of a car, having qualified a tenth of a second behind Tiff Needell at Thruxton a few years ago, although I never raced him as my engine went pop in the last few minutes of qualifying. When I say the Crown Vic’ can handle, I’m not suggesting it has Elise levels of feedback, composure, or grip, but for a 14-year-old American car with 90k on the clock and such ancient, basic architecture I honestly think it’s mighty impressive, especially considering the stereotype American cars have when it comes to handling. Something I find quite amusing is that the civilian spec cars come with traction control, but the CVPI has it disabled from the factory, I can’t see myself getting into much trouble without it, even in the wet, but it does seem strange that a safety feature like that is disabled on a fleet vehicle.
While it is a heavy old beast, it doesn’t feel it at all. It feels quite light on its feet, changes direction rather sharply and so far, has handled everything I have thrown at it (which admittedly, isn’t much) remarkably well. The only complaint I have with the handling is the lack of support in the seats, so while the car itself remains composed in corners, the driver and passengers are flung about like there’s no tomorrow!
The brakes are also better than I’d initially anticipated, I haven’t tried any emergency stops but the heavier braking I have done has been quite good, stopping quickly in a controlled manor.
The ride is comfortable overall, it absorbs bumps and potholes reasonably well – while you can hear some crashing, you don’t really feel any of it. It’s no Rolls Royce but it’s still does a good job. The interior doesn’t really have any knocks, rattles, or squeaks. Some of the interior trim isn’t fitted very well but I suspect it was like that when it was new to be honest. Overall, it’s a nice place to sit for my drive to work, the fact it’s so barebones and basic inside compared to a modern car is very refreshing and relaxing. There is nothing to distract you, no touch screen that controls every function. It’s just… A simple honest, easy to use workhorse.
While it is a big car, modern cars really aren’t that much smaller. The Vic’ doesn’t seem too oversized on the roads. I’ve driven on some very tight B-roads and it’s been absolutely fine. Being left hand drive is quite handy in that regard, as you really can get right over on the very edge of the road, despite the fact it’s wider than my Mustang I find it easier to drive on narrow roads or through width restrictions and I became accustomed to left hand drive instantly, there was no settling in period like I expected. Parking is a bit of a pain, it’s way too long for our bays, so I do typically take up 2.
This is the part where I would normally talk about the fuel economy and general running costs but given that I’ve just bought it and haven’t even re-filled since my first fill-up, I can’t actually tell you what it is like on fuel. Not great, I suspect – but I am being optimistic given that on a run I’ll squeeze 40mpg out of the Mustang and have averaged 25.5mpg over the last 2 years.
Ford claim 14mpg City, 21mpg Highway with an average of 16mpg for the car – these are US miles though, so converted to imperial shows that theoretically I should be averaging about 19mpg which isn’t too bad really. VED is around £280 for the year and insurance through Adrian Flux has cost me £350 for the year.
I won’t service the car myself because I’m an incapable oaf who is not practical in any sense of the word, but there are several US Import specialists in my local area and from what I’ve read online, prices are generally low to run these. Rock Auto stocks virtually every part you could think of and they’re all cheap – I’m sure that for bigger parts it’ll be the shipping costs that will make up most of the invoice total.
WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT IT?
It’s a big, wallowy, thirsty, sluggish mess – just like me. So, what’s not to love?
In all seriousness, it’s an American police car that’s been in thousands of movies, it has a Mustang V8, sirens, push bar and a spotlight. To me, it’s almost impossibly cool and is one of those cars that everyone seems to love. I’ve been stopped for photos, people asking about it, constant stares etc. I didn’t buy it for that, but I’d be lying if I said didn’t like it – because of that, the car does feel special even though objectively it’s actually quite boring.
I love stepping out of my house and seeing it on the drive and I love seeing it’s reflection when I’m driving about.
I even love the name – the Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor. It’s just straight up cool.
Something also rather special, is some of the paperwork the car came with includes the original bill of sale with the options the purchasing police department ticked.
And to top it off, it even includes one of the shift sheets for the officers using the car – it’s a little worse for wear but its great to have.
WHAT DO I HATE ABOUT IT?
Hate is a strong word and I’ve not owned it long enough to truly hate anything yet, although I must point out that the wing mirrors are terrible. They’re far too small and I really am struggling to get them in a position I am happy with and as a result I tend to just look over my shoulder instead of using them.
The headlights are like candles, which is annoying but the spotlight more than makes up for it on country roads and has the bonus of being really fun to position and use.
Also, it has no cupholders, armrest or any centre console! There is a gap between the driveshaft tunnel and the seat where I can wedge a drink and it is fine, but it’d be nice to have some actual storage.
WHAT ARE MY PLANS?
To drive it! I have no interest in shows or showing it off. I bought it to use as a daily driver. To me it’s just a usable and ultimately disposable car. I do feel like I’ve genuinely managed to snag a good example, so I do hope it ends up being reliable, but my eyes are firmly open and prepared for the worst.
As previously mentioned, I would like to get a better-looking head unit installed and possibly a police spec centre console that has some cupholders and maybe a storage bin but that’s about it. As much as I’d love to bring it up to ‘as new’ cosmetically, given I’ll be daily driving it, it does seem a bit pointless.
I imagine I’ll have to get it undersealed though; it doesn’t seem to have any rust now, so I best not let it rot away any time soon.
The one thing I really want to do is contact the police department where it was in service to try and find out some more information about, what it was used for, if it was involved in any exciting chases and maybe even to try and get in touch and speak with the actual officers that drove it and maybe even trade photos with them – that would be truly awesome.
THE CONCLUSION
As you’ve figured out as I’ve rambled on for so long, so far I adore my Crown Vic’. It should make for a good, reliable and unique daily car. Cars like this, that have engines like this are dinosaurs so close to extinction and we only have a limited amount of time left with them. I’m in my late 20s so I imagine I’ll live to see the death of ICE’s on the public road.
I may not have the Ferrari 355 I’ve always wanted – but I am lucky enough to have one of my dream cars and I’m grateful for that and having two V8s on the drive is a wonderful feeling. My wallet isn’t so keen though.
Over 6,500 words later, that’s about all I have to say about my Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. I hope you’ve enjoyed the long read, I’ll finish it up with some more photos below.
Thank you for reading.
Edited by TREMAiNE on Tuesday 12th October 17:36
So this afternoon I've worked out the costs from when the car was first sold as new, using the window sticker I have.
In 2008, this vehicle was sold for $27,625 which at the 2008 exchange rate was just £14,892! I didn't realise just how cheap these fleet vehicles were. I do wonder how much more expensive the civilian spec CV's were? As well as the Lincoln Town Car which was an S-Class 'rival' that was essentially a Crown Vic' underneath.
Adjusted for inflation, The CVPI would cost around $35,100 in today's money - or £25,750 when converted by the current exchange rate. It also shows just how much the GBP has tanked over the last 13 years, as the cost of the car in GBP back in 2008 is only worth £20,320 in today's money taking inflation into account.
In 2008, this vehicle was sold for $27,625 which at the 2008 exchange rate was just £14,892! I didn't realise just how cheap these fleet vehicles were. I do wonder how much more expensive the civilian spec CV's were? As well as the Lincoln Town Car which was an S-Class 'rival' that was essentially a Crown Vic' underneath.
Adjusted for inflation, The CVPI would cost around $35,100 in today's money - or £25,750 when converted by the current exchange rate. It also shows just how much the GBP has tanked over the last 13 years, as the cost of the car in GBP back in 2008 is only worth £20,320 in today's money taking inflation into account.
I can only echo your words.
Like you, I have fond memories of riding around Manhattan in a CV taxi. So much so that I bought an ex-cop P71 a couple of years ago. Funny how just about every CV over here is ex-cop, but the VIN checked out. Whilst mine was in NYC cab livery, (I was able to trace the cab's office in Manhattan via the VIN) it also had a raft of paperwork to verify it's law-keeping credentials.
It was a wafty old thing, but I enjoyed collecting my neighbours from the local train-station, and seeing the looks on the faces of the local cabbies who assumed I was muscling in on their patch.
I only had it for a year or so; (I struggle to keep hold of anything) but it performed faultlessly. It had an intermittent ABS light (from before I owned it) and the digital milometer/trip faded to invisibility (a common fault), but during a trip to Maine three years ago I purchased a complete instrument display and ABS pump and ECU for around $150 from a breakers yard, and brought them back as hand luggage. A couple of hours work had them swapped over and fully functional. Then I sold it back to the guy I bought it from.
Like you, I paid around £7000-8000, and, like you I agree that they're probably a £4000-5000 car, but I wanted one. In the US they now seem to be the car of choice for white-trash trailer park dwellers, and sell for $1000+. But I'm glad I had one.
Like you, I have fond memories of riding around Manhattan in a CV taxi. So much so that I bought an ex-cop P71 a couple of years ago. Funny how just about every CV over here is ex-cop, but the VIN checked out. Whilst mine was in NYC cab livery, (I was able to trace the cab's office in Manhattan via the VIN) it also had a raft of paperwork to verify it's law-keeping credentials.
It was a wafty old thing, but I enjoyed collecting my neighbours from the local train-station, and seeing the looks on the faces of the local cabbies who assumed I was muscling in on their patch.
I only had it for a year or so; (I struggle to keep hold of anything) but it performed faultlessly. It had an intermittent ABS light (from before I owned it) and the digital milometer/trip faded to invisibility (a common fault), but during a trip to Maine three years ago I purchased a complete instrument display and ABS pump and ECU for around $150 from a breakers yard, and brought them back as hand luggage. A couple of hours work had them swapped over and fully functional. Then I sold it back to the guy I bought it from.
Like you, I paid around £7000-8000, and, like you I agree that they're probably a £4000-5000 car, but I wanted one. In the US they now seem to be the car of choice for white-trash trailer park dwellers, and sell for $1000+. But I'm glad I had one.
Made forever cool for me by this video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fhnrrLxQEVQ
Having travelled miles around NYC in them, they have a certain honest, working class hero quality to them. I love Fords.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fhnrrLxQEVQ
Having travelled miles around NYC in them, they have a certain honest, working class hero quality to them. I love Fords.
Yes, thanks for detailing your journey so far.
I went to NYC for the first time in 2019 and the trip from airport to our digs was in a Crown Vic. I'm fairly sure it had either 300 or 400k miles on the clock and I think I gave the guy two notes stuck together when I paid for the trip. The Mrs want overly fussed about the CV but it was a great start for me.
I went to NYC for the first time in 2019 and the trip from airport to our digs was in a Crown Vic. I'm fairly sure it had either 300 or 400k miles on the clock and I think I gave the guy two notes stuck together when I paid for the trip. The Mrs want overly fussed about the CV but it was a great start for me.
That’s awesome!!!
We went to NYC in 2016, had to catch a cab to go a few miles to a restaurant and I did the missis head in because we were cutting it close. Loads of hybrids and modern cabs in the area but made her wait 20odd mins until a Crown Vic was in sight. They’re massive, his was just under 400k and the engine sounded silky smooth.
We went to NYC in 2016, had to catch a cab to go a few miles to a restaurant and I did the missis head in because we were cutting it close. Loads of hybrids and modern cabs in the area but made her wait 20odd mins until a Crown Vic was in sight. They’re massive, his was just under 400k and the engine sounded silky smooth.
Love these.
Test drove an ex cop one down in Kent. The chap had a warehouse full of US cop cars from different decades.
I finally bought a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis Middle East spec so had most of the police engine and handling extras.
I went all the way from London to Inverness to pick it up around 2014. It was immaculate, being used as a wedding car with only 32k on the clock. Cost £3200.
Had a short holiday in the Highlands whilst getting used to driving it on the tiny roads, then drove it back to London.
It was supposed to be a Sunday car but it was so nice to drive that I commuted from SW London to E London in it at 12mpg.
It'd do 26mpg on a run and it surprised a few boy racers from the traffic lights.
I sold it after a year at a profit that covered my petrol, tax and insurance thus free motoring but I wish I'd never sold it.
It went to raise funds for the new Mustang GT funnily enough.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/1eikNWLF[/url]
Test drove an ex cop one down in Kent. The chap had a warehouse full of US cop cars from different decades.
I finally bought a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis Middle East spec so had most of the police engine and handling extras.
I went all the way from London to Inverness to pick it up around 2014. It was immaculate, being used as a wedding car with only 32k on the clock. Cost £3200.
Had a short holiday in the Highlands whilst getting used to driving it on the tiny roads, then drove it back to London.
It was supposed to be a Sunday car but it was so nice to drive that I commuted from SW London to E London in it at 12mpg.
It'd do 26mpg on a run and it surprised a few boy racers from the traffic lights.
I sold it after a year at a profit that covered my petrol, tax and insurance thus free motoring but I wish I'd never sold it.
It went to raise funds for the new Mustang GT funnily enough.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/1eikNWLF[/url]I remember renting a grand marquise back in the early 2000's. It was around the time that nobody was flying so the rental companies gave you the nicest car they had. It was roomy but even around LA, it felt like a big car to navigate. I have a soft spot for large American cars but I'm not sure how i'd feel about daily driving one in the UK.
That was a fantastic read - thanks for sharing it. 
It's a shame your Ferrari 355 dream didn't come true, but it looks like your CV makes up for it anyway!
Back in the late 90s/early 2000s I used to visit Boston quite often on business and can remember bing in a few of these as taxis, some of which had the seat protection and screens still fitted - I suppose they were ex-police cars. My lasting memory was that for such a large car they didn't feel that spacious inside, but they are way cooler than a black cab!
The next time I saw one was in 2018 at a local classic car meet when this one turned up complete with police radio and working sirens which caused quite a stir - but it hasn't been there for a couple of years now.
Anyway having a CV and a V8 Mustang is a great pairing - enjoy!
It's a shame your Ferrari 355 dream didn't come true, but it looks like your CV makes up for it anyway!
Back in the late 90s/early 2000s I used to visit Boston quite often on business and can remember bing in a few of these as taxis, some of which had the seat protection and screens still fitted - I suppose they were ex-police cars. My lasting memory was that for such a large car they didn't feel that spacious inside, but they are way cooler than a black cab!
The next time I saw one was in 2018 at a local classic car meet when this one turned up complete with police radio and working sirens which caused quite a stir - but it hasn't been there for a couple of years now.
Anyway having a CV and a V8 Mustang is a great pairing - enjoy!
What a great read, I too have fond memories of the CV in Manhattan, I visited there in 2008, 2009 and 2015 my very first American car experience was a cab from JFK to Manhattan in a CV cab
When I visited in 2015 I was so disappointed that the CVS were being largely replaced by Toyota hybrids and Transit Connects. They just weren’t NYC cabs imo.
Your looks great OP, I’m going to watch the thread with interest
When I visited in 2015 I was so disappointed that the CVS were being largely replaced by Toyota hybrids and Transit Connects. They just weren’t NYC cabs imo.
Your looks great OP, I’m going to watch the thread with interest
martin mrt said:
What a great read, I too have fond memories of the CV in Manhattan, I visited there in 2008, 2009 and 2015 my very first American car experience was a cab from JFK to Manhattan in a CV cab
When I visited in 2015 I was so disappointed that the CVS were being largely replaced by Toyota hybrids and Transit Connects. They just weren’t NYC cabs imo.
Your looks great OP, I’m going to watch the thread with interest
My first and only visit to NYC was in 2011. We were going to get a cab from JFK and I excitedly waited in the queue for a yellow CV with some New Yorker from Queens at the wheel. When I visited in 2015 I was so disappointed that the CVS were being largely replaced by Toyota hybrids and Transit Connects. They just weren’t NYC cabs imo.
Your looks great OP, I’m going to watch the thread with interest
A Toyota Previa turned up with a Ugandan in full African regalia sitting in the driving seat
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