2003 Mercury Marauder

Nothing surprises me any more. Not even Ford turning a Mercury Grand Marquis into a hot rod. Please. Ford calls this sinister looking sedan the Mercury Marauder, resurrecting the name from the big Marauder muscle coupe first introduced in the early 60s. It went in and out of the lineup in various iterations until 1970, when it vanished for good. Now it resurfaces as Mercury’s only news for ’03, not counting the demise of the Cougar and the Villager minivan.

The Marauder concept reminds me of the reincarnated Chevy Impala SS a few years back, a popular full-sized sedan that mixes equal parts alluring performance and nostalgia. Ford hopes “popular” applies to the Marauder, as well. Fingers are crossed that it attracts not only traditional big sedan fans but some younger blood, too. Mercury certainly needs the transfusion.

Will the Marauder give Mercury its much needed image boost? Could the blue hair behind the wheel of this Darth Vader Grand Marquis be a shocking shade of neon for a change?

Stranger things have happened.

Meet the Mercury Marauder. Dude?

The Good News
Now, before we guffaw at the idea of a suped-up Marquis, let’s not forget that this sedan – or more accurately, its close sibling the Crown Victoria – already carries its own intimidation factor. The precedent is set – nay, ingrained – by every law enforcement fleet throughout the land.

Swathed in black from grille to rear bumper, the Marauder does not downplay that connection. Truth be told, I felt more narcotics detective than driving enthusiast in this car.

The Marauder, however, is not a knockoff of the formidable police package, although it borrows a few items like the taillights and front springs. This rear-wheel drive sedan gets its power from Ford’s 4.6-liter, twin cam, 32-valve aluminum V8 with an intake manifold by aftermarket/racing legend Jack Roush. The engine puts out 302 horses at 5750 and lays down 318 pound-feet of torque at 4250, all the while exhaling a very sweet exhaust note.

Most everything else about this Marauder that has an impact on performance is tweaked in similar fashion. From its rigid underpinnings to special shocks to variable assist rack-and-pinion steering to 18-inch wheels, it’s a sedan on a mission. That mission entails elevating a supersoft, conservative luxury car into a driving machine. Steering is more heavily weighted, reflexes are sharper, handling is more precise, the ride is less forgiving.

Distinctions are notable.

But perhaps my favorite aspect of this Marquis-turned-Marauder is what the transformation does for the interior. The all-black theme carries inside, too, with leather bucket seats, no plastic wood and automatic transmission shift lever on the floor. Easy-to-read silver-faced gauges replace electronics, and the oil pressure gauge and voltmeter take center stage on the console behind the shift lever. It makes the Marauder look performance-serious.

The Bad News
Although the extra power makes this big sedan respectable, don’t expect the stuff of legends. This is still a very heavy car. We’re looking at 0-60 in the mid 7-second range and on the high side of 15 seconds for the quarter mile at about 91 miles per hour.

Not exactly Dukes of Hazard material.

The big flat bucket seats might as well be a bench split in half (maybe they are?). There are no sport-holding contours one expects in a performance car.

And the ride suffers somewhat, a concession to the Marauder’s firmer grip on the road. But you have to expect that if you don’t want to wallow around corners.

Gas mileage
EPA rated at 17 mpg city/23 highway

Price
Manufacturer’s base, $33,790;
Price as tested, $34,340

Is it worth it?
Those who equate sport sedan performance with quick starts, communicative steering and razor turns will (i.e. the European definition) find this hot rod Marquis to be as silly as it sounds.

But the Marauder is very competent on many levels, and not everyone values the same performance characteristics. If your dream is an all-American, rear-wheel-drive, full-size sedan that favors cruising the streets over wintering in Florida, the Mercury Marauder is your No. 1 choice.

No matter it’s the only choice.

Beth Stein is a life-long car buff and free-lance journalist living in Nashville. She has reviewed new vehicles in print for 12 years as a weekly columnist for Nashville’s daily newspapers and on television for Road Test Magazine and Motor Trend Television. Currently, her reviews appear nationally on Car And Driver Television.