Crown Victoria models can be configured to seat five or six occupants. The five-passenger LX Sport features two front bucket seats with a floor-mounted shifter and center armrest/storage bin nested between them. The standard six-seat models employ a split front bench seat with an old-fashioned column shifter. The six-seat configuration offers compelling versatility, but that front center seat is not attractive given its hard bottom cushion, next-to-no legroom (there's a big transmission hump there), and a lap belt instead of a shoulder belt (no upper body retention). Any takers? Only little people are likely to "volunteer" to sit there.
The rear seats, on the other hand, offer lots of elbow-stretching room, plenty of headroom, but little knee room. The rear center seat is a better deal than the front center seat, with tolerable legroom (straddling your feet around the smaller driveshaft tunnel), a softer seat cushion and a proper shoulder belt.
There are several reasons why live-axle rear suspensions have fallen out of favor in automobiles, and one is the useful room they subtract from the cabin and the trunk. In the Crown Vic's case, one casualty is that rear knee room we mentioned. Another is its trunk configuration. It may sound silly to complain, when the Crown Victoria leads its class in trunk capacity; but clearly the trunk could be both larger and longer if the Crown Vic enjoyed a modern, space-efficient independent rear suspension.
Outward vision is a mixed bag. The big windows provide a panoramic view. But the mirrors are much too small, particularly the rear-view mirror, which has to be adjusted just-so to do the job. The driver's dual sun visors can be arranged to effectively defeat late-afternoon glare.
Safety is enhanced by a load sensor in the outboard front passenger seat. If it detects an occupant, it activates a chime to remind that person to buckle up; if no occupant is detected, it de-activates the passenger-side airbag. It's all part of what Ford calls its Personal Safety System, which also provides dual-rate airbag deployment depending on driver-seat position and vehicle speed, plus pre-tensioning and energy-managing belts. ABS (with panic brake assist) is standard. Also standard are rear LATCH-system child seat anchors. As mentioned, side-impact air bags ($300) are optional. If this sounds like an impressive complement of safety equipment, it's because it is. Next Page