New Car Review of the 2004 Ford Crown Victoria Full-Size Sedan

Description: Full-Size Sedan
Base MSRP Range: $23,790-$29,760
Invoice Price Range: $22,287-$27,184

Ford's full-size Crown Victoria sedan carves out enough room in the cabin to haul a team of tall basketball players plus heaps of gear bags stuffed into the cavernous trunk. The rear-wheel driveline and a chassis with wheelbase extending nearly ten feet comes from a platform also used by Lincoln's elite Town Car.

There's ample power from a V8 rigged with high-tech hardware and tuned for low-torque output. The 4.6-liter Ford plant in standard application produces 224 hp. An optional performance package adds twin exhaust pipes to boost output to 239 hp.

Three trim versions continue as the base Crown Victoria, LX series and LX Sport with equipment added for keen performance and a monochromatic body coated in shades like Dark Toreador Red or Midnight Gray.

Side air bags stand on the list of options, along with all-speed traction control system (TCS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and a six-disc CD changer.