2003 Mercury Marauder Consumer Reviews

great car

My 2004 original owner Mercury Marauder is a gem. I must say this car has exceeded every expectation to comfort, space, safety and performance. The new cars today are great but this is truly a stand out in ride comfort and overall performance. This is what American car companies will never get right again-full frame, rear drive, American large sedan. The Dodge Charger comes close so before that one goes run out now and buy one.

I have owned my Marauder since 2004. It was 1 year old with 15K miles when I bought it. It has been a blast to drive. Very comfortable, very classy, very sinister in the right ways, very tame when you want it, and clears traffic when you cruise down the highway. After having it for a year I let my wife use it one day. She commented "I couldn't understand why everyone would pull to the right when I came up behind them... Then I remembered you car looks like a cop car..." I imagine I have dodged a few citations because the officer didn't want to be that guy who pulled over an undercover police car. In stock trim the Marauder has the right exhaust note. A customer remarked "that's exactly how I want my car to sound... Not too loud but with a mean burble..." I can say that fuel mileage has been pretty good when you consider the size, weight, and horsepower. I never get below 17 MPG and my highest was 22 MPG. If I did 50/50 hwy/city I would get 19 or 20. Mine has the small tank which correlates to a large trunk. Range is a bit low (240 - 340 miles) but I heard the large tank option caused fires in Florida Highway Patrol car accidents (unsubstantiated). I will say the only maintenance costs I would question are the electronic failures I incurred. I replaced the temperature control module ($650+), headlight control module ($500+), window motors (~$200 each x3). I attribute this to the fact mine is black on black. The heat in the summer time could have cooked these electronics. The tire sizes are getting a little challenging to find but alternatives do exist. The Marauder featured staggered sizes front to rear. Fronts are 17" diameter and rears are 18" diameter. The rear spec is wider than front tires. Some tire stores have options to make these similar in size lowering the price. You still cannot rotate them front to rear though. This personally did not bother me. I did find the factory alignment spec didn't work well with these larger size tires. It was the same spec as the passenger Crown Victoria with smaller tires. Mine would always wear out the inside bead of both front tires. Last time I got my alignment I told the Ford guy and he maximized the camber to zero or positive. The front tires increased from 40k miles to 55k miles after that with no inner wear.

Great overall driving and performance car .

I first saw it in 2003 and waited to see if there were any defects. Yes, there were. So I bought the last shipment to our Orlando dealer in 2004. I have never enjoyed a car more in my life and I am 82 years old. What a joy to drive!They started with a vehicle with a history of quality that Fire and Police & Cab Co, all used.Ford made a mistake dropping this fine auto.The Service Manager where I bought it is waiting for me to sell it to him.

I bought the car new, and never had even one complaint to take back to the dealer. If i could change anything, i wish it came at least with a five speed transmission. Ford should have put supercharger on it and it would have been a best seller. Overall it is the best car i have ever owned.

This is the best overall car I have ever owned. I have owned just about every performance oriented American car-Corvettes, Camaro, Firebird TA and formula, Buick Grand National,1996 SS Impala and the Mercury Marauder is the top standout car. Smooth performance with good gas mileage (I mostly don't use premium fuel), top safety pic and basic parts from a very popular car-Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis. It is a great highway cruiser as well as a large people hauler. It is always my first pick when comfort is needed. My Jeep Wrangler Rubicon only wins during rough winter weather. Ford should make more like this- I would stand in line with my money!

I love this car! Lots of room, plenty of power, and great handling. I routinely double the recommended speed on yellow caution signs as I power through curves with this beast. Rock solid and reliable.