Out With the Old and In With the New

Whether the Crown Vic pulling up behind you is a taxi cab or a police cruiser, it's a sight that has become all too familiar. Now, with its long tenure tarnished by a worrisome number of fuel tank fires and law suits to match, time has come for a replacement.

At the front are the car's jeweled, halogen headlamps with built-in turn signals that wrap around the sides of the car, complementing the hood and fender lines. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

The Five Hundred that most of us thought would soon replace it, but is now known to soldier on for at least another four years, is a very different machine. It's front-wheel or all-wheel drive, where the outgoing Ford is rear-wheel drive, and looks European where the Crown Victoria is about as American as a car ever was.

The Five Hundred features a now classic trapezoidal diamond-patterned Ford grille that gets trimmed in chrome on Limited models. The lower fascia has chrome accents with integral fog lamps on both the SEL and Limited series.

Offering best-in-class headroom in both front and back seats, the Five Hundred boasts an overall interior volume of 3,627 L (128.1 cubic feet). (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

At the front are the car's jeweled, halogen headlamps with built-in turn signals that wrap around each side of the car, complementing hood and fender lines.

Large, folding exterior side mirrors enhance visibility, and their chrome caps add to Five Hundred's highly polished look. Door handles match the color of the body. Side moldings are body-colored on the SE and Limited.

The Five Hundred offers best-in-class headroom in both the front seats, at 1,001 mm (39.4 inches) and rear at 980 mm (38.6 inches), while rear legroom is a class-leading 1,039 mm (40.9 inches) and overall interior volume factors in at 3,627 L (128.1 cubic feet).