I wanted a safe, comfortable, reasonably-priced vehicle that could prove reliable for very long distances at a time. And that pretty much covered my criteria for my first vehicle; I didn't care whether it was a car, truck, or SUV, new or used, so long as it could get me from Massachussets to my new home in Florida without a chance of breaking down. Then preferably on innumerable 2-4 hour highway trips to amusement parks in between my graduate studies at University of Florida in Gainesville. You might know me from my amusement park reviews-- I am now 22 and in graduate school, and use my newfound car for all the recreational needs that I used to seek out by foot, bus, and bike.

I'm not a car expert or connoisseur, so my decision on my 2001 FORD CROWN VICTORIA was entirely based on practicalities. The first thing I remember about my car is getting a text message from my mom in MA while I was interviewing at the University of Florida graduate school. She had typed something like, "FOUND FORD CROWN VICTORIA GOLD COLOR GREAT HIGHWAY CAR BEST SAFETY RATING".

That sounded good to me so I immediately sent her a message back, "NAB IT".

So she held it for me, and as soon as I flew back from my interview I stalked the Ford Dealership until they were able to show me my prospective car. That took a while because they had been USING it to run errands and it was out on a trip at the moment. At least that was a sign they deemed it dependable. Also, the low price for the relatively low mileage (~36,000 miles) seemed to stem from the previous owner perhaps being fairly well-off and taking very good care of this car.

When I laid eyes on it for the first time, I noticed the tan/gold color and large size. Upon test-driving it and subsequent trips, I noticed its soft, comfortable seats, braking and acceleration that was controllable and NOT punchy, lack of large blind spots, user-friendly controls (ignition, lights, turn signals, windshield wipers, radio), and steering that is easy and responsive enough to make me and the car move as one.

It WAS used, so before its big cross country trip we gave it new tires and a checkup to discover it needed a new fan belt to ensure it made the trip safely. We also had to fix the air conditioning. Otherwise, it appeared very healthy.

Police often use this model, so that increases your safety from other people on the road. I've noticed some cops appearing to look at me while I'm driving as if to see if I was someone they knew.

This car's trunk is VERY big. It was literally my moving truck. Almost everything that came with me to Florida went in the trunk, with only 4 small suitcases in the backseat (some were my mom's, who made the drive with me). The trunk held all my textbooks, clothes, two lamps, pillows, various accessories, as well as a ~4 foot long KITCHEN TABLE.

I was worried there might have been too much weight in the car, but almost 2000 miles of high-speed highway driving with the equivalent of a load of bricks in the trunk did not hurt its performance or health. Recently the battery died and was replaced but nothing appears to be inherently wrong with the car yet after 7 months and 2000 more miles. The new (but probably cheap) tires needed some air only recently. I must also mention the long-term comfort of the seats...I drove for 8 hours at a time and still could have gone on forever. During my subsequent amusement park weekend trips, I always made the 2-hour drives without any rest stops and my driving leg still felt fine. You can adjust the seat with levers on the side that automatically cause the seat to crawl to the desired direction...tilting or sliding backward or forward.

From the cross-country trip, I can say this is a car that I feel very much in control of. It's very wide and not tipsy. It does what I want it to. It does have a big wide nose but I can still maneuver into most parking spaces even if they are small.

It definitely proved its safety and stability to me one time driving back on I-75 from Busch Gardens to Gainesville when the sky started flooding on me. At night for almost two hours. I'm talking can-barely-see-taillights-in-front-of-me visibility and water on the highway deep enough to have been a log flume ride. When I felt my car start to lose traction I thought maybe it was the car's inability to handle "just some rain". However I realized the seriousness of the weather conditions when I witnessed the car in front of me suddenly leave the road and half a dozen more that had already left it! Thankfully I got home safely.

The gadgets in the 2001 Crown Victoria are user-friendly. The lights, heat settings and radio volume are big knobs, and with experience I could switch stations while driving without looking at the buttons.

To open the round gas tank covering, you must press a button on the driver's door. The gas lid will come off if you give it a hard left turn, and when you put it on straight and turn it to the right, it is on when you hear it click.

You can open the trunk by pressing a similar button on the door, or by using the key.

This is a car that insists on you wearing your seatbelt. It will yell at you about every 30 seconds if you don't buckle up.

The interior is very comfortable, with soft armrests in the front that can fold up and out of the way to make a clear path between front seats. I realized how comfortable and soft the back seat is when I lay down on it once while waiting for an amusement park parking lot to open and fell asleep.

Not everything about my car is perfect: I get worried when, during sudden braking during slow driving, the car makes a clunking noise. But it's probably normal. Also I think I need new windshield wipers. And for a while, during cold and damp mornings, the front windows would stick during opening and closing, and once got stuck completely (electrical problem?), and with some jiggling and turning the car on and off, came loose again. The front passenger's seat of this car is actually too low, but I never notice it of course. As you may know, it is only a rear-wheel drive and would not be good in the snow or northern conditions, but is FINE for being a Florida highway car!

One great thing about my 2001 Ford Crown Victoria is that it is not a "hot" car that someone would really want to go out of their way to steal. It is quite plain looking. But it looks beautiful to me. I can always pick it out from a distance with its big wide profile, gold/tan color, and sharp, silvery hubcaps and nose which remind me of teeth. I don't know how many of you name your cars, but I know quite a few people who do. I named my car "Triton", partly because it looks like a strong, powerful vessel, and partly after the detergent "Triton X100" used in biological laboratories, because I am a nerd.

Triton is currently my best friend...completely loyal, taking my wherever I wish, near or far.

Thanks for reading, and if I have any errors in my review from not being a car expert, let me know.
Amount Paid (US$): 10000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: Automatic