Used 2000 Ford Crown Victoria

This is our favorite full-size sedan under $30K. You don't have to be a cop, a taxi driver or a Floridian to appreciate the Vic.

If you've been pinching your pennies to buy a new full-size, rear-drive American sedan, we hope you like Fords. The Blue Oval is the only manufacturer building such cars these days. Decades-old technology allows Ford to keep the prices low, and the car is a favorite among fleet buyers for taxi companies, police departments, or just those who need space and don't want a minivan or sport-ute.

The grand dame of the Ford lineup was redesigned in 1998, getting improved steering and handling, a formal roofline, a more prominent grille, a new hood and revised rear styling. Consequently, not much changes for 2000. The Crown Victoria does receive many of the safety changes that Ford has implemented across the line for 2000. The mobster -- er, emergency trunk release allows people who are trapped in the trunk to release the hatch. The child seat anchor brackets in the back seat provide parents and caregivers an improved method to buckle in their child safety seats more securely. The system secures child safety seats using tethers that attach to the anchor brackets, in addition to traditional safety belts.

These days the Ford Crown Victoria and its Mercury Grand Marquis stablemate offer much more value than most compact and midsize cars being peddled at your local auto mall. Think about this: the Crown Vic costs just over $26,000 fully loaded with electric everything and a leather interior. In contrast, a similarly equipped Toyota Avalon runs more than $30,000, and the much smaller Toyota Camry XLE costs $25,000; despite a wimpy (in comparison) V6, tight seating for five, and a comparatively small trunk.

In stock trim, the Crown Victoria drives and handles like you would expect a big American sedan to do. It's comfortable, but it's all too happy to float around over bumps. The handling and performance group adds a few horsepower and improves the car's stability in the twisties; we recommend it to anyone who enjoys backcountry highways more than mind-numbing interstates for their family vacations. The Watt's Linkage rear suspension gives this car's rear axle a 400 percent increase in rigidity, a real payoff in the handling department. Larger brake rotors with dual piston calipers help pull the car down from high speeds without overheating. The Crown Victoria's traction control operates at all speeds, using the antilock brakes and engine spark retardation to keep the rear wheels from slipping.

So, if you're one of the few people unwilling to pay for a sport-utility's high insurance premiums and abysmal gas mileage and if you just can't stand the idea of a minivan, we hope that you like the Crown Victoria. It's your only choice for an American full-size, rear-wheel-drive sedan.