Which one?

[Atheist Icon]

I am looking at one of two different vehicles as a replacement for my 02 Mustang. I do not care about fuel economy, I am looking for overall usability, comfort, and ease of entrance/exit(do not want to fall in, crawl out), most importantly, if I am buying a vehicle, I want one that I want to drive. Unfortunately, the Mustang does not fit in any of those categories. I am closing on a house on the 31st(yay bad housing market!), so one of the other qualities I am looking for is some type of hauling ability. So, the two vehicles:

04 F150 Lightning
04 Mercury Marauder

The ones that I have found are the same price, same year, and about the same mileage.

F150 Lightning specs:
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2004/ford/f150/100316694/specs.html
Dimensions

Exterior
Length: 208 in. Width: 79.1 in.
Height: 70.9 in. Wheel Base: 119.8 in.
Ground Clearance: 8.75 in. Curb Weight: 4670 lbs.
Gross Weight: 6050 lbs.
Interior
Front Head Room: 40.8 in. Front Hip Room: 61 in.
Front Shoulder Room: 63.8 in. Front Leg Room: 40.9 in.
Maximum Seating: 3
Performance Data

Performance
Base Number of Cylinders: 8 Base Engine Size: 5.4 liters
Base Engine Type: V8 Horsepower: 380 hp
Max Horsepower: 4750 rpm Torque: 450 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 3250 rpm Maximum Payload: 1400 lbs.
Maximum Towing Capacity: 5000 lbs. Drive Type: RWD
Turning Circle: 44.3 ft.
Fuel Data

Fuel
Fuel Tank Capacity: 25 gal.
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway/Combined)
Automatic: 11 mpg / 15 mpg / 13 mpg
Range in Miles:
Automatic: 275 mi. / 375 mi. / 325 mi.


Marauder:
http://www.automotive.com/2004/09/mercury/marauder/index.html

•
4,605 cc 4.6 liters V 8 front engine with 91.4 mm bore, 91.4 mm stroke, 10.1 compression ratio, double overhead cam and four valves per cylinder 99V
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Premium unleaded fuel 91
•
Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 23 and EPA city (mpg): 17
•
Multi-point injection fuel system
•
19 gallon main premium unleaded fuel tank
•
Power: 225 kW , 302 HP SAE @ 5,750 rpm; 318 ft lb , 431 Nm @ 4,300 rpm


External dimensions: overall length (inches): 212, overall width (inches): 78.2, overall height (inches): 56.8, wheelbase (inches): 114.7, front track (inches): 63.4, rear track (inches): 65.6 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 41.5

•
Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 39.3, rear headroom (inches): 37.9, front hip room (inches): 58, rear hip room (inches): 58.7, front leg room (inches): 42, rear leg room (inches): 38.4, front shoulder room (inches): 60.3, rear shoulder room (inches): 60.3 and interior volume (cu ft): 109.9

I really want a big 4 door sedan, but I also want a truck, both are a blast to drive.

[El Comandante]

I would go with the F150 lightning. It's a more versatile vehicle and it seems to be lower to the ground than the usual pickup (making it easier to get in and out of). It meets all of your requirements.

It's funny that you pick the Mercury. I just drove a brand new Grand Marquis (Avis Rental) the other day and I wondered to myself why they still made this car. It was big, bulky, lumbering and gas inefficient. Anyway, the Marauder seems to be a Grand Marquis on steroids.

Too bad about the Mustang. I used to have a 2000 5.0 and I loved it. That car never gave me a problem and was always fun to drive.

[Atheist Icon]

Surprisingly my Mustang never gave me a major problem. It was flooded in Katrina when my wife was stationed in Biloxi and flooded here in 07 because of improper water drainage on base. Aside from the seat being stuck for my wife (5'7) and I drive it most of the time(6'3), the rear end howling like a dog and monkey getting raped, and just recently my AC going out, it did what I was looking for at the time, to and from work, that's it. It sucks because I liked not having a car payment, I think I spent 500 in the last 4 yrs on it, but I need something to fit my needs for the foreseeable future.


The Marauder was one of my favorite cars, big, fast, 4door...until the 2010 Taurus SHO came out....MMMmmm...Twin turbo v6 AWD. My wife said that we would get one when she got back from Afghanistan, but I was looking at about 700 a month going out the door for payment and insurance. I told her no, with a very heavy, heavy heart. I want to get my house paid off in 5 yrs. After that, I can get an SHO.

[Excrement_Cranium]

Surprisingly my Mustang never gave me a major problem. It was flooded in Katrina when my wife was stationed in Biloxi and flooded here in 07 because of improper water drainage on base. Aside from the seat being stuck for my wife (5'7) and I drive it most of the time(6'3), the rear end howling like a dog and monkey getting raped, and just recently my AC going out, it did what I was looking for at the time, to and from work, that's it. It sucks because I liked not having a car payment, I think I spent 500 in the last 4 yrs on it, but I need something to fit my needs for the foreseeable future.


The Marauder was one of my favorite cars, big, fast, 4door...until the 2010 Taurus SHO came out....MMMmmm...Twin turbo v6 AWD. My wife said that we would get one when she got back from Afghanistan, but I was looking at about 700 a month going out the door for payment and insurance. I told her no, with a very heavy, heavy heart. I want to get my house paid off in 5 yrs. After that, I can get an SHO.


Wow. The rare Ford man.

Go with the lightning. When you own a home, you. must. own. a. truck.

[mountain_rage]

Well this may just be from my early experience with them, but Fords used to be terrible, and I would never buy one. My parents had an Aerostar that started developing rust in its first year, went through 5 starters, had other engine troubles and eventually the sliding door fell off. Worst vehicle I've ever encountered, and it shouldn't of ever made it on the road. So I would say neither, but that is just me.

[fleecy]

yeah, my childhood was irreparably scarred by crappy fords as well. the neighborhood kids called our car "the jalopy". 3 times out of 5 it wouldn't start.

hopefully the quality has improved over time.

[Excrement_Cranium]

yeah, my childhood was irreparably scarred by crappy fords as well. the neighborhood kids called our car "the jalopy". 3 times out of 5 it wouldn't start.

hopefully the quality has improved over time.

The early 90's Tauruses were horrible for tossing trannies. And not the kind you get for $40 in Thailand, either.

The newer ones are the Ford 500 renamed to Taurus.

Ford trucks have always been decent, as well.

The Aerostar I understand - I can recognize Fords by sound thanks to the Aerostar my mom had. It's the power steering.

[Atheist Icon]

The power steering pump...dont even get me started on that shit...god. No matter how many off the shelf new ones I have put in, my own and in customer cars, they all whine. No matter how well you bled the system, they whined. They have gotten a lot better since the late 90's early 00's.

The new 2010 Taurus is beautiful piece of engineering. Not like the POS that was renamed when Mullaly(sp?) stepped in. He told them he wanted a car like the original that gave Ford not only the best selling Truck, but the best selling car from 89-94, and gave them 2 years to complete the task, I think they did a damn good job with it.

I am one of the few Ford elitist out there. Out of the 4 cars my wife and I have, we have one that is not a Ford, our Caddy.