What makes front-wheel drive perform so well? To be clear it isn't particularly better when driven by an experienced performance driver, but together with a well sorted chassis and a drivetrain that produces nominal torque steer a driver of average skills will usually achieve better results with the front wheels pulling rather than the rear ones pushing.
Fortunately the Chrysler Intrepid has a very well sorted chassis and its powerful V6 engine produces little torque steer, allowing quick a controlled take-off even mid corner. Chrysler set up a short autocross course at the police controlled P-TEK testing grounds situated on an old decommissioned slab of the Boundary Bay airport. The granular concrete is ruthless on the police issue Goodyear Eagle rubber, eating up sidewalls and turning grooves into slicks in a matter of days. That said they're wonderfully sticky tires and perfectly suited to the Intrepid.
The course began with a quick 0 to 100 km/h run and then an equally quick braking test, all between two neat rows of orange cones. The police issue Intrepid accelerates well, due to its 244-hp 3.5-L SOHC 24-valve V6 - the most sophisticated engine in its class. Comparatively the Ford puts out 210-hp in standard trim and 235 with its optional engine package while the Chevy makes do with a less impressive 200-hp. The Crown Vic wins the torque war by 24 lb-ft, 274 over the Intrepid's 250 lb-ft while the Chevy once again lags behind with 220.
Of course horsepower and torque ratings can only be compared equally pushing or pulling identical weights. Since Ford doesn't sell the Crown Victoria to the public I'll have to make a comparison with its sister car, the Mercury Grand Marquis. It weighs in at a hefty 1,795 kg (3,957 lb), 171 kg (377 lbs) heavier than the 1,624 kg (3,580 lb) Intrepid. To be fair the luxuriously equipped Grand Marquis is probably a hundred pounds heavier than the Crown Vic, but with that in mind you also need to consider that police equipped cars are made to a higher standard than retail machines. In the case of the Intrepid its beefed up engine, suspension and brakes have increased its weight by 50 kg (111 lb) over the stock Intrepid. Adding 50 kg (111 lb) to the Chevy Impala's base curb weight would bring it to 1,590 kg (3,401 lb), still lighter than all of its competition.
Fortunately the Chrysler Intrepid has a very well sorted chassis and its powerful V6 engine produces little torque steer, allowing quick a controlled take-off even mid corner. Chrysler set up a short autocross course at the police controlled P-TEK testing grounds situated on an old decommissioned slab of the Boundary Bay airport. The granular concrete is ruthless on the police issue Goodyear Eagle rubber, eating up sidewalls and turning grooves into slicks in a matter of days. That said they're wonderfully sticky tires and perfectly suited to the Intrepid.
The course began with a quick 0 to 100 km/h run and then an equally quick braking test, all between two neat rows of orange cones. The police issue Intrepid accelerates well, due to its 244-hp 3.5-L SOHC 24-valve V6 - the most sophisticated engine in its class. Comparatively the Ford puts out 210-hp in standard trim and 235 with its optional engine package while the Chevy makes do with a less impressive 200-hp. The Crown Vic wins the torque war by 24 lb-ft, 274 over the Intrepid's 250 lb-ft while the Chevy once again lags behind with 220.
Of course horsepower and torque ratings can only be compared equally pushing or pulling identical weights. Since Ford doesn't sell the Crown Victoria to the public I'll have to make a comparison with its sister car, the Mercury Grand Marquis. It weighs in at a hefty 1,795 kg (3,957 lb), 171 kg (377 lbs) heavier than the 1,624 kg (3,580 lb) Intrepid. To be fair the luxuriously equipped Grand Marquis is probably a hundred pounds heavier than the Crown Vic, but with that in mind you also need to consider that police equipped cars are made to a higher standard than retail machines. In the case of the Intrepid its beefed up engine, suspension and brakes have increased its weight by 50 kg (111 lb) over the stock Intrepid. Adding 50 kg (111 lb) to the Chevy Impala's base curb weight would bring it to 1,590 kg (3,401 lb), still lighter than all of its competition.