As history books explain, a successful marauder must be strong, intimidating and capable of overpowering adversaries. The Mercury Marauder is this. Its strength comes in the form of a naturally aspirated all-aluminum, low emissions 4.6-liter (281 cubic inch) DOHC 4-valve per cylinder heart that pounds out a forceful 302 horsepower at 5,750 rpm and a formidable 318 pound-feet of torque at 4,300 rpm. Can there be anything sweeter?
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| Living up to its name, the Marauder's 302-hp 4.6-liter V8 DOHC engine is strong, intimidating and capable of overpowering adversaries. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
Refinements for 2004 include the addition of dual knock sensors, providing a more precise spark advance and a corresponding improvement in the engine's overall performance and low-end acceleration. A limited slip differential ensures maximum traction is applied to the roadway when surging to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in slightly less than 7 seconds. What a great kick-in-the-pants for a full-size family sedan.
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| The Marauder's 4-speed automatic transmission misses the mark and doesn't encourage performance shifting. (Photo: Ford Motor Company) |
Marauder power flows through a heavy-duty 4R75W 4-speed automatic transmission with improved shift response. The new transmission provides quicker upshifts and downshifts, and lets the driver "kick down" into first gear at a higher speed. Where Mercury completely missed the mark is in the number of gears and the method of selecting them. Many high-end vehicles are now equipped with five-speed automatics with Mercedes going as far as a 7-speed automatic transmission. But even with four gears, Mercury could have significantly advanced Marauder's performance edge with by incorporating a sporty manual-shift mode unit. Marauder's basic inline, "Drive-2-1" format may be reminiscent of the '60s but it's completely out of place in Y2K and beyond. This low-tech arrangement doesn't encourage performance shifting, make best use of the engine's powerband or enable maximum use of engine braking.
Gear selector aside, it's quite refreshing for an American auto manufacturer to apply a high-performance theme to a full-size, V8-powered, rear-wheel drive, 4-door former luxo-cruiser - other than the fact that Chevy did basically the same thing a few years back with its full-size, V8-powered, rear-wheel drive Impala SS - with an all-black monochromatic paint scheme to boot.