Mercury Grand Marquis vs Buick Lucerne 01/04/2011
Two of the older American brands in existence, Mercury and Buick each offer refined, classic sedans for around $30,000. So which is the better buy?
The Buick Lucerne and Mercury Grand Marquis are just $200 apart in price, with the Grand Marquis slightly more expensive. However, the Lucerne comes with a superior warranty at 4 years/50,000 miles basic and 5 years/100,000 miles for the powertrain. The Grand Marquis, meanwhile, offers just 3 years/36,000 miles basic and 5 years/60,000 miles for the powertrain.
In terms of performance, the Lucerne has just 3 more horsepower, so there's not much difference there. The Grand Marquis, however, has almost 40 more lb-ft torque, with 275 compared to the Lucerne's 237. If drivers don't particularly care about the torque difference, the Lucerne does have a 17 city/27 highway fuel economy rating, substantially better than the Grand Marquis' 16/24.
On the inside, the Grand Marquis has a nice feature in standard dual-climate control, something only available as an option on the Lucerne. The Buick offers an iPod hookup, satellite radio and a trial subscription to OnStar, features that are unforunately unavailable on the Mercury.
In the end, the Buick offers too many extra features for the Grand Marquis to keep up. However, drivers who prefer the Mercury should keep in mind that Ford ended the brand recently, so they might need to do a little digging in order to find a model.