Vortex
08-16-2009, 07:38 PM
Today I just felt like going for a long drive and wanted to put a few miles on my 09 Grand Marquis I picked up a couple of months ago. I drove about 170 miles on interstate highways and state highways and it was nice just getting out. Thought Id stretch the legs of the GM and drove about 30 or 40 miles around 80-85 mph and was pretty impressed with the cruising performance. As comparted with my MM, the GM takes a loooonnngg time to get up to speed but once there, well, 80 mph at around 2k rpms seemed pretty nice. I learned the seats on the GM, though the bottom cushion is larger than the MM, isnt as comfortable. Seems to be made cheaper like there is less foam and the quality of the leather isnt near as good as the MM. One time last year I sat in a "Palm Beach" version of a GM and it had MM quality leather but the regular LS like mine isnt the same thing. Its not bad, just not as good as the MM. Handling is totally different from the MM. It doesnt feel like there are any sway bars at all under the rear (I actually havent looked) but cornering it kinda wallows. One thing it seems to do better than our MMs is absorb bumps, it rides smoother but I guess thats probably from the tires too. Bottom line is the MM, even though its the exact same body and frame, feels and drives like a smaller car when compared to the GM. Strange.