Is a Mercury Grand Marquise a similar car to a Toyota Avalon?
Both are nice and very different cars but from a rental stand point, I don’t think they are similar at all. What do you think?
They’re both sedans, both bigger than the average mid-size (which would be a Camry), so from a rental car standpoint, I’d say yes.
They’re similiar in size, but the Grand Marquis is RWD with a V8 engine. I don’t see the Avalon being more than a V6, and it certainly is FWD. So, there will be fuel considerations to make and handling to consider if you care that much or are dealing with snow.
For some silly and some serious reasons I sometimes rent a bigger car. My normal car is a large mid-sized SUV in the mountains of Colorado.
It’s fun to try on different size cars.
The Grand Marquise is 12” wider and 14” longer than the Avalon. I’ve driven both the Marquise and Avalon in Pittsburgh as rental cars. Both did fine. I don’t think they are similar though.
For zippy and small the Avalon would be a better choice. The Grand Marquise is easier for cramming people and luggage into. Though a mini-van would be a better choice.
I just got back from driving a Lincoln Town car around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Ohio. It’s comfortable, and it was a fun vacation. My Wife ran the Pittsburgh Marathon. We are pretty basic folks usually found in blue jeans and tee shirts. Not normally what steps out of a town car at the local ‘Eat and Park’ (shouldn’t it be ‘Park and Eat?)
I should have just taken the Avalon, but what the heck, I upgraded to the Lincoln.
enipla,
The MGM is the final car of its lineage: really big, rear-wheel-drive and commodity-priced.
There are other really big, rear-wheel-drive cars, but all of them are priced as “luxury” or premium vehicles.
As such, the MGM is getting lumped in with vehicles from the next class down: big, front-wheel-drive and commodity-priced.
At one point, the niche the MGM is included in would have included the Chevrolet Caprice prior to 1997.
For rental purposes they are both full-sized sedans. Most folks don’t really care about front or rear drive, and the differences between a big V6 and a small V8 is pretty small.
I wonder if I saw you?! I was supposed to run the half, but got sick and fell behind in my training - I went to the expo and got my shirt and all, though. Then we ate at some corned beef bar downtown (every restaurant in Pittsburgh is first and foremost a bar, I think) and saw this guy who walked in at 10:30 in the morning, drank the shot the bartender had ready for him, went to the bathroom, and left. Bartender says he does it every Saturday, same time, never says a word.
Yup, my bad. Then I was thinking, I wonder if they’re close in weight.
http://www.carseverything.com:
'08 Grand Marquis: Weights: curb weight (lbs) 4,039
'09 Avalon V6: Weights: curb weight (lbs) 3,610
That’s exactly who steps out of a Town Car at the Eat n Park. (No “and” please.) It’s a jeans and t-shirt sort of place, no matter what you drive.
No, just the places that are open downtown outside of the cultural district on a weekend. You needed to venture closer to the river for better food than Sammy’s. (Of course Subway or MickeyD’s would’ve been a better choice than Sammy’s. shudder)
On topic: A Grand Marquis is similar to an Avalon in that they’re both four door cars. That’s about it. I’d say a Grand Marquis by size alone would need to be a category above the Avalon, though perhaps its not as spacious inside as its increased size and weight would indicate? I’d say next category up for the lower fuel economy, if nothing else.
We where at the expo too. My Wife is the runner, I’m the pit crew. Our nephew did the 1 mile kids marathon on Saturday. My Wife wanted to beat 5 hours, her official time is 4:59:53.
That echos my thoughts. The Avalon is probably a better car overall. IF you where buying it.
But big ole American steel can be sorta fun. I ended up in a Lincoln Town car. Black with black leather 
:snerk: Silly but what the heck.
The Lincoln was nice, but had at least one big fault IMHO. Only one power port, the cig lighter. And it would automatically power down after about 15 seconds.
On the other hand, it is the second car I have ever driven that I did not have to put the seat all the way back to be comfortable. I actually had to move the seat up a bit. The only other car I have every done that in was my first. A 1962 Olds '98.
These were the classic police cars for a long time.