Mercury Marauder vs Chevrolet Impala SS: Recalling Detroit’s Muscle Sedans
The Panther platform, the B-body and an era when 260 HP was a lot.
Mercury Marauder vs Chevy Impala SS — it was comparo that only really happened in theory. Chevy’s muscle sedan ran from 1994-96, while Mercury’s answer arrived in 2003 and only lasted until 2004. They’re linked inextricably, as there were few options for powerful American sedans during that milquetoast period for enthusiasts.
The debate was reignited recently among Autoblog editors when a pristine 1996 Chevy Impala SS with just 2,173 miles on the odometer hit the market on Bring a Trailer. Most of the staff favored the Impala for its sinister looks and said that it lived up to its billing as a legit muscle car. Nearly two-thirds of you agree. We ran an unscientific Twitter poll that generated 851 votes, 63.9 percent of which backed the Impala.
Then and now enthusiasts felt the Impala was a more complete execution with guts. The Marauder, despite coming along later, felt more hacked together, according to prevailing sentiments. Why? On purpose and on paper they’re similar.
The Impala’s 5.7-liter LT1 V8 making 260 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque was impressive for a two-ton sedan in the mid-’90s. The Marauder was actually more powerful — its 4.6-liter V8 was rated at 302 hp and 318 lb-ft. The Impala’s engine was also used in the C4 Corvette. The Marauder’s mill was shared with the Mustang Mach 1. You can see why they resonated so deeply with Boomers longing for a bygone era and also captured the attention of coming-of-age Gen Xers.
