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Ever wonder what it’s like to be a police officer?

Well, here’s an amusing way to sneak a peek at one of the few lighthearted aspects of life on the beat.

In the process, you’ll find that there’s more fun in the new Ford Crown Victoria than you may have thought.

Here’s the drill.

Climb into your new Crown Vic, find yourself some stretch of freeway where traffic is brisk, then ease in behind someone who’s moving along a little over the limit.

Just trail along until the driver ahead notices you.

This sometimes takes a surprisingly long time, but the result is almost invariably the same. The driver takes a hard look at his or her mirrors and immediately slows down.

Then, as you motor on by, he or she assumes an expression of supreme nonchalance and innocence — the “Who, me?” look almost all of us have worn at one time or another.

The reason for this, of course, is that even in civilian clothes the Crown Vic registers as a police vehicle at first glance, especially when one suddenly materializes in your mirrors.

I exploited this phenomenon a number of times during my travels in a preproduction ’98 Crown Victoria LX, and I have to admit it wasn’t a total surprise.

The Crown Vic has gone from being one of America’s favorite cop cars to practically being its only cop car due to the demise of the Chevrolet Caprice and Impala.

Ford has made several useful updates in the latest renewal of its time-honored model (the name dates back to 1932).

1998 Ford Crown Victoria interior

As in the Town Car — and the similarly updated Mercury Grand Marquis — the rear suspension has been redesigned for better directional stability, and there’s a little more authority in the shock absorber damping to reduce body roll in hard cornering.

Ford has also improved the brakes and the power steering. It’s hard to discern the latter — it’s still deficient in feel, particularly when you’re making the small adjustments that go with freeway driving — but the new car does turn into corners and respond to quick directional changes more decisively.

I presume this is more true of my LX tester, which had slightly higher front spring and shock absorber damping rates, than suspension setup in the standard Crown Vic.

There’s also a slightly firmer feel to the ride quality, which enhances the sense of control without compromising the cushy ride quality that continues to be a fundamental part of the Crown Vic’s appeal.

Unfortunately, that’s an appeal that seems to be aimed at drivers who came of age in the heyday of wallow and float — the ’50s and ’60s — rather than those who might be ready to move up from a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.

Full-size traditionalists also expect V8 power, and Ford’s 4.6-liter V8 delivers that smoothly and quietly.

My test car was also equipped with an optional traction control system, a plus in a rear-wheel drive cars that must deal with snow and ice.

Like many traction controls, it uses a combination of brake and throttle intervention to combat wheelspin on slippery surfaces. The only downside is that you can’t turn it off, and there are times — in deep slush, for example — when the only way you can keep going is to let the drive wheels dig down through whatever’s covering the road surface.

When the coefficient of friction is close to zero, a traction control system such as this one won’t let you do any digging. It just shuts you down, and you get the feeling you might be immobilized until spring.

I’ve experienced this problem in other cars, and it’s irritating at best, dangerous at worst.

Although the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis both sport new front-and rear-end styling, you won’t have any trouble recognizing them.

They’re a half-inch wider, but the profiles are unchanged, as is the overall length and height.

The real strength of the Crown Vic interior is sp e — it’s wide enough to accommodate six, with plenty of legroom behind the front seats, whether your passengers wear handcuffs or not.

My LX test carr also had a $2,200 Comfort Plus option package that included automatic climate control, a premium AM/FM/cassette sound system, six-way power seats, a digital speedometer, antilock brakes, good-looking 16-inch cross-laced aluminum alloy wheels, and the traction control system.

I’ll leave the digital speedo alone — personally, I hate them, because they don’t show you rate of change — but it does seem to me that antilock brakes should be standard in any car that costs more than $20,000.

Other major options included a handling-performance package (slightly stiffer suspension components, fatter tires) for $615, and leather seats for $735.

Crown Vics should be showing up at Ford dealerships, with a base price of $21,540, including a $605 destination and delivery charge.

The better-equipped LX starts at $23,740, and you can obviously check enough option boxes to get the ready-to-roll price close to the $30,000 luxury frontier.

That doesn’t seem inappropriate, because the new Crown Vic does have a number of luxury traits — quiet operation, smooth ride, decent power and big-car feel. Not to mention outstanding crashworthiness.

Though Ford has done a pretty good job of keeping the rear-wheel-drive sedan current, driving fun isn’t part of the equation.

Ford seems reluctant to offer power in the Crown Vic, even though the 4.6-liter V8 has plenty of potential. For example, it’s tuned to deliver 280 horsepower in the Lincoln Mark VIII, 305 horsepower in the Mustang Cobra.

Part of it was also due to a sporty flavor — a tachometer in the instrument cluster, for example, and cop car suspension tuning.

I think folks like Ed Nalodka, who heads Crown Vic engineering, would like to do something like this with the car, and I hope he gets his way.

For now, however, the cops get to have most of the fun. Then again, they deserve to have some fun.

SPECS

RATING: No rating for preproduction vehicles

VEHICLE TYPE: Front-engine, rear-drive full-size sedan

KEY COMPETITORS: Buick LeSabre, Dodge Intrepid

BASE PRICE: $23,740

PRICE AS TESTED: $27,345

STANDARD EQUIPMENT: Dual air bags, air-conditioning, AM/FM/cassette audio, power mirrors, power windows, power locks, keyless remote entry, cruise control, anti-theft system

SPECIFICATIONS:

(manufacturer’s data)

Engine 215-h.p. 4.6-liter V8

EPA fuel econ. 17 m.p.g. city/24 highway

Curb weight 3,927 pounds

Wheelbase 114.7 inches

Length 212.0 inches

Width 78.2 inches

Height 56.8 inches

Where assembled St. Thomas, Ontario