Mine's a '95 with 300,000 on it. No slop in the steering, highway ride is excellent - and I grew up driving "fine European Import" type cars as well as competition equipment.
Unless you've done something to improve on the factory design, that's really just your opinion. The "sloppy feel" is built into the steering of every pre-'03 Crown Vic. :-)
Mind you, it only feels sloppy. It's accurate, it doesn't have any play in it, but it doesn't have a good "on-center" feel to it. The rack-and-pinion steering in the new ones is unquestionably better.
Still, like your '95, my '97 with is just fine with high speeds. The factory-optional handling package makes the twisties fun, too. Some people are surprised to see a Crown Vic take curves and freeway ramps at double the posted limit.