When Ford ended production of its long-lasting Panther platform, police precincts all over the nation cried out in anguish. To many it meant the end of the line for the venerable Crown Victoria, which forms the cornerstone of many cop fleets. But Ford has stepped up with two new offerings to replace the outgoing Crown Vic: the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor and the Explorer Interceptor Utility.
The Mustang News reports that Ford has just gotten their first big order for this new generation of police interceptor vehicles from non other than the Chicago Police Department and their mayor, Rahm Emanuel.
Though the Crown Vic has been forced to retire, police departments have unprecedented choice when it comes to a replacement. GM offers its Caprice PPV, and Dodge has a cop version of its four-door Charger. But Ford is the only company that offers cops neither a V8 nor rear-wheel drive, which some departments may not like.
But with an available 355 horsepower EcoBoost engine and all-wheel drive available on the Taurus, this new breed of cop car is both faster and more fuel efficient than the outgoing Crown Vic. Mayor Emanuel’s order of 500 Taurus and Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles is Ford’s largest order to date, showing that you don’t need a V8 or rear-wheel drive to make an effective pursuit vehicle. You just need to make a damn good car.
America’s police officers have their work cut out for them, and they require hardy vehicles to handle the daily stress of their line of work. Chrysler, GM, and Ford are all trying to sell our nation’s police on their particular take on a police pursuit vehicle, and with Ford recently retiring the best-selling Crown Victoria, it needs a new vehicle to take the reigns. That vehicle is the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor and Explorer Interceptor, and Ford put together a nice brief vehicle comparing GM and Chrysler’s to the Blue Oval using real police officers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tsbf6gT ... r_embeddedThe officers had a lot of things to say about the competition, as well as Ford’s Police Interceptor. Of the Chevy Tahoe PPV, officers said it was “top heavy” and “a lot of work to drive.” Of the Dodge Charger Hemi, officers said it had a lot of rear power which made it difficult to control on the wet pad, which simulates slick road conditions. That’s where Ford’s all-wheel drive offerings came in.
Both the “Interceptor Utility” (Explorer) and Police Interceptor (Taurus) feature all-wheel drive systems, as well as fuel efficient V6 engines with around 300 horsepower. The officers found these vehicles much easier to control in the corners, even with the Electronic Stability Control disabled. Don’t take our word for it though; check out this video to see some slick driving from these police officers and judge for yourself which vehicles performed best. There are plenty of other videos from these tests too, so check them all out.
It’s been so long in coming that it is hard to believe that it is almost hard to believe that production of the Crown Victoria really does end this year. Some police departments and taxi cab companies have even taken to stockpiling these ancient sedans for future use. So the Ford Taurus Police Interceptor really does have its work cut out for it, and filling in for the Crown Victoria will be no small task.
It won’t be impossible though, especially with all the updates Ford has made to the 2013 Taurus model. USA Today revealed that the Taurus Police Interceptor will hit the streets with all of the 2013 model’s improvements. That means more horsepower, and maybe even more engine choices.
The 2013 Ford Taurus, which Ford unveiled last week at the New York Auto Show, has been blessed with a number of tweaks and improvements from the sheet metal to the power train. Previous Police Interceptor concepts have been based around the current generation Taurus, which most say is a good-but-underpowered large sedan.
Ford aims to fix that, with the base 3.5 liter V6 engine getting a 27 horsepower boost to 290 ponies, and Ford revealed that a new engine, the 2.0 liter four-cylinder EcoBoost, will be also be available as a 2013 option. Whether or not that means the Police Interceptor model will be available with the turbo four-pot, we don’t know, but with at least a 31 mpg highway rating, it could be a very effective patrol car for counties with long stretches of rarely-driven roadways. But with Chevy getting back into the police car game with the Caprice PPV, and Dodge’s Charger Pursuit is making an impression on departments across the country, will there be room for the Taurus?
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