Michigan Police Vehicle Test Results

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There is no question the EB engines make fantastic "all around" power. So, it's no surprise the EB powered Explorer PI performs like a sports car.

In reality, the performance of the turbocharged engines is simply a matter of tuning. The 3.5L EB engine ranges from 365HP to 450HP in common form and 600+ HP in performance trim.

An example I often give is the high peak torque of turbocharged engines commonly declines as RPM increases, limiting peak HP. Tuning via boost management (boost increases with RPM) (assuming the turbochargers are not so small they can't provide the addl boost) results in massive increases in HP without any additional torque stress on the components.
 
Useful for State Police or Highway Patrol, but municipal Dept's operating with a focus on Problem Oriented Policing and Community Policing could care less about high powered "interceptor" engines and are also typically under significant budget constraints these days, with fuel budgets being no exception. Our Dept, for example, buys standard base model 4 cyl Ford Fusions at a dime a dozen for CID cars (Detectives), and only the V6 versions of the Special Service pkg's from either Ford or Dodge for patrol ops, and even then they wince at the fuel budget every year.

However, it is good that the yearly offerings are put the test like this by MSP, no arguing with that.
 
Like JD power these types of test are worthless. Let's see the cost of repairs and maintenance at 60K miles, 120K miles, and 200,000 miles. How many days in the shop, how many times left stranded along the road.
 
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^^^Nice idea, but unlikely.

As stated above pure performance is hardly what the majority of police work entails. And let's face it, many LEO's have a lead foot! But I think the taxpayer deserves some real world results, too. Just too expensive for a typical budget.
 
With many police departments no longer doing high speed pursuits due to liability etc....I see no need for them to have Hemi Chargers and Eco-Boost vehicles to "collect their taxes". Let them drive the smallest and most fuel efficient vehicle that meets their needs!
 
Originally Posted by GMBoy
With many police departments no longer doing high speed pursuits due to liability etc....I see no need for them to have Hemi Chargers and Eco-Boost vehicles to "collect their taxes". Let them drive the smallest and most fuel efficient vehicle that meets their needs!


+1
 
Originally Posted by goodtimes
Did they test the roll over abilities at high speeds with an suv pursuit vehicle?
True, high CG vehicles like that would roll over much easier than a sedan. Crash testing a 2018 Ford Explorer results in poor performance. Bad headlights too. Roof crush (your rollover inquiry) is decent, but not that good. https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/ford/explorer-4-door-suv

Originally Posted by LoneRanger
Useful for State Police or Highway Patrol, but municipal Dept's operating with a focus on Problem Oriented Policing and Community Policing could care less about high powered "interceptor" engines and are also typically under significant budget constraints these days, with fuel budgets being no exception. Our Dept, for example, buys standard base model 4 cyl Ford Fusions at a dime a dozen for CID cars (Detectives), and only the V6 versions of the Special Service pkg's from either Ford or Dodge for patrol ops, and even then they wince at the fuel budget every year.

These hybrid Fusions would be much better, although probably about $2,000 more per car. https://www.ford.com/fordpoliceresponder/ I have the same powertrain in my Ford C-Max and love it, seldom idling, in city driving I get up to 52 MPG, averaging 44 MPG now in mixed driving, long term. Say a detective car gets 40,000 miles per year on it (multiple shifts, I dunno), then it would take about 1 year to recoup the addiional cost of the $2k extra for the Fusion hybrid version.

Originally Posted by thescreensavers
You can check the Rollover Resistance ratings here https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/FORD/EXPLORER/SUV/FWD#safety-ratings-rollover
Roof crush was good, but not great really. My '18 Equinox boxy CUV did better for example. IIHS has a good test at https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/ford/explorer-4-door-suv
 
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These tests are definitely becoming a little outdated at this point. None of these cars hold a candle to a significant amount of production vehicles, and the police have known it for some time.

Chases these days are all about air support and deployment strategy. They catch Hellcat Chryslers and ZR1 Corvettes that way. They catch 200MPH sport bikes that way. The days of "PIT"ing a car at 140MPH are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Safer and easier just to keep tabs on the offender until he runs out of gas, thinks he got away, or just spike his tires.
 
There's a few departments here that still seem to enjoy high-speed pursuits. One in particular seems to hang out around their local Walmart and is involved in pursuits of shoplifters, yes shoplifters, at least once a month. I'm not condoning theft in any way whatsoever but some day, someone (probably an innocent bystander) is going to die over stolen make-up or steaks. Pursuits are really unnecessary in too many cases. A recent example is a Jeep was stolen and the vehicle had a GPS tracker in it. The owner called the police, told them it was stolen and where it was driving. What's the urgency at that point ? Catch the thief before they ditch the vehicle ? Maybe.... Instead, one officer was going high speed to "catch" them (when other officers could intercept it without excessive speed), caused an accident, and a passenger in a car that happened to be on that same road is now dead.
 
They need a metric for how many days of cop abuse it can handle without breaking. My prediction: Tahoe ranked 1st, Ford Eco 2nd, Dodge 3rd. Then take that data and compare it to the resale value at the end of life. Tahoe and F150 will win there. Just buy Tahoes and F150s because they will end up being the cheapest in the long run.
 
Performance in police vehicles aren't always about "pursuit" ops--I spent much of my early career patrolling on the interstate. Just to safely overtake a speed violator from a stop (i.e. median crossover) requires acceleration performance--just to get out of the crossover safely between other traffic, and to overtake the violator before he makes it into the next state. Also, performance is required just to respond to certain high-risk complaints or request for assistance--especially the ability to pass around other vehicles quickly and safely. Lower-powered vehicles make that especially hazardous and nerve-wracking. I do agree that police chases are a liability nightmare and shouldn't happen except in instances of egregious crimes or imminent threat of public safety. I've been in a few high-speed chases and I hated every minute of it.
 
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