2012 Chevrolet Impala Police
As we reported earlier this year, gas mileage is increasingly becoming a concern for not only individuals but corporations and government agencies as well, including most police forces.
While the federal government is looking to improve the gas mileage of its fleets by switching to smaller cars and hybrids, police agencies around the country aren’t so fortunate, as their requirements typically demand big and powerful cars.
However, new V-6 engines offer the performance of previous generation V-8s but consume significantly less fuel, making them suitable for a new generation of police cruisers.
Take the latest 2012 Chevrolet Impala Police. The big sedan comes with a 3.6-liter V-6 engine developing 302 horsepower, but returns estimated gas mileage of 17 mpg city, 27 mpg highway. Compared to the previous model, the 2012 car has 70 more horsepower and delivers 3 mpg better combined mileage.
More significantly, compare this to the traditional Ford Crown Victoria (now going out of production), which returns just 14 mpg city, 21 mpg highway, and it’s easy to see why the black and white Chevy may offer an appealing choice to cash-strapped police departments.
The 2012 Chevrolet Impala Police also sprints from 0 to 60 mph in a brief 6.6 seconds, and cruises at speeds in excess of 140 mph. GM fits its Impala police car with special Goodyear Eagle RS-A all-season tires rated higher than that speed, along with uprated brakes and tweaks to the suspension and steering.
2011 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor
Going up against the Impala Police is Ford’s own range of ‘Interceptor’ police vehicles based on the Taurus and Explorer, both of which offer powerful V-6 engines and similar gas mileage to the Chevy.
Then there's the upcoming E7 dedicated police car from American law enforcement vehicle manufacturer Carbon Motors, which is expected to feature a highly efficient turbodiesel engine sourced from BMW.
[Chevrolet]
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