Which Is The Best Cop Car?
Each year, the Michigan State Police organizes a comparative match between all the police vehicles offered on the market. This test is considered one of the most comprehensive in the United States, and is often cited as an example.
This year, no newcomers: Ford brought 3 Tauruses (FWD and AWD V6, plus an Ecoboost) and two Explorers (3.7-litre and a V6 EcoBoost), Dodge sent no less than four Chargers (V6 and V8, each with two different axle ratios) and Chevy rolled in with a Caprice, two Tahoes (2 and 4-wheel drive) and a last-generation Impala.
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In the acceleration tests, the AWD Taurus with its 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 came out on top, with a 5.85 second time for a 0-100 km/h run. Ford also scored a win with the EcoBoost in the SUV department, since the Explorer was faster than both Tahoes.
Another important aspect of police driving is stopping distance: if an officer can’t stop in time, their mission may be compromised… The Charger won this round, since a V6 model stopped in 38 metres from a starting speed of 100 km/h. The Taurus took 2 metres more to come to a standstill, which is only one metre less than the worst vehicle of the pack, a 2WD Tahoe.
Finally, all vehicles were run on a racing circuit. Once again, the Charger (equipped with a V8 and AWD) was the fastest vehicle of the day, followed by the EcoBoost Taurus and the Caprice.