Sedans would likely remain as the top vehicle choice for patrolling built-up urban areas. But for suburban and rural areas, SUVs are getting popularity.
Julie Furlotte, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's national mobile assets manager, said in an interview with Automotive News that they are dealing with the same issue with police vehicles. According to her, the cars are getting smaller and yet there is still demand for more gadgets and equipment to be put into those cars. This makes it always a bit of a tradeoff and a challenge to make everything fit in.
The Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP), for example, operates a formidable law enforcement armada. It buys an approximation of 1,800 and 2,000 police vehicles a year. Its current fleet has 1,200-1,300 police-package sedans and 1,600 utility vehicles. Police authorities, like civilian drivers, also like the bigger vehicles' higher-up seating position and ease of entry and exit.
Sgt. Michael McCarthy of the Michigan State Police (MSP) precision-driving team - whose annual evaluation of pursuit-related police vehicles is the standard reference of annual evaluation of pursuit-related vehicles for police fleet purchases - told Automotive News that the larger the guy is, the harder it is to get into a smaller car. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is also buying a larger percentage of SUVs than they are of sedans. SUVs, he said, are very capable, have a fairly short turning radius, and are deceptively fast. And since automaker pursuit designations are a gray area, the MSP trials provide benchmark figures for acceleration, top speed, braking, and handling.
Police vehicle evaluation for model year 2017 can be found in Open Michigan's website. You may check if your favorite car brand and model is there. Included in the list are the following SUVs: 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L RWD, 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L 4WD, Ford Police Interceptor (PI) Utility 3.7L AWD, and Ford PI Utility 3.5L EcoBoost AWD.
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