The New Ford Police Interceptor Car Is an Intimidating Animal

fastblackmerc said:
Ford is back!
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Jessi Lang seems quite comfortable with cars and throwing them around on a track. How do we get her to attend Marauderville ??

Ford exhibited the new Taurus Interceptor at Carlisle All Fords a couple years ago.

Virginia State Police, Prince William County, and Fairfax County are already integrating them into their fleets as they retire some of the older models. Don't think any of them are running the 3.5L Ecoboosts.

At the 2012 Carlisle All Ford Nationals, June 2012

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In service with the Prince William County PD, November 2012

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I saw a program in 2011 where they were testing the Taurus the Impala and the charger...The Taurus blew them away in all categories and the Explorer did well too.
 
They are a great car...except for one fatal flaw.

The drivers door is too small for a medium to tall officer with a full gunbelt on to get into and out of 20-30-40x per day.

The one major reason most departments I know are going with the Interceptor Utility (Explorer) is due to the size of the front door and positioning of the pillar between the front/back. Its such a tight squeeze even trying to get into the vehicle that every officer I know and have spoken with prefers the Utility SUV model.

I had the option to get one in 2012 when I was on patrol...instead I went with a 2012 Dodge Charger with the Hemi...and I wasn't disappointed. While the Ford is a great car...the Hemi was standard vs. an extra $3K for the Ecoboost twin Turbo on the Ford and the nightmare of trying to fit my 6'6" frame into one.

Just my .02.
 
FiveO said:
They are a great car...except for one fatal flaw.

The drivers door is too small for a medium to tall officer with a full gunbelt on to get into and out of 20-30-40x per day.

The one major reason most departments I know are going with the Interceptor Utility (Explorer) is due to the size of the front door and positioning of the pillar between the front/back. Its such a tight squeeze even trying to get into the vehicle that every officer I know and have spoken with prefers the Utility SUV model.

I had the option to get one in 2012 when I was on patrol...instead I went with a 2012 Dodge Charger with the Hemi...and I wasn't disappointed. While the Ford is a great car...the Hemi was standard vs. an extra $3K for the Ecoboost twin Turbo on the Ford and the nightmare of trying to fit my 6'6" frame into one.

Just my .02.
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My nephew is Chgo PD and he is about 6'4" and they have him in the Impala which he hates so I can imagine what it is like since they stopped production of the full size Panthers
 
While I obviously can't comment on how the new Interceptor performs in law-enforcement duty, I can say the following:

1) It's not good looking. It looks like every other POS FWD car on the road today. (That may actually be a plus for the police)

2) It remains to be seen how the uber-complicated twin-turbo Eco-Boost engine will fare with 100,000 miles of patrol duty on it, not to mention how much it will cost to maintain vs. its predecessor.

3) Actual LEOs I have spoken to about the car all say the same thing: it's too damn small.

The neighbouring town of Falmouth MA has a couple of them, but most of the other departments around me are either keeping their CVPIs as long as possible or buying Chargers.
 
You guys are hitting the nail on the head on the size issue. Seems the US auto industry has decided cars that were intermediate sized cars a few years ago are now full size. Must have to do with trying to put a billion short Chinese people into a car.

In NJ I see so many police vehicles now that are SUV type. I suppose they work better in the snow than a car and now that full out chases are poo-pooed the SUV may actually be a better fit for American police as most are taller than 5'2"" and weigh more than 100lbs.
 
MOTOWN said:
That thing looks like a cracker jack box! wheres the key to wind it up?
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The Taurus is much larger than you think. I've got a pic of my Marauder and the Taurus SHO side-by-side and the Taurus makes the MM look small. Part of this is the Taurus stands higher. The hood is 4 inches higher than the MM and the trunk is nearly 6 inches taller. The roof is about 4 inches higher. Width is comparable and the length is just a bit short.

RF Overlord said:
While I obviously can't comment on how the new Interceptor performs in law-enforcement duty, I can say the following:

1) It's not good looking. It looks like every other POS FWD car on the road today. (That may actually be a plus for the police)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, the Taurus does appear similar to some of the other cars on the road today. Once you get attuned to them, you can spot them easily and pick them out from a crowd from the front, side or rear. The car has a natural rake to its body design.

2) It remains to be seen how the uber-complicated twin-turbo Eco-Boost engine will fare with 100,000 miles of patrol duty on it, not to mention how much it will cost to maintain vs. its predecessor.

I don't think many of the police departments are getting the 3.5L Ecoboost engines that come with the SHO. Most PDs are getting the regular 3.5L. The one LEO that I spoke too in PWC said that he likes the new Taurus but would have liked to have the V8 option ??? WTF ??

3) Actual LEOs I have spoken to about the car all say the same thing: it's too damn small.

I actually think that the Taurus interior is larger than the Marauder. The back seat leg room is definitely large. The trunk on the Taurus will hold 50% than the MM. The front seat room may seem crowded because of the wide console that sits about 4 inches taller than the MM. Some people have said that it restricts legroom. I have not noticed that problem at all. Must mostly affect those who drive with their legs spread open.

The neighbouring town of Falmouth MA has a couple of them, but most of the other departments around me are either keeping their CVPIs as long as possible or buying Chargers.
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Some pics from last year's Carlisle All Ford Nationals of both cars ...

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They'll have to go some to beat the CV!!:rolleyes:

I think the Taurus looks ridiculous and FWD.....AWD.....with the little V-6 ain't my cup-o-tea!!:shake:
 
Bluerauder said:
The Taurus is much larger than you think. I've got a pic of my Marauder and the Taurus SHO side-by-side and the Taurus makes the MM look small. Part of this is the Taurus stands higher. The hood is 4 inches higher than the MM and the trunk is nearly 6 inches taller. The roof is about 4 inches higher. Width is comparable and the length is just a bit short.
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Please! ive rode in that sardine can before, for a civilian car its fine , but for law enforcement use its a joke!

Detroit test drove the Taurus, and passed on it in favor of the Charger which is what the fleet consist of now, those, and Chevy Tahoes.
 
The explorers are much better as police units. A 12 hour shift in an explorer that can actually fit a cage in it would be much easier on the body.
 
Tell me about it our department was on a going green kick and we have two Altima hybrids 2010 I believe and the weather stripping is ripped from the drivers side from duty belts and big asses! Not to mention the cage taking up a fair share of room. But I'm 5'8" and have no problems :). They also suck in the snow way too low and drags on everything!
 
Last week I was talking to an officer of about my height - 6'-1", and he can't stand how cramped the Taurus is. He'd take the CV in a heart beat. He also wasn't too happy telling the staff sargent that his gun sight took a chunk out of the steering wheel when he was trying to get out. They may look and even be larger on the outside, but they are one cramped vehicle inside. As for the trunk, the entire layout is really miserable for installing all of the electronics and emergency gear. I'll take your word for it being larger than the CVPI's, but just like the interior, the ergonomics are all wrong. I spend every day worrying about my Ford Share price. Eventually, all of these mis-steps are going to start hurting my returns!
 
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Our new interceptors, 3.5L Ecoboost, yes feels a lil smaller than our Chargers but in my opinion an all around better cruiser. Handles beautifully, sits higher than Charger, AWD with Turbo power is awesome to drive, feels like it accelerates faster than our Chargers too. Very user friendly. The Chargers weren't bad cars and hardly broke down but they rode very stiff and hard(TWSS), but they are pretty roomy.

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Sent from my iPhone using every bit of my patience.
 
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