Photo courtesy of Raymond Holt, Michigan State Police.
The Michigan State Police has released preliminary results from its testing of 2013 model-year police vehicles. MSP's tests included acceleration and speed, braking, and vehicle driving dynamics.
The agency's Precision Driving Unit tested a total of eight sedans, variations of the Chevrolet Caprice PPV, the Ford Police Interceptor, and Dodge Charger Police Pursuit, and two SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe PPV and the Ford PI Utility. MSP also tested the 3.6L Chevrolet Impala.
For the Caprice, MSP tested the 6.0L and 3.6L versions. For the Ford PI, MSP tested the 3.5L FWD, 3.5L AWD, the turbocharged 3.5L AWD, and the latest 3.7L AWD version. For the Chargers, MSP tested the 5.7L and the 3.6L models. For the SUVs, MSP tested the 5.3L Tahoe and the Ford PI Utility AWD version with the 3.7L engine.
For the acceleration and speed tests, among the sedans, the turbocharged 3.5L Ford PI had the fastest 0 to 60 mph time at 5.75 seconds. It also had the fastest 0 to 100 mph time at 13.77 seconds. The Chevrolet Caprice 6.0L had the second-fastest 0 to 60 mph time, at 6.03 seconds, and the number two 0 to 100 mph time, at 14.28 seconds. The Caprice did have the highest top speed for the sedans, at 154 mph. The Dodge Charger with the 5.7L came in at the number three spot for the 0 to 60 mph test, at 6.08 seconds (with a 3.06 axle ratio), and third in the 0 to 100 mph test, at 14.39 seconds (with the 2.65 axle ratio).
For the SUVs, the Ford PI Utility with the 3.7L engine had a 0 to 60 time of 7.96 seconds, for first place in that category. However, the Chevrolet Tahoe with the 5.3L engine had a slightly faster 0 to 100 mph time, at 21.07 seconds. The Ford PI Utility came in at 21.13 seconds.
For the brake tests, the Ford PI AWD model with the 3.7L engine had the shortest 60 to 0 mph stopping distance, at 128.2 ft. The 6.0L Chevrolet Caprice came in second, at 128.3 ft., and the Dodge Charger with the 5.7L and 3.06 axle ratio came in third, with a stopping distance of 128.5 ft. The Chevrolet Tahoe came in first at 130.5 ft. among the SUVs, and the Ford PI Utility came in at 132.6 ft.
In the driving dynamics tests, the Ford PI with AWD and the 3.7L engine had the fastest 2-mile lap time at 1 minute, 35 seconds. The Chevrolet Caprice with the 6.0L engine came in second in a near dead heat at 1 minute, 35 seconds. The Dodge Charger with the 5.7L engine and the 2.65 axle ratio came in at 1 minute, 36 seconds. Of the SUVs, the Ford PI Utility with AWD and the 3.7L engine came in at 1 minute, 40 seconds. The Chevrolet Tahoe had a lap time of 1 minute, 42 seconds.
View the preliminary testing data here.
Greg Basich is the web editor for Automotive Fleet.
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