Summary
- The Ford Police Interceptor Utility is the fastest cop car in America, with a top speed of 148 mph and a 0-60 mph time of under six seconds.
- It has a hybrid powertrain option that helps save on fuel costs, with up to $3,509 in annual savings.
- The Interceptor Utility is specifically designed for police use, with safety features like reinforced bumpers, side protection enhancements, and police-calibrated systems for braking and all-wheel drive.
The fastest cop car today is not what you might expect, and this car is everywhere. It is the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, which is the best-selling Police vehicle in America. Because of the similarities between the Interceptor Utility EcoBoost and the Ford Explorer, many people confuse these two SUVs with each other. After all, on any given day, you might drive by a soccer parent picking up their kids from school in a Ford Explorer.
So it might surprise you to know that the nearly identical-looking Ford P.I. Utility is the fastest car the American police force currently has on the road. While the modern police force also has vehicles like the Dodge Charger Pursuit, it is the Ford Police Interceptor Utility with a whopping 148 mph top speed, which is the fastest cop car today.
Not to mention that the SUV can shoot from a standstill to 60 MPH in under six seconds, which is arguably one of the most important statistics for a police vehicle because the majority of their cases will be short distances. The ones that do end up going long end in a crash by the criminal being chased due to a lack of driving skills or by the help of a well-placed hit from a reinforced police bumper.
Updated on August 28, 2023: The Police Interceptor is one of the fastest on the force today, even outdoing the Charger and the old-school Caprice and Crown Victoria cruisers. Therefore, instead of letting this informative piece get lost in the shuffle, we have updated it with fresh and exciting information for your reading entertainment.
Fast And Fuel-Efficient Powertrains In The 2023 Ford Police Interceptor Utility
So, why is this ordinary-looking mid-size SUV so fast? After all, it is far bulkier than many other cars on the road (having a curb weight of around 5,793 pounds), and it doesn't have an engine that sounds monstrous upon ignition. As you may have guessed, although they look similar at face value, the Ford P.I. Utility EcoBoost isn't the same as the average, ordinary Ford Explorer. The P.I. stands for Police Interceptor, and as the name suggests, this special version of the Ford Explorer is designed to chase down criminals.
Meaning it has to have enough power to be successful in high-speed pursuits. The standard powertrain includes a 3.3-liter V-6 hybrid with 318 horsepower and 322 pound-feet of torque. The hybrid technology is beneficial for in-town driving, capturing energy the car would usually lose during braking, idling, and coasting.
That is so significant because an officer's car spends about 60 percent of its life idling. There are so many electronic devices within the cabin that there is no other way to keep everything powered on. The police-calibrated regenerative braking charges a 48-volt lithium-ion battery. This is not just good for the environment, but it leads to considerable savings in terms of fuel costs, up to $3,509 annually.
Engine Performance
Engine | Horsepower | Torque | 0 to 60 MPH | Top Speed | Fuel Efficiency |
3.3-liter Direct-Injection V-6 | 285 horsepower | 260 pound-feet | 7.95 seconds | 136 MPH | 17/23/19 |
3.3-liter HEV V-6 Hybrid | 318 horsepower | 322 pound-feet | 7.28 seconds | 136 MPH | 23/24/24 |
3.0-liter EcoBoost | 400 horsepower | 415 pound-feet | 5.8 seconds | 148 MPH | 17/22/19 |
If you choose the gas-only variant, power drops to 285 horses and 260 pound-feet of torque. However, the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine with 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque outruns every police car out there. In fact, Ford states that P.I. Utility vehicles equipped with the 3.0-liter EcoBoost even outperformed V-8-equipped police cars from competitors. In either powertrain, power is sent to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission and special police-calibrated intelligent all-wheel drive system.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan State Police put these police vehicles through their paces with acceleration runs, top speed numbers, or even lap times, and the Ford Utility P.I. came out on top. According to PoliceMag, the Ford P.I. Utility, with a 0-60 MPH time of 5.68 seconds and a top speed of 148, was both the quickest and fastest cop car among gas-powered models, beating out the V-8 HEMI-powered Dodge Charger's top speed of 140 mph.
What Makes The Ford P.I Utility Different From The Ford Explorer?
Designed in Dearborn Michigan, and assembled in Chicago, the Ford P.I. Utility has added durability and safety because of this vehicle's unique purpose. One of the most dangerous parts of a highway patrol officer's job is making stops on the side of the road.
When an officer has pulled someone over, they are in a very vulnerable position. Being stationary on the side of the road puts them in danger of being rear-ended by cars passing on the highway. That is why the rear of the Ford P.I. Utility is designed to withstand a collision with another vehicle at speeds up to 75 mph. But this is far from the only feature that makes this vehicle fit for service.
Another aspect of the structure that is different from the Ford Explorer you may be used to driving is the included SPACE enhancements. The Side Protection and Cabin Enhancement (SPACE) are structural improvements made to keep the officers safe in case of an accident, whether it is actually an accident or if a criminal rams them on purpose.
And, of course, you cannot forget about the maneuvers that officers find themselves having to complete at times to stop lawbreakers from causing any more harm on the roads, such as ramming into the front fender of the fleeing car to cause them to run off the road. The police cruiser must be built to withstand excessive contact force, which Ford has made sure to cover when producing the Ford Police Interceptor Utility.
Special Features And Police Equipment Of The Ford P.I. Utility
As you can imagine, everything is beefed up considerably on the Interceptor Utility, as opposed to the regular civilian version of the Ford Explorer. After all, the basic SUV you can buy from the local neighborhood car lot would not be able to stand up to the abuse that a police cruiser goes through during a shift, at least not for very long. Granted, vehicles have come a long way since the first Model T was introduced to the public, but an average SUV built for the public is just not designed for the tasks that are needed when recruited for the police force.
Safety is obviously paramount, and everything from extra-tough anti-stab plates to Level III or Level IV+ballist front door panels are also available. Ford also offers a number of optional, compatible, factory-direct police equipment and packages with very little up-fitting time.
- Heavy-duty suspension and steering
- Heavy-duty subframe
- Heavy-duty ABS
- Heavy-duty cooling
- Heavy-duty stylized steel wheels with police-purpose hubcaps and tires
- Heavy-duty door tethers and recovery hooks
- Undercarriage deflector plate
- Safety canopy system
- Side airbags
- Roll-stability control
The sirens on this Ford P.I. Utility have several modes to help in different circumstances. These modes include the standard red and blue lights with sirens that all motorists are familiar with, along with a method for illuminating the general area around the vehicle, directing traffic, and more.
The front of the Ford P.I. Utility also has an intense spotlight that can be used to illuminate dark areas. As you know, hopefully not through personal experience, officers often use spotlights when searching through alleys and fields to illuminate areas that would generally offer good hiding spots for people trying to avoid detection.
Automatic LED headlamps are standard, and with pre-drilled holes, more LEDs as part of the lighting solutions package can be fitted out around the vehicle, right from the roof and the grille to within the headlights themselves. As part of the available perimeter and camera-on-demand features, the Ford Police Interceptor Utility also has a motion sensor that can detect people approaching the car from 270 degrees around.
This sensor feeds the information to a computer that analyzes behavior and produces a "threat Level" reading on the dash to help officers make their assessments. If the software determines the movements to be threatening, the car will automatically activate a rear camera to document the activity and help the officer determine what to do next.
The Interior Of The Ford P.I. Utility
The Ford Police Utility Interceptor has an interior that is built for the specific purpose of intercepting, apprehending, and transporting people of interest into custody. One of the key pieces of equipment that help police officers achieve this goal is the smart controller located in the front of the vehicle. This smart controller helps them operate all the features on the exterior of the car.
Inside the vehicle is also a "mobile digital communicator," which is a special laptop computer that allows officers to connect to the department's database at any given time. It can sit in the 11-inch space between the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. Alternatively, a 12.1-inch touch screen is available, which mirrors the laptop display and eliminates the need for a keyboard. This unit comes with Ford SYNC 3 built-in.
One of the features of the Ford Interceptor Utility that distinguishes it the most from the Ford Explorer is the car's back seat, which is designed to transport suspects. As you can imagine, luxury is not a priority for this portion of the vehicle, and there are no door handles in the vinyl backseat. The nifty vault is a lockable storage compartment in the cargo area on the driver's side.
Final Thoughts On The Ford Police Interceptor Utility
The Ford Police Interceptor Utility's body might fool lawbreakers into thinking that being pursued by this vehicle would make for an easy getaway, but they'd be mistaken. The Ford Police Interceptor EcoBoost Utility is the fastest Police car patrolling the highways. This car's speed and automatic smart capabilities can help the modern police force apprehend even the fastest offenders.
Even the models without the EcoBoost option cannot be mistaken for an average Ford Explorer that can be driven away from. The base level V-6, and the Hybrid model, are both Police Interceptors designed to be above and beyond what the general public can get their hands on (until these SUVs go to auction, anyway), so there is no doubt that they are not vehicles that should be messed with.
And just to be clear, if you do happen to outrun a Ford P.I. Utility, the pack of officers called to the scene will catch, detain, and slap you with more fines than you can count.