Meet the Ford Police Responder Hybrid, the first American law enforcement vehicle with a full-fledged ‘pursuit rating’ that’s also - surprise, surprise - a hybrid. What started life as a Ford Fusion (known to us as the CD391 Mondeo), will be undergoing said ‘pursuit’ testing in Michigan and is expected to be certified for nationwide use this fall.
A hybrid police car makes plenty of real world sense, and the fact that police cars in crowded cities such as those found in the United States only until very recently embraced more efficient hybrids is a little surprising.
According to Ford, who has been supplying the nation with police vehicles for decades upon decades, says that the spread of hybrid police vehicles will help cities decrease emissions as well as deliver significant fuel savings to each department of up to $3,900 a year. The use cases for police officers play in perfectly to hybrid vehicles, as they spend a lot of time idle at stationary or on patrol at slower city speeds.
And the occasions where they aren’t moving along slowly or keeping a watchful presence while halted usually involve high speed pursuits. It’s a hard life for these cars, where dependability is paramount. Incidentally, this is the main reason why hybrids have yet to really penetrate the ranks of local law enforcement in a meaningful way.
The Ford Taurus-based police interceptors used previously, like their predecessors, were simple, hard-wearing machines. Now that hybrid the technology has matured, though, things have changed, and this new wave begins.
Under the bonnet lives 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol engine augmented by a 35kW electric motor and a bank of lithium-ion batteries that would allow the internal combustion engine to shut off while not moving but still keep all the electronics within the car - such as the radio, computer, lights, HVAC systems - running. Under normal ‘duty cycle’ conditions, the car will run on battery-only mode up to 96km/h, should energy levels permit.
To help it cope with the punishing long-term needs of police life, Ford has upgraded the Fusion to give it more durable tyres and wheels, hardier suspension components and panels that can withstand curbings (up to 8-inches) at speeds that would cripple conventional cars. It can also wade into water up to 18-inches deep at 24km/h.
A little more interestingly, there’s a “maximum performance” mode that unleashes all the give the electric and combustion engine can muster, accessed when the driver holds accelerator at 100 percent for 5 seconds.
Other police specific functions added to the car include front seats that include anti-stab plates, a highly accurate speedometer to more easily ascertain whether a car they are following is exceeding the limit, and a rotary gear shift lever that can be relocated within the car.
“Our mission to create safe and healthy communities in Los Angeles is achieved through sustainable approaches in community policing, and that includes embracing new technologies,” said Charlie Beck, Los Angeles Police Department Chief. “Patrol vehicles are a police officer’s office, and we expect them to not only be economically and environmentally efficient, but also an effective tool for fighting crime in major metropolitan areas.”
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