Ford announced that they’re offering their 2018 Ford Fusion Hybrid as an alternative patrol car for good reason.
It seems like Ford is fighting hard to keep its title as the number one vehicle for police forces nationwide and there newest product offering might interest a few departments. According to Ford and their official press release they dropped earlier this weekend (Apr. 8,2017) their popular Ford Fusion Hybrid sedan has been officially police-rated, ready for duty on America’s toughest streets. Although it has a 2.0L four-cylinder under its hood, it’s the 1.41 kWh battery pack that makes a lot of sense. Check out a couple of press photos Ford has provided for us below!
Priced at just below $26,000 for a consumer spec Ford Fusion Hybrid, these police rated ones should be plenty affordable when they hit the market for police duty. Under the hood is Ford’s Atkinson 2.0L four-cylinder with 141 HP and 129 lb-ft. That might not seem much but it’s the battery pack with its 118 HP and 177 lb-ft that picks up the slack and delivers adequate performance. When Car and Driver romped a hybrid Fusion, they hit 60 MPH in 9.1 seconds, not exactly stellar for a car that’s supposed to catch the baddies. But then again, that’s not the genius of this sedan.
Police cars do a lot of idling. On an eight hour shift, more than half of that time is spent with the engine running parked. Ford says that if departments opt for one of these Hybrid Sedans they could save $3,900 a year in fuel costs.
Police Responder Hybrid Sedan customers could see nearly $3,900 a year in potential fuel savings per vehicle relative to the Police Interceptor, if a police vehicle is driven 20,000 miles per year, runs two shifts per day, 365 days per year, idles 4.9 hours per 8-hour shift, and is fueled at an average gas price of $2.50/gallon.
With gas prices only rising in the foreseeable future that initial estimate can obviously rise.
Their Ford Taurus Pursuit has a more than adequate 3.7L V6 that gets a paltry 18 MPG. This Ford Fusion Hybrid achieves a combined 38 MPG.
Face it, although high-speed pursuits might get all the attention on the news, most of the time a police car is responding to an emergency at speeds slightly above the speed limit or on patrol at regular speeds. If a police car’s going to be at a standstill idling, what better way to help out the environment and save a couple bucks by making the battery do some of the heavy work.
We’re sure police departments won’t give up their high-powered police cruisers anytime soon but we can see a couple of larger departments implementing these hybrids into their fleets. And did we mention the police can probably benefit from sitting at a stakeout in complete silence?
