The Crown Victoria is the very model of a seasoned career officer: experienced, tough as nails, and dependable when duty calls. Its shape is burned into our minds and it triggers a feeling of security when we see it or a tinge of panic, depending on what side of the law we’re on. The car has served well for nigh over three decades by now. The Crown Vic is retiring. It’s “gettin’ too old for this shit.”
So what’s stepping up to take its place on the force? There are a lot of fresh young bucks gunning for the spot, but none are more eager for the job than the Ford Police Interceptor.
While it shares a platform, the Interceptor is more than just a Taurus with a light bar and decals. The vehicle is a completely different animal under the skin, designed and engineered to cope with life in the line of duty. A 3.5 liter Ti-VCT V6 powers the new squad car, delivering 288 hp and 254 lb-ft of torque. An EcoBoost option ups these numbers to 365 hp and 350 lb-ft torque. These engines give the Interceptor power when they need it while being less thirsty through the daily rigmarole of patrols and idling in a stationed position. Output is sent through a 6-speed transmission fed to an all wheel drive system.
I’ve driven the new Taurus in a few configurations, but it would hardly be an apt benchmark for such a test, and a simple road test wouldn’t suffice. For purpose built vehicles, test them for their purpose. Sadly, I wasn’t allowed to hit public streets and pull over all the people I see daily demonstrating their changing-three-lanes-with-no-signal-to-the-passing-lane-while-text-messaging-with-their-eyelashes ineptitude. I asked, I even brought my own truncheon and pepper spray. They said no for some reason.
In lieu of AK justice, I and fellow journalists were given a few different courses coned out in the parking lot of Citi Field and told to push the car to its limits. We were also given time in that old friend, the Crown Vic.
Anyone who can recollect the 80’s will be struck with odd familiarity inside the Crown Victoria, even if it’s your first time. The car’s design hasn’t really evolved over the years, so it still maintains all the odd cues of vehicles of the era: big, boaty body-on-frame tanks with spacious cabins and little else. It’s easy to see why modern officers feel secure in the Vic because it feels like a welded steel shell with wheels. Stamping on the gas lays 250 hp to the back wheels and we set off, sirens blaring, around a course mapped out to reflect an urban setting. It’s a variety of straights with sharp 90-degree turns and cones set up to represent things out of place like a dumpster or double-parked car on side streets.
Barreling towards the first corner at speed, I’m suddenly aware of the lack of restraints, feeling that my measly seatbelt will hardly be sufficient. It’s a feeling I remember from sitting in carnival rides and staring at the rusted bolts and beams of my corrugated steel vessel, unforgiving to the body tissue thrashed against it, while the operator clips what is essentially a dog leash around me for “safety” before some gas powered contraption launched me in various directions. Even as a passenger, there’s nothing to brace against while another enthusiastic, police-fantasy-fulfilling journalist tosses the sedan through turns. Breaks are mushy and respond ages later than expected, making weaving through the mock avenues in the tubby enforcer feel harrowing at best. This is an outdated vehicle, and you can feel it.
Passing the Crown Victoria’s shortcomings off as “character” may cut it for the nostalgic, but it doesn’t when lives are on the line, and this is no exaggeration. Getting responding officers safely to and from a situation is the primary job of a police vehicle, so safety was first and foremost in the development of the Interceptor. The safety cell unibody architecture has been crash rated for 75 mph impacts in the rear. Why so much attention to a rear crash? If an officer has stopped on the side of the road in the night with all the flashing lights on, studies show that this acts like a beacon to the eyes of drivers who then may inadvertently direct their vehicle right into them. The interceptor has stiffened pillars in the event of a rollover as well as side curtain airbags for all the slams one can come to expect while on the job. Also standard are anti-stab plates in the seat backs, something that I want now that I know they exist.
An officer’s mind should be on the job at hand, and the interceptor is engineered with this in mind. Taking to the course in the updated cruiser this time, I’m well bolstered and more confident in my driving position. The inside has basic Taurus cues, but with exposed mounting plates for the electronics a department will choose to install. To further keep things simple and to make room for equipment, gear changes go from the center console back to a stalk in the steering column. In the back, a big, easily wiped-down vinyl bench seat.
There’s less drama off the line with the Interceptor’s AWD, but it’s by no means bogged down. I’m flat out and hitting 60 mph when I reach the first kink in the coned course. Trailing off the brakes, I’m thinking of the AdvanceTrac ESC and how it’s programmed to interfere much less in this car than in a standard sedan. The squad car takes the corners tight and with a little power, I’m still able to fish the back end just enough as the selective braking tightens one wheel up, guiding the vehicle through a bend like sticking a rudder into the water. As much as I tossed around the Crown Vic, everything was done by unsettling the platform, taking it beyond its limits. In the Interceptor, I’m in control of every slide, I’m breaking at the speed of thought, and I’m making it look easy because it is.
In a slalom course, the Crown Victoria sways like a powerboat blasting down a canal. I’m making great efforts to wrench the car towards openings, and by the end of my run, my lat muscles burn like I was just at the gym. This is not a good place to get fit. Indeed, think of an officer who may be in a prolonged drive like that and how physically exhausting that would be. Not only would his driving performance suffer, when he eventually gets out of the car, the fatigued officer is at a disadvantage. EPAS (electronic power assisted steering) takes the muscle work out of trying to navigate the Interceptor, and the heavy-duty suspension keeps the body roll to a minimum.
The Interceptor has enough modular and customizable capability to accommodate the needs of departments and drivers alike. The list of options is long, but some stand outs are ballistic door panels, headlamps with integrated police LED lights, SYNC voice-activated system with 911 assist, and re-mappable steering wheel buttons.
Much of the same is found in the Interceptor utility, analogous to the latest Ford Explorer architecture. This vehicle features much of the same nimbleness and pursuit-worthy performance to dreadfully surprise whomever they may be chasing. We tested this on the same courses as the other two vehicles and it held its own. A notable specification is the 3.7 liter Ti-VCT V6, a custom engine with more displacement than the consumer engine. Consider the Interceptor Utility outside of a police role and in one of, say, a first response vehicle, and you appreciate its capabilities even more.
But what do I know, right? Whipping the Interceptor around in an autocross and playing policeman doesn’t tell the full story. As mentioned before, I didn’t fully test it for its built purpose, so perhaps my opinion wouldn’t really hold water for those who might depend on this car in a few years. It’s a fair point and for those people, I’m happy to share that the Interceptor was not only validated in pursuit-rated tests by the Michigan State Police, but also got top marks in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. annual police vehicle tests. Don’t take my word for it, either. The entirety of their 183-page review is available right here.
The Ford Interceptor is available solely for government agencies, so regular consumers won’t be able to get one of their own anytime soon. That being said, law abiding citizens should feel comforted in the efforts being made to better protect and serve. For the rest, I’d be a little nervous.
Words By – Alex Kalogiannis
Photos By – Victor Kalogiannis
One thought on “Sound Of The Beast: Ford Police Interceptor Review”