Expedition

Make
Ford
Segment
SUV

Suburban-dwelling car buyers aren't the only ones falling in love with the SUV as of late because increasingly, police departments across the country are opting for pursuit-rated SUVs rather than their sedan counterparts. In fact, the Explorer-based Interceptor Utility already outsells the Taurus-based Interceptor with 64% of the market share. To capitalize on the SUV craze among cops and government agencies, Ford has decided to roll out two new truck-based police models, the F-150 and Expedition Special Service Vehicles.

Ford already has an F-150-based fleet vehicle for police use, but this time around it features an upgraded version of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 under the hood to complement the upgraded 5.0-liter V8 option. Meanwhile, the Expedition Special Service Vehicle brings Ford's full-size SUV down to the police, government, and fleet sales lot for greater amounts of utility. It forgoes the V8 option in favor of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost, although both vehicles already feature aluminum-alloy bodies to help get the most out of their respective engines. Furthering their friendliness with the EPA is Ford's new 10-speed automatic transmission, which both cars come mated to, as well as Auto Start-Stop to save gas at idle.

To accommodate high electricity needs, Ford has taken the stock alternator out and replaced it with a high-output 240-amp unit. Allowing for variety is crucial, especially on a multi-use vehicle like the F-150, so Ford has preserved the XL SuperCab or SuperCrew configurations allowing departments to pick the best truck for the job. On the Expedition, the Blue Oval saw it best to replace the 3.73 rear differential with an electronic limited-slip unit. "While our Police Interceptor Utility remains the best-selling law enforcement vehicle in the country by a large margin, some agencies need to haul five people with higher equipment-carrying capacity, or off-road capabilities are required," said Stephen Tyler, Ford police brand marketing manager.

"That's where the F-150 SSV and Expedition SSV come in." No mention on whether or not Ford will install the discrete police light bar from the Interceptor Utility onto the Explorer for undercover use, but proceed with caution anyways and be glad this isn't the Nissan GT-R based pursuit vehicle. After all, SUVs are much easer to outrun than Godzilla.