Explorer

Make
Ford
Segment
SUV

There was a time when they wouldn't even bother publishing information such as this. Did anyone care to know how much gas a Ford Crown Victoria sucked up? Certainly not us and we doubt any of you either. However, times change and so do politics. In an effort to prove that even police vehicles are fuel efficient these days, Ford has just released official EPA fuel economy ratings for their upcoming police Interceptor lineup.

Set to replace the dearly departed Crown Vic, Ford figured that police departments would like an option of two vehicles: the Taurus-based Interceptor and the Explorer-Interceptor Utility. No doubt they'll sell well not only because they're powered by 3.5- and 3.7-liter EcoBoost V6s (they also look pretty intimidating) but they're now officially quite fuel efficient. According to Ford, the 3.5-liter Interceptor has 288hp and returns 18/26 mph city/highway. When compared to the Crown Vic (which was the top-selling law enforcement vehicle for the past 15 years), the new vehicle offers an improvement of 4/5 mpg city/highway and 38 more hp.

The Interceptor Utility's 3.7-liter 304hp V6 has officially been given a 16/22 mpg city/highway rating, effectively putting it at the top of its class. It not only beats the V8-powered Chevrolet Tahoe in fuel numbers, but also in raw performance, as the new Ford can hit 60 mph in 8.4 seconds, compared to the Tahoe's 9.5 second time. At first these fuel economy numbers may not seem that significantly different. However, the combination of increasing fuel prices and cash-strapped police departments throughout the country makes both of these new cars extremely attractive. At least police can now save money on gas when they pull us over.