Photo: imgur.com
The window sticker above belongs to a Ford Police Interceptor and it does seem to serve as a pretty good answer to our natural curiosity on the police car topic. Nonetheless, there are more differences between the civilian and the police Taurus than the sticker shows, so we’re here to talk about these.
Ford can fill the engine compartment of its law enforcement-destined Taurus with either a naturally-aspirated 3.5-liter V6, a NA 3.7-liter V6 or the EcoBoost turbocharged V6. While the 3.5-liter NA motor comes with front-wheel drive, the EcoBoost sends its Taurus SHO-like power to all fours and so does the 3.7-liter unit.
As for the comparison with the SHO, it’s worth noting the Police Interceptor doesn’t come with the latter’s Sport button. Instead, the patrol car defaults in this ECU mode. Muscle is favored over mileage here.
Nonetheless, when it comes to the suspension, there’s a more comfort-orientated setup, which together with the more generous sidewall of the steel wheels, means the handling of the cop car is actually a bit inferior - the occasions on which police officers actually put the pedal to the metal are much rarer than the movie industry wants us to believe.
Climbing aboard the Taurus Police Interceptor, the biggest change we find is the migration of the shifter from the center console to the steering column. The first has to accommodate all the police equipment. The Blue Oval’s controversial MyTouch is gone, while all the aforementioned equipment comes in aftermarket form. Still, Ford does include some of these tech gadgets in its offer.
Going past the partition behind the front seats (cloth only), we find rear seats that can be ordered in either cloth or leather. Most of the trunk is occupied with the extra equipment, but it’s not like people who get arrested usually carry too much luggage.
As for the comparison with the SHO, it’s worth noting the Police Interceptor doesn’t come with the latter’s Sport button. Instead, the patrol car defaults in this ECU mode. Muscle is favored over mileage here.
Nonetheless, when it comes to the suspension, there’s a more comfort-orientated setup, which together with the more generous sidewall of the steel wheels, means the handling of the cop car is actually a bit inferior - the occasions on which police officers actually put the pedal to the metal are much rarer than the movie industry wants us to believe.
Climbing aboard the Taurus Police Interceptor, the biggest change we find is the migration of the shifter from the center console to the steering column. The first has to accommodate all the police equipment. The Blue Oval’s controversial MyTouch is gone, while all the aforementioned equipment comes in aftermarket form. Still, Ford does include some of these tech gadgets in its offer.
Going past the partition behind the front seats (cloth only), we find rear seats that can be ordered in either cloth or leather. Most of the trunk is occupied with the extra equipment, but it’s not like people who get arrested usually carry too much luggage.
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