Taurus Police Package--any updates on durability?

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: EricF
I believe the main reason police dept's are going with the Explorer PI is for ticketing.

Here in CA the hands-free law is in 100% full swing, (i.e. you can't even touch your phone).

With the explorer, LEO's can now look into your car (cuz they're higher up) and if you have phone in hand, your other hand will have a ticket.

I honestly believe that's why they're going with the SUV over sedan. Because we all know it's definetely NOT for gas mileage!!

There's a couple of small towns where I live around and their police force uses chevy Malibu's. Given, not much happens in that rich little town, but I commend them for going with a more fuel efficient car.

With the extra height, CHP can now zap you from further away with their laser radar guns.
Personally, the change is all about how many more tickets they can write.
You'd think with gas prices going up, the move to more fuel efficient vehicles would be a consideration.


Honestly, there's not much Difference Fuel econ wise between the Taurus and Explorer..
They're Both built on the Same Platform, with the Same Engine/Trans Choices. the EPA figures show a 2-3 mpg penalty for the Explorer, which lines up pretty well with my family's real world figures (Mom & I Both have 09 Tauri (well mine's a Sable), and Dad has a 12 Explorer. all the same platform, all with Duratec 3.5l V6's, and 6F Transmissions, all FWD.
Mom & I get 28-30mpg hwy, Dad gets 25-27mpg hwy

 

[Nick R]

When I was still in NY, the NYSP mainly had Crown Vics, and quite a few Tahoes. When I left afaik they were trial testing the Caprice, chargers, and Taurus PI, to see which they wanted to go with.

Here in NE Ohio, there are quite a few crown vics, quite a few Tahoes, a few Chargers, and a handful of Explorers and Taurus PIs for OSHP. So a mixed bag, really. I've gotten decently good at recognizing police Tahoes in my rearview at night. I've seen the headlights, and got that little tingle at the back of my skull that tells me it's a police Tahoe. My accuracy rating is near 100% on that.

My uncle is an auxiliary Police officer in a town around here, he says they were one of the first in the country to get a charger, and that they pretty much fall apart after the warranty is up. He says most of the guys like the new explorer PI the best too, which is interesting to hear.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
None of the local agencies have the Taurus. CHP has the Explorer and the only real issue we see with them is they eat through brakes. CHP has a rule with them that pads have to be changed when they get to 5mm, so they get changed a lot.

The UCSB Police use the Caprice, Santa Barbara County Sheriff still use Crown Vics, and SBPD just got a shipment of Caprices.

I live near Berkeley, and UCPD there seem to have a lot of the newer Explorer-based PI. A couple of local police agencies use the Caprice. This is one is of the Taurus version, and I'm not sure why this is over the Tower Bridge in Sacramento:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dcnelson0381/8720932922/sizes/z/in/photostream/

About the only Tahoes I see in police service are with the National Park Service. The law enforcement rangers drive almost everything including Chargers and the new Taurus PI. I even saw a photo of a Chevy Avalanche in their patrol colors. I also noticed that a lot of them now get marked "LAW ENFORCEMENT" or "POLICE" on the side; I heard that was a request of many LE rangers. I heard it was a concern because quite a few people didn't quite understand their duties because the naturalist/interpreter rangers wear practically the same uniform.

US Park Police patrol vehicles look different. This one is a Suburban, but I've seen a similar look on a picture of a Tahoe. I'ld direct link it but the uploader won't allow it.

Here's the Tahoe:

http://flickriver.com/photos/av8pix/3067406931/