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"There&amp;#039;s really nothing like getting home from work, pouring yourself a drink, turning on the television and watching a live police-car pursuit on the local news. In Los Angeles, this type of programming airs more often than a new episode of Mad Men. On one particular evening, it was a , obviously stolen, trying to shake several police cars in pursuit. The cops were in old Ford Crown Victorias, which made me think, why don&amp;#039;t the police upgrade their vehicles to something that can safely keep pace with today&amp;#039;s sportier cars?   So I made a call to a representative about this point, and he said to me: &amp;quot;Good timing. We&amp;#039;re having a test drive of the new next week. I&amp;#039;ll put you on the invite list.&amp;quot;   At the event, I spoke to a few retired police officers, and they seemed a bit sad to see the Crown Victoria Police Interceptors go. After all, it had served them for 20 years. Throughout its entire life, the Crown Vic was the standard vehicle for law enforcement agencies everywhere, comprising 70 percent of total market share. So how do you replace an entity whose legendary status is right up there with notable law-enforcement icons such as Dirty Harry and Colombo? Instead of simply re-creating another Crown Victoria-like vehicle, Ford wiped the slate clean and built something entirely different. A few things that the engineering team proposed, however, had some cops reaching for their handcuffs.   First, Ford engineers opted to replace the Crown Vic&amp;#039;s big-block V-8 with a V-6 (a misdemeanor). Then they took away rear-wheel drive, replacing it with all-wheel drive and, gasp, front-wheel drive (a felony). Everyone from local police officers to undercover agents was skeptical about the changes, that is, until they drove the car.   Up close, the new Ford Police Interceptor, based on the , looks mean. It&amp;#039;s more compact and curvaceous than the car it replaces. Under the hood is the aforementioned V-6 that produces 288 bhp and 254 lb.-ft. of torque, which is 38 more bhp than the Crown Vic&amp;#039;s V-8. Power is sent to all four tires via a specially tuned automatic transmission. There&amp;#039;s a high-performance front-drive version equipped with a turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 that pumps out a whopping 365 bhp and 350 lb.-ft. of torque. And because of the car&amp;#039;s more powerful engine, the new Interceptor sedan feels like a rocket. (There&amp;#039;s a new SUV Interceptor, too, based on the .)   The suspension has been tuned for better cornering prowess, and the brakes have been heavily upgraded. On a small autocross course, the new Interceptor was impressive. Our test car was the all-wheel-drive model, and it felt so composed and neutral on the tight course that it reminded me of a friend&amp;#039;s autocross race car. The steering was quick and there was minimal body roll. The car accelerated briskly, and the special gearbox kept the car in low gears when other transmissions would upshift (very important when coming out of corners). In comparison, the Crown Victoria was all over the place and felt like a dinosaur.   The new Interceptor can be ordered with bulletproof doors (&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;ll stop shots from an AK-47,&amp;quot; one fellow said) and comes with special seats designed to accommodate an officer&amp;#039;s utility belt and holstered gun. My big gripe here was that these seats lack lateral support, but they do include a stab-proof panel in the seatback, a worthwhile tradeoff.   Perhaps the best thing about the new Ford Interceptor is that it&amp;#039;s economical (20 percent better fuel economy than the Crown Vic) and comfortable (I could easily chase someone cross country). Yet it&amp;#039;s as fast as many sports cars, so anyone thinking of trying to outrun one should probably reconsider. The Ford Interceptor is available only to government agencies, so none of us without badges can ever buy one.   As for that Mercedes-Benz on the run, the police spun it out via the PIT maneuver after a six-hour chase...but with these new Ford Police Interceptors, I&amp;#039;m sure it would have ended much earlier. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a18207/a-new-police-car-for-the-times/>