ice-capades Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 2027 Police Interceptor Utility Order Guide View File 2027 Police Interceptor Utility Order Guide LATEST ORDER GUIDE CHANGES — Updated Upfitters Prep Package Notes (67D) Submitter ice-capades Submitted 05/12/2026 Category Police Interceptor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKohnen Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 (edited) The Police Interceptor Utility continues to baffle the crap out of me. Since 2020, the "base" engine has been the 3.3 V6 with hybrid. There's a credit for getting the 3.3 V6 without hybrid, and a premium to bump to the 3.0 EcoBoost. Around me, police departments universally lose to the bean counter department and order the 3.3 V6 non-hybrid. While 295hp doesn't seem like it'd be gutless, in the field it absolutely is. I begged departments not to order that engine, but they ordered them that way. Later, they complained that bicycles could outrun them. No kidding. If Ford was going to put a proprietary engine, not available on the civilian models, into the PIU, why not drop in what we all know police want anyway, the 5.0 V8. The 10-speed transmission can take it, we know that. In the last 6 years, the number of departments I've seen "defect" to Dodge for Durango or Charger is shocking. And then to add insult to stupidity, the non-hybrid 3.3 V6 won't be available until later, so departments will have to pick between unwanted and too expensive. The few field officers I've talked to that have the hybrids in their fleets hate those more than the non-hybrids. VERY few have even seen a 3.0, and most weren't aware that was even available. Edited May 13 by BenKohnen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 The 3.0eb has almost exactly the same power as the coyote in truck form. Departments have a lot of vehicles that aren't used for patrol so that's why it's offered. If they're too cheap to get the hybrid or 3.0 that's on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 My city bought the Explorer's with the 3.0L and love it, well the mechanics loved it as well, said the engine was great, it was just "other things" were annoying. Then they switched to Tahoe's because they are cheaper, cheaper to insure as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKohnen Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Really, the sensible purchase for departments is the hybrid, or a mix of hybrids and 3.0L units. The hybrids are fine for daily use, but if you need to put the hammer down, you need to have power. Realistically, EV's would be ideal, but that's not a functional option, and in some settings (Wisconsin winters come to mind) it would be interesting to see if the current batteries would hold up to a full shift. Paradigm shift, just like civilian driving. On my way home yesterday, I spotted a county cruiser. They've been running Dodge Chargers the last few years, but this was a brand new Tahoe. I might actually reach out to them just to get an idea of how they spec'd it and what it ran them, and then see if I could build out a comparable Expedition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 On another note, terrible incident happened outside of Boston last week. A 30 year old trooper had ended his shift at 2AM. Was headed home....Mass Troopers take their vehicles home..when call came in on SB vehicle traveling on US 1 in NB lane. He answered call and in a few minutes had a headon with the SB vehicle- a Jeep 4dr. Assumption is he attempted to perform a blocking move. He was driving a new Tahoe. Jeep driver dead at scene, and Trooper passed at hospital. Just curious, anyone know frontal crash ratings for Tahoe vs Explorer Interceptors? Bulk of MSP vehicles are Explorers but they do have a good number of Tahoes. My small town all Explorers except for a 150 EB. Neighboring town mix of Tahoes and Explorers. Tahoes are in fact cheaper under state contract. I'm of course a Ford diehard, but my prejudices aside, given less cost of Tahoe with its pushrod V-8, that would be my choice. Also love my Coyote 150, but Ford in their wisdom only offer Police rated 150 with 3.5EB. Now that 6.8 is not longer offered in Super Duty, would that fit in a 150? Or an Expedition? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HereForThePopcorn Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 On 5/13/2026 at 2:34 PM, BenKohnen said: The Police Interceptor Utility continues to baffle the crap out of me. Since 2020, the "base" engine has been the 3.3 V6 with hybrid. There's a credit for getting the 3.3 V6 without hybrid, and a premium to bump to the 3.0 EcoBoost. Around me, police departments universally lose to the bean counter department and order the 3.3 V6 non-hybrid. While 295hp doesn't seem like it'd be gutless, in the field it absolutely is. I begged departments not to order that engine, but they ordered them that way. Later, they complained that bicycles could outrun them. No kidding. Many departments have restrictive (or even no) pursuit policies, thus not requiring a premium on power. The 3.3 V6 hybrids do offer a noticeable power and torque advantage over the 3.3 V6 base, so it's a somewhat ok compromise for those departments not wishing to allow their officers to have a 'fast' car (so to speak). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92LX302 Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Our department finally switched from the non-hybrid 3.3 to the 3.0 EB. What a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 As we know, the Crown Vic was the most beloved police cruiser in history. But its demise spawned the present day SUV. The upside is the Explorers and Tahoes are higher, safer, roomier and have better off-road capabilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 4 hours ago, Joe771476 said: As we know, the Crown Vic was the most beloved police cruiser in history. No it was just cheap and easy to maintain... if your running a police dept in a county or town-what are you going to do? buy something that requires a compete refit of equipment every few years with different equipment, or buy a new CVPI and move your shit to new car and save a ton of money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinaw Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said: No it was just cheap and easy to maintain... if your running a police dept in a county or town-what are you going to do? buy something that requires a compete refit of equipment every few years with different equipment, or buy a new CVPI and move your shit to new car and save a ton of money? You act like cheap and easy to maintain is a bad thing. For a small town police department, that's often all that matters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danglin Posted Thursday at 11:33 AM Share Posted Thursday at 11:33 AM 14 hours ago, Joe771476 said: As we know, the Crown Vic was the most beloved police cruiser in history. But its demise spawned the present day SUV. The upside is the Explorers and Tahoes are higher, safer, roomier and have better off-road capabilities. If the Crown Vic was kept up to date, it would still be the choice for Police! Ford decided it was not worth the investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted Thursday at 12:35 PM Share Posted Thursday at 12:35 PM 8 hours ago, mackinaw said: You act like cheap and easy to maintain is a bad thing. For a small town police department, that's often all that matters. Your making my point for me by saying that but if the company making that said product isn't making money on it to invest into it, what is the point for them continue doing it? the CVPI was successful because it barely changed but did they actually make money off it that made it worthwhile to keep the investment into it? Nope Ford can sell $55K plus Explorers in addition to how ever much the PI goes for these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted Thursday at 07:35 PM Share Posted Thursday at 07:35 PM 8 hours ago, danglin said: If the Crown Vic was kept up to date, it would still be the choice for Police! Ford decided it was not worth the investment. Our city has full sized trucks and suvs and the county has explorers. I bet none of them would go back to a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danglin Posted Thursday at 10:56 PM Share Posted Thursday at 10:56 PM (edited) 3 hours ago, akirby said: Our city has full sized trucks and suvs and the county has explorers. I bet none of them would go back to a car. If it was cheaper, sure they would. Crown Vics were cheaper, roomy, and dependable. Now, whether that would be the case if they modernized it is the question! We may get that answer though if the Mustang based sedan is produced as rumored and they offer a police package... There are several state agencies that have purchased Mustangs now and have commented they are cheaper to purchase. Of course they have limitations and are primarily used for special patrol... Edited Thursday at 11:00 PM by danglin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted Thursday at 11:29 PM Share Posted Thursday at 11:29 PM 28 minutes ago, danglin said: If it was cheaper, sure they would. Crown Vics were cheaper, roomy, and dependable. Now, whether that would be the case if they modernized it is the question! We may get that answer though if the Mustang based sedan is produced as rumored and they offer a police package... There are several state agencies that have purchased Mustangs now and have commented they are cheaper to purchase. Of course they have limitations and are primarily used for special patrol... But if that happened, you'd have to spend even more money on outfitting it. The thing the CVPI had going for it was it was the same car for 20 years more or less and equipment could be just transferred to it and maintenance was a well known and didn't require mechanics to get retrained regularly. I'm going to guess that the current Explorer will have an extended run to a point because its being used as a PI to help with expenses or what ever succeeds it will be as backwards compatible with mounting equipment. Also I'm pretty willing to assume that the Mustang is much more cramped for a driver then the Explorer is also, so I don't see the sedan being able to make a major change to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted Friday at 10:45 AM Share Posted Friday at 10:45 AM But Ford will routinely turn their backs on it as it is considered (insert gasp here) a fleet sale.....can't have too many of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted Friday at 12:27 PM Share Posted Friday at 12:27 PM 1 hour ago, twintornados said: But Ford will routinely turn their backs on it as it is considered (insert gasp here) a fleet sale.....can't have too many of them. F-150 fleet sale to mining, road work etc vs Escape sales to rental markets are two completely different markets I'd guess that the Explorer PI is fairly lucrative for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted Friday at 12:30 PM Share Posted Friday at 12:30 PM 3 minutes ago, Sherminator98 said: I'd guess that the Explorer PI is fairly lucrative for them Is it? After the "State Contract" price kicks in?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted Friday at 12:40 PM Share Posted Friday at 12:40 PM 8 minutes ago, twintornados said: Is it? After the "State Contract" price kicks in?? Yes. Look at Ford Pro's margins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted Friday at 08:11 PM Share Posted Friday at 08:11 PM 7 hours ago, akirby said: Yes. Look at Ford Pro's margins. So, the thought should be Ford Pro needs to be rolled out at rental fleets... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted Friday at 08:46 PM Share Posted Friday at 08:46 PM 31 minutes ago, twintornados said: So, the thought should be Ford Pro needs to be rolled out at rental fleets... Rental fleets only buy bargains from whichever company is most desperate at the time for their normal vehicles (not premium rentals). Government and commercial fleet sales are totally different having specific requirements and more factors than just price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted Friday at 08:47 PM Share Posted Friday at 08:47 PM 1 minute ago, akirby said: Rental fleets only buy bargains from whichever company is most desperate at the time for their normal vehicles (not premium rentals). Government and commercial fleet sales are totally different having specific requirements and more factors than just price. So, no on the Ford Pro? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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