Skoda is pushing the new Octavia into more and more police forces as the car proves that's its capable.

• Superb Estate upgraded to comply with new animal welfare regulations
• Police forces across the country are invited to try out demo version
• Now available to order

ŠKODA UK has created a canine-friendly version of its multi award-winning Superb to support police dog units across the UK.

The upgraded Superb Estate, which complies with the rigorous new standards for police dog vehicles set out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), has been designed to transport general purpose police dogs, as well as trained drugs-search and explosives-detection dogs.

Available in either two- or four-wheel drive, each vehicle goes through a police vehicle conversion service, with bespoke interior features to keep the dogs safe, cool, and comfortable. Eight vehicles have already been snapped up by one customer, and a demo version hits the road this week for a year-long tour of forces across the country.

The tour kicks off in South Yorkshire with different police forces trialling the car over a period of weeks.

UK Police forces have chosen to expand their fleets with a range of new Ford vehicles.

Police forces nationwide have chosen both the Ford Kuga sport utility vehicle (SUV) and Transit Custom van to renew fleets from 2016. In a total deal comprising 1,100 vehicles, forces across the country have recognised the Kuga’s all-wheel drive capability and versatility of the iconic Ford Transit.

First the UK’s northern consortium of 22 police forces ordered 680 Ford models, including 120 Kuga SUVs and 560 Transit Custom medium vans.  Half of the Transit Customs will be supplied by Ford as cell vans, converted by its Special Vehicle Preparation (SVP) operation into a vehicle capable of securely transporting two detainees, accompanied by up to five police officers.

Ford Kuga and Transit Custom were also top of the SUV and van wish list of the country’s southern consortium, which includes six fire services as well as 28 police forces.  They also added 110 Ford Transit Connect light vans and 30 Ranger pick-ups to the 80 Kugas and 200 Transit Customs which made up their Ford order.

“Ford has a long history of working with emergency services spanning 50 years,” said Terry Adams, Ford direct sales manager.  “The stylish and capable Ford Kuga has established itself as their rural beat car of choice with all-important all-wheel drive necessary for winter conditions.”

British Transport Police, South Wales and Dyfed Powys are other forces with Ford Kugas on their fleets.  The market-leading Ford Transit Custom is used in every police region in the country, with roles as cell vans, crime scene units, dog carriers and camera vans.

The new all-wheel drive Ford Mondeo is considered the best estate for the transportation of police dogs.  Its high payload and volume capacity best meet new DEFRA and RSPCA guidelines on in-car kennel size and welfare of dogs in transit.

Broadcaster, Ford driver and dog owner, James Whale (pictured), visited Ford SVP, in Essex, to see how Mondeos are converted into dog units and to be introduced to the acclaimed new Kuga police SUV and newly finished Ford Focus ST patrol car.  The addition of a diesel estate to the Focus ST range last year attracted great interest from the police in its combined performance, fuel economy and generous load space – prompting SVP’s special build of a one-off demonstrator.

USA - Ford's Police Interceptor has the quickest acceleration & fastest lap times in Michigan, California Agency tests.

• Ford EcoBoost^® Police Sedan turns in fastest 0-60 mph and 0-100 mph acceleration times, fastest quarter-mile time, fastest top speed in the quarter mile and fastest average lap time for overall vehicles in Michigan State Police and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department tests
• Ford EcoBoost Police Utility clocks fastest 0-60 mph and 0-100 mph acceleration times, fastest quarter-mile time, fastest top speed in the quarter mile and fastest average lap time for utility vehiclesinMichigan State Police and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department tests
• 2.0-liter Special Service Police Sedan now “pursuit rated” by both Michigan State Police and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department; tests faster than Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

New testing protocols adopted by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) last year and Michigan State Police (MSP) this year only underscored the performance dominance of Ford’s best-selling Police Interceptors. In the most recent tests performed by LASD and MSP of 2016 model-year vehicles, both the Ford EcoBoost^®Police Interceptor Sedan and the Ford EcoBoostPolice Interceptor Utility set records and beat out competitors.

“We are proud to maintain our performance advantages, and these validate Ford Police Interceptor leadership,” said Arie Groeneveld, Ford Police Interceptor chief engineer. “We love the bragging rights, but for these officers, best-in-class performance is a huge safety attribute. Pursuits that end quickly are more likely pursuits that end safely. This team is obsessed with officer safety.”

For the first time ever, both police agencies conducted testing with a “key on and drive” policy, meaning stability and traction control settings were in default mode, as when the vehicles are first turned on and how officers drive these vehicles in the real world. LASD began implementing the test protocol last year.

Ford EcoBoost Police Interceptor Sedan repeated its top performance in MSP and LASD testing of 2016 police vehicles, retaining its title as quickest-accelerating pursuit vehicle, and turned in faster lap times than all competitors.

The EcoBoost-powered Ford Police Interceptor Sedan bested all vehicles, including V8-equipped competitors’ sedans in testing by both Michigan and California authorities, while Ford Police Interceptor Utility with EcoBoost out-accelerated the competition’s newest V8-equipped utility and all base V6-powered sedans. 

Interestingly, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost Special Service Police Sedan test results showed the turbo four-cylinder to be quicker to 60 mph than the last Crown Victoria Police Interceptor tested by MSP for the 2011 model year (8.6 vs. 8.9 seconds).

Highlights of Test Results: Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD)

• Ford EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan repeats as best-in-class acceleration for overall pursuit vehicles (0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds vs. 6.6 seconds for the 5.7-liter Charger and 6.7 seconds for the 6.0-liter Chevrolet Caprice)
• EcoBoost Interceptor Utility repeats as best-in-class acceleration for utilities and repeats faster than all base V6 cars
• Ford 2.0-liter Special Service Police Sedan achieves 0-60 and 0-100 times faster than the 2011 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

LASD Fontana/Auto Club Speedway High-Speed Pursuit Tests:

• Ford 2.0-liter Special Service Police Sedan passes 32-lap Fontana Vehicle Dynamics test, and for the first time will be in the LASD Vehicle Test book as a pursuit-rated vehicle
• 3.5-liter EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan repeats as best-in-class lap time and fastest average lap speed among all police vehicles tested
• 3.7-liter all-wheel-drive Interceptor Sedan achieves fastest lap and fastest average lap among base V6 police vehicles
• EcoBoost Interceptor Utility repeats as best-in-class lap time and fastest lap in utility segment
• Both the 3.7-liter and 3.5-liter EcoBoost Interceptor Utilities achieve faster average lap time than a competitor’s utility vehicle, having implemented a “Track Detect” automatic stability control mode, which reduces stability control intervention

Highlights of Test Results:Michigan State Police

• Ford EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan repeats as top acceleration for overall pursuit vehicles
• EcoBoost Interceptor Utility acceleration repeats as top acceleration for utilities and repeats as faster than all base V6 sedans
• Ford 2.0-liter Special Service Police Sedan achieves 0-60 and 0-100 times faster than the 2011 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

Grattan Raceway (Belding, Michigan) Test Highlights:

• This is the first year all police vehicles were tested with stability control, traction control and engine mode systems full key-on as driven by officers in the real world
• Electronic stability control on agreement results in a 0.5-2.0-second decrease in competitor vehicle performance
• EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan is best-in-class lap time
• EcoBoost Interceptor Sedan achieves fastest lap and fastest average lap
• EcoBoost Interceptor Utility repeats as best-in-class lap time and fastest average lap speed in utility segment
• Even the 3.7-liter non-EcoBoost Interceptor Utility achieves faster lap time than a competitor’s V8-powered police utility vehicle
• 3.7-liter all-wheel-drive Interceptor Sedan achieves fastest lap and fastest average lap time among base V6 police vehicles
• Ford 2.0-liter Special Service Police Sedan passes 32-lap Grattan Vehicle Dynamics test, and for the first time will be in the MSP Vehicle Test book as a pursuit-rated vehicle