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Ford previews updated Police Interceptor Utility for Chicago debut

With more law enforcement agencies across the United States alone than we'd care to count (or ever encounter), selling police cars means big business for American automakers, with Ford, Chevy and Dodge competing to fill the motorpools of every police department, sheriff's office and government agency in the land. For its part, Ford offers the Taurus-based Police Interceptor sedan and the Explorer-based Police Interceptor Utility, and it's preparing to unveil a revised version of the latter at the upcoming Chicago Auto Show in the same city where it's built. Dearborn hasn't given us much to go on with this teaser, showing just a darkened front shot of the vehicle in question with its emergency lighting all aglow. But it's fairly clear that the Interceptor Utility has been given many of the same updates applied recently to the Explorer on which it's based. That starts with the revised sheet metal, but considering that the Interceptor Utility exclusively packs V6 power, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four that was one of the biggest updates to the civilian Explorer isn't likely to carry over. Ford does, however, promise that the revised Police Interceptor Utility will be "even better" than the model it replaces" and pack "more high-tech features." Related Video:

Ford Police Interceptors win acceleration war against Dodge, Chevy

Just last month, Ford announced its first-ever non-pursuit-rated version of the Police Interceptor sedan for agencies looking to maximize fuel economy, but that doesn't mean that Ford is giving up on chasing down the bad guys. While the Dodge Charger can lay claim to the fastest lap time at the Grattan Raceway test facility held by the Michigan State Police, the results are now in for the Police Vehicle Evaluation acceleration tests. And Ford's Police Interceptor duo (sedan and utility) came out on top.
In the acceleration tests, Ford says that the Taurus-based PI Sedan with the newly available 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 was the quickest among prospective police cars in both 0-60 and 0-100 mile per hour times. The sedan posted a 0-60 time of 5.66 seconds with all-wheel drive and 5.71 seconds with front-wheel drive, besting V8-powered competitors like the Chevy Caprice and Dodge Charger by more than 0.3 seconds. These rivals close the gap on the AWD sedan in the 0-100 test with the Ford taking 13.5 seconds compared to the Chevy's time of 14.35 and the Dodge's time of 14.7.
As for utility vehicles, the Explorer-based PI Utility, which accounts for 60 percent of Ford's police vehicle sales, essentially went head-to-head with the V8-powered Chevy Tahoe with similar results. Equipped with the new EcoBoost engine option, this big SUV hit 60 mph in just 6.28 seconds and 100 mph in 15.51 seconds compared to times of 8.22 seconds and 21.95 seconds, respectively, for the Tahoe. Other important tests in the PVE include braking and top speed, but while no automakers have stepped up to boast about their numbers in either of these categories, Ford's images show that the V8 Caprice had the highest top speed of the cars at 155 mph while the Tahoe's 139-mph speed made it the fastest utility vehicle.

2015 Ford S-Max adds all-wheel drive, adaptive steering

The Blue Oval's 'One Ford' mantra has seen rapid commonization of the automaker's products across markets, but North America still has to look from afar at most of the company's Max-branded people movers, including this new S-Max. That's a bit of a shame - we like the space efficiency and above-average driving dynamics of the C-Max models we do get, but seeing this updated seven-seat small minivan makes us want the One Ford initiative to extend even further.
The new model's changes include an updated powertrain range including a 1.5-liter EcoBoost four with 158 horsepower, and a larger, 237-horsepower, 2.0-liter model, along with a pair of revised lower-emissions 2.0-liter diesels. The big news, however, is the advent of available all-wheel drive, something that hasn't been offered since the S-Max first went on sale back in 2006.
On the technology front, the S-Max is the first European model to receive Ford Adaptive Steering, a variable-ratio technology we recently sampled in a prototype Fusion that is expected to go into production on the next-generation Edge. The S-Max also receives a new aluminum-intensive integral link rear suspension, packaged to continue to fit up to 32 different seating combinations. Safety equipment is always a prime concern in kinschleppers like the S-Max, and to that end, this new model receives pre-collision assist technology and LED headlamps.