We all have drooled over Lamborghinis, Bugattis, and other exotic cars in uniform. The loud grunts from powerful combustion engines when throttled, and the silencers roaring their lungs out in a high-speed drama; but have you thought of a Hybrid police car doing those extreme pursuits? Well, Ford recently revealed the all-new Police Interceptor Utility, which is the first pursuit-rated Hybrid SUV ever. It aims to offer improved performance and lower fuel costs thanks to its hybrid setup.

What Is It All About?

The new Ford Police Interceptor Utility is actually the industry’s first pursuit-rated hybrid SUV. The USP, of course, is the estimated savings. Ford is claiming an estimated saving of $3,200 per vehicle on a yearly basis when compared to the non-hybrid model. According to Ford, the Hybrid Police Interceptor Utility will be 40-percent more efficient over the current 3.7-liter, V-6 unit. The SUV is expected to get a projected EPA rating of at least 24 miles per gallon combined. This also enables better acceleration and higher top speed.

Ford says that the hybrid unit has been calibrated specifically for the police department’s unique duty cycle, and it can automatically switch to maximum performance when needed. As for the electrical system, a lithium-ion battery pack is said to be in place to power the SUV’s demanding systems, such as lights, computers, radios and other equipment.

“With Ford Telematics, we’re helping our police customers unlock the data from their vehicles to provide them with more effective ways to manage their fleets and improve operations,” said Stephen Tyler, Ford’s Police Brand Marketing Manager. The new hybrid Police Interceptor Utility will come with a two-year complimentary Ford Telematics service as standard. In addition, an all-new Police Perimeter Alert system is offered as an option, and it can monitor approximately 270-degrees of movement outside the vehicle and analyze motion to determine potentially threatening behavior. When such behavior is detected, the vehicle sounds a chime, rolls up the windows and locks the doors.

Our Take

It’s good to see Ford develop such an SUV for the law enforcers. With the world moving towards Electric Vehicles, it makes complete sense for all the government departments to adopt EVs within their fleets as well. This ‘leading by example’ will also encourage citizens to opt for hybrids and EVs. Like we mentioned earlier, the advantage of this new Hybrid Police Interceptor Utility is the lowered maintenance costs, reduced engine idling time, low running costs, etc. Hypothetically speaking, if all the existing cars could be replaced by such hybrids, an annual saving of $3200 per police car could be achieved. For now, let’s see how many of the Interceptor Utilities hit the roads in the near future. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility.

Ford Delivers Hybrid Police Car To The Boys In Blue

Read more Ford news.