If you plan on trying to outrun a cop car in the near future, do it before police departments start stocking their fleets with the 2020 Ford Explorer fitted with the company's forthcoming 3.0L EcoBoost V6.
Dubbed Ford Police Interceptor Utility for law enforcement purposes, the 3.0L turbo Explorer earned top marks in the Michigan State Police's latest round of police vehicle performance testing.
The 3.0L Interceptor Utility posted the best times in both 0-60 mph (96 km/h) and 0-100 mph (about 160 km/h) acceleration tests, at 5.77 seconds and 13.59 seconds respectively. It also managed the fastest average lap time in the Michigan State force's vehicle dynamics testing and boasted the highest top speed, at 150 mph, or 241 km/h.
It bears mentioning here that the Explorer was not being compared just to other cop-duty SUVs; the next-best performer was the Dodge Charger 5.7L, which was 1/10th of a second slower in the 0-60 sprint, 1.07 seconds slower to 100 mph and topped out at 149 mph.
Other vehicles tested were the Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Charger 3.6L and Dodge Durango (3.6L and 5.7L), along with a quartet of other Ford vehicles: the Ford Police Responder Hybrid sedan (a Fusion Hybrid), Ford F-150 with the 3.5L Ecoboost V6, and a pair of other Ford Explorer Interceptors, with a 3.3L V6 and the other powered by a hybrid drivetrain.
The Fusion Hybrid was slowest in acceleration tests at 9.24 seconds to 60 mph and 26 seconds to 100, but the F-150 had the lowest top speed, at 106 mph. The Fusion also posted the slowest lap times, behind the Dodge Durango 3.6L.
The Michigan State cops also tested a bunch of bikes, too, and found the Yamaha FJR1300AP was quickest in acceleration, posting 3.78- and 8.39-second times in the 0-60 and 0-100 tests, and hitting a best-in-test top speed of 144 mph.
However, the best bike lap time was set by the BMW R 1250 RT-P, which finished a close second in acceleration and top speed.
The slowest bike was the Harley-Davidson FLHTP, at 5.23 seconds and 19.49 seconds in the 0-60 and 0-100 tests, and a 109-mph top speed. The Harley-Davidson FLHP Stage 1 set the slowest lap time.
