I have a hard time believing the Charger and Caprice PPV don't offer competitive interior space to the Crown Vic (maybe better in areas such as rear seat legroom, though maybe that's not a huge priority).By JESSE LEAVENWORTH, leavenworth@courant.com The Hartford Courant
10:15 p.m. EDT, June 10, 2014
MANCHESTER — The Ford Crown Victoria, the standard police cruiser in Manchester and across the nation for many years, guzzles gasoline and struggles in the snow.
Its main advantage, Police Chief Marc Montminy told the board of directors Tuesday night, has been its size. "They were big, but other than that, they held very little benefit for us," Montminy said.
Board member Mark Tweedie had asked for a report on the police department's switch from Crown Victorias to Ford Police Interceptor SUVs and sedans.
Ford stopped producing the "Crown Vic" at the end of 2011. At that time, Montminy wrote in his report, the hefty rear-wheel drive sedan accounted for almost all of the department's fleet.
In seeking replacements, police considered fuel economy, size, serviceability, safety and performance. None of the available sedans offered as much interior room as the Crown Victoria, Montminy said. Cramped conditions were especially apparent with a security cage in place to separate officers from prisoners in the back seat, he said. Police found that available SUVs, including the Interceptor, were better at accommodating equipment, officers and prisoners, Montminy wrote.
In a comparison of fuel consumption, the Crown Victoria with a 4.6-liter V8 engine recorded 14 mpg in city driving and 21 mpg on the highway. Fuel consumption for the Ford Interceptor SUV, equipped with a V6 engine, was 16 mpg in city driving and 22 on the highway. For the Interceptor sedan, the numbers were 18 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway. Police also found that the Ford engines were designed for better fuel economy while idling, Montminy wrote.
Each year, the town's police vehicles travel a total of about 1,260,000 miles. With a difference of at least 2 mpg between the Crown Victoria and the Interceptor SUV, Montminy wrote in his report, the department stands to save about $37,700.
Another advantage with the Ford vehicles is the town maintenance department's familiarity with the brand. Switching to another vendor would require more training for mechanics and a new parts inventory, Montminy wrote.
Performance in the snow also is a considerable advantage with the all-wheel-drive Fords, both sedans and SUVs, he wrote. The department now has 26 vehicles with four-wheel or all-wheel drive.
Finally, Manchester police were impressed with the new Fords' safety ratings and equipment, including back-up cameras and blind-spot warning sensors, Montminy said.
As of August 2012, the average mileage on a Manchester police vehicle was 58,313 miles (12 vehicles had more than 85,000 miles). The average age was 5 years. The fleet now consists of 74 vehicles, and the department continues to phase out its existing Crown Victorias, Montminy said.
A Charger is slightly smaller in all areas except rear legroom. Finding the Caprice PPV specs is harder. It's not a particularly wide platform so the width-related dimensions will probably fare similar to the Charger.
Ok I found some.
Basically the Caprice PPV is between the Charger and the Crown Vic in most interior dimensions. That is to say bigger than the Charger but smaller than the Crown Vic. Except there are a few areas where the Caprice PPV exceeds the Crown Vic. First, rear legroom blows even the Charger away at 43.2 inches. I think that's Fleetwood levels of rear legroom, which the Charger (despite the 120" wheelbase) does not have (it has 40.1 which is only a little better than a B-body sedan). In addition, rear hiproom actually exceeds the Crown Vic by 0.8" which is impressive. The PPV was made to haul perps', it would seem.
Switching to the 90s Caprice, it matches CV front headroom and rear headroom. It almost matches front legroom (off by 0.3") and rear legroom (off by 0.1"!). Front shoulder room is just ridiculous. The 90s Caprice has 63.4" of front and rear shoulder room. The CV, the nearest competitor, is a distant 60.8" front and 60.3" rear. That is significant. The CV slightly betters the 90s Caprice in front hip room by 1" and rear hip room by 0.2".