Finalized data from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department saw the F-150 Responder hit the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds, a second faster than the 2020 F-150 Responder and nearly half a second faster than the closest competition.
Preliminary data from the Michigan State Police records the truck as being able to get to 60 mph off the line in 5.4 seconds, which is 1.2 seconds quicker than the outgoing model and 0.4 seconds faster than any other vehicle tested. Under the same supervision, the truck’s zero to 100 mph time was 13.1 seconds, 3.7 seconds quicker than the 2020 version of the F-150 Police Responder and 0.8 seconds faster than the runner up.
“Vehicle acceleration and speed contribute to how quickly first responders can safely arrive at an emergency scene,” said Greg Ebel, Ford police vehicle brand manager. “Shaving even a few seconds off response times can make a big difference. Whether responding to an accident on the highway or a distress call from somewhere off-road, law enforcement officers can count on 2021 F-150 Police Responder to get them there fast.”
The truck has a top speed of 120 mph.
Ford has built the F-150 Responder to deliver 400 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque courtesy of its 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine. That’s more torque than any other pursuit-rated vehicle sold today in the U.S. It also has automatic on-demand four-wheel drive.
There is no other pursuit-rated police truck available for sale from any major U.S. automaker. Dodge makes the Charger Pursuit and Durango Pursuit, both of which were refreshed for the 2021 model year. The Charger got a new transmission and is now available with all-wheel drive. It has a new top speed of 140 mph and gained Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Dodge added more than 20 new standard features to the Durango Pursuit for the new model year including an IP-mounted shift lever, black steel wheels with chrome caps and four programmable auxiliary switches.
The Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle (PPV) was redesigned for the 2021 model year following a generational changeover in the Tahoe and Suburban product lines. It comes standard with a 5.3-liter V8 that makes 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque. Four-wheel drive with terrain mode selection ability is available.
Ford also sells the Police Interceptor Utility, a modified, pursuit-rated version of the Ford Explorer meant to address the needs of modern police departments who often find that traditional police cars don’t have the passenger and cargo capacity they require.
The company also offers the F-150 Special Service Vehicle (SSV), Expedition SSV, Expedition Max SSV, and Transit Prison Transport Vehicle. None of those models are pursuit-rated.
