Pick Your RIDE

2007 vehicles
As it happens, this most recent test was held on a rainy, foggy weekend September 16-19. Because the conditions were unfavorable, testing was delayed until they improved. Saturday started out foggy, but eventually it burned off and things got underway.

This year's tests included vehicles submitted by General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.

In the general service category:

• Dodge Charger 3.5-liter SPFI
• Dodge Magnum 3.5-liter SPFI
• Chevrolet Impala 9C1 3.9-liter SPFI
• Ford Police Interceptor 3.27 4.6-liter SPFI
• Chevrolet Tahoe PPV 5.3-liter SPFI
• Ford Police Interceptor 3.55 4.6-liter SPFI
• Chevrolet Tahoe PPV E85 5.3-liter SPFI
• Dodge Charger 5.7-liter SPFI
• Dodge Magnum 5.7-liter SPFI

In the special service category:

• Chevrolet Tahoe (4WD) 5.3-liter SPFI
• Ford Explorer 4.6-liter SPFI
• Ford Expedition 5.4-liter 3V SMFI
• Ford Expedition EL 5.4-liter 3V SMFI
• Ford Escape Hybrid 2.3-liter SMFE
• Dodge Magnum 3.5-liter SPFI
• Ford F-250 Crew Cab 5.4-liter SMFI

Acceleration and top speed
Acceleration and top speed testing was rated in increments. Each vehicle's acceleration performance was measured in increments of 10 mph; so the first test was from 0 to 20 mph, the next from 0 to 30 mph, and so on, up to 0 to 100 mph, then a top speed was recorded.

Test numbers were close from vehicle to vehicle, but the Dodge vehicles emerged as the clear winners. In the general service category, the Dodge Magnum 5.7 liter was quickest in the first two test brackets (0-20 and 0-30 mph) followed closely by the Dodge Charger 5.7 liter, then tied with the Dodge Charger 5.7 liter in the 0-40 mph bracket. The Dodge Charger 5.7 liter took the next six test brackets, followed by the Dodge Magnum 5.7 liter. In other words, the two Dodges were No. 1 and No. 2 in every test bracket. The Dodge Charger 5.7 liter also took top speed honors (148 mph), with the No. 2 slot going to the Chevrolet Impala (139 mph).

In the special service category, the results were spread out a little more. The first two test brackets were taken by the Ford Explorer 4.6 liter, with the Dodge Magnum 3.5 liter tying with the Ford Expedition models for second place. The Dodge Magnum 3.5 liter took the rest of the test brackets (from 0-40 mph to 0-100 mph), with the Ford Explorer and the Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD splitting the second place honors. The fastest special service vehicle was the Dodge Magnum 3.5 liter, at 116 mph, while the Ford Expedition 5.4 liter came in second, at 104 mph. Two vehicles topped out at less than 100 mph — the Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD at 98 mph and the Ford F-250 5.4 liter at 95 mph.

Braking results
Braking was tested a little differently. Vehicles were tested for braking capability in order to calculate their projected stopping distance from 60 mph. In the general service category, the winner was the Dodge Magnum 3.5 liter, with a stopping distance of 129.9 feet. In the special service category, the Ford Escape Hybrid 2.3 liter took the honors at 139.3 feet.

High-speed vehicle dynamics testing was limited to the general purpose vehicles. The score here is the average time for four different drivers on five laps of the Grattan track (for a total of 20 laps per vehicle). Here again, the Dodge vehicles earned top scores, with the Dodge Magnum 5.7 liter coming in with an average time of 1:37.65, and the Dodge Charger 5.7 liter a close second at 1:37.69.

This year there was a pilot testing program with police motorcycles, held on Sunday (the rain day), at the MSP driver training facility. Both Harley-Davidson and BMW brought bikes for consideration. The testing isn't formally a part of the vehicle testing protocol, but serious consideration is being given for next year's tests.

More detailed results of the testing can be downloaded from the MSP Web site at www.michigan.gov/msp/. There are spreadsheets available in PDF format, containing all test results for each vehicle. Ultimately, the entire test report will be generated and published, as it has been in years past.

The MSP have undertaken to provide an extremely valuable service to the law enforcement community through this vehicle testing program. The MSP tests have become the benchmark for many departments in determining which vehicles to buy for their fleets. For one agency to provide such a service for more than 25 years speaks highly to MSP's level of commitment to excellence.