The ACT Police force has a new recruit on board, a new Volvo S60 T6 R-Design. The car will be used for a trial period for potential inclusion in its future patrol fleet.
The car was loaned to the force by Volvo Car Australia. It’s the top-of-the-range S60 (aside from the unique Polestar version), which is the company’s mid-size and only sedan currently on offer in Australia. It comes with a forceful 3.0-litre turbo inline six producing 242kW.
All of this power is sent through a six-speed automatic transmission and into a clever Haldex all-wheel drive system. PerformanceDrive has timed 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds (matching the factory claim).
Officer in charge of Traffic Operations, Sergeant Rod Anderson, said the extended trial would enable a full assessment of the S60’s capabilities. He said in a statement,
“Police vehicles are required to perform to a high level in dynamic, high stress environments. By doing this trial we can obtain direct feedback from our officers on how the S60 performs under various driving conditions. We are particularly interested in our officers’ opinions on the all-wheel drive capability of the S60 and what advantages it offers over our current rear-wheel drive fleet.”
Meanwhile, Volvo Car Australia managing director Kevin McCann spoke about Volvo’s international commitment to emergency services, saying,
“Volvo has a proven track record in supplying highway surveillance and rapid response vehicles to police forces around the world, including Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. We look forward to working closely with ACT Police to assess the S60’s suitability to meet its operational requirements.”
With the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore soon going out of production, it will be interesting to see what police cars eventuate once these homegrown heroes become extinct.
