Once again, the Michigan State Police have tested all the police pursuit and special duty cars they could lay their hands on. The pursuit cars were the Chevy Tahoe and Silverado, Dodge Charger and Durango, and Ford Explorer, F-150, and Mustang Mach E.
Surprisingly, given its quick 0-60 acceleration, the Mach-E was not impressive during the vehicle dynamics testing phase. What’s more, the battery dropped from 100% to 55% over the course of 32 laps, despite 40-minute charges between runs.
Lap times were roughly the same for all vehicles in the field, with the best results coming from the Ford Explorer 3.0 turbo with all wheel drive, at 1:35.42. The next best was from the Dodge Charger Hemi (RWD) with an average lap time of 1:36.33; the worst, from the Silverado pickup (Z7X 4×4 V8), with an average run time of 1:41.27. The Charger V6 (AWD) ran the course in 1:37.8, the second best time, while the Durango ran it in 1:38.68 (V8 AWD) and 1:41.03 (V6 AWD). The Durango V6 and the Silverado twins were the only vehicles to need over 1:40 to complete the course.
In 0-100 acceleration, the Chevys all required over 18 seconds, with the Tahoe 4×4 taking over 20. The Charger Hemi took just 14.1 seconds, followed by the Charger V6 (19.1), Durango V8 (19.3), and Durango V6 (24.1). The Ford Explorer Turbo took 14.7 (behind the Charger Hemi); the Explorer Hybrid took 17.8; and the Explorer V6 took 19.7. The Ford F-150 managed a surprisingly fast 0-100 of 14.2 seconds, and the Mustang Mach-E took the honors with a 12.2 second 0-100. (It is, however, limited to 122 mph).
In 0-60 mph, which most Americans are more attuned to, the two Chargers were measured at 6.01 and 7.57 seconds; the Durangos at 7.27 and 8.65 seconds. The Chevys all came in from 7.4 to 8.0 seconds. The Fords, ranged from the hottest (Mach-E, 3.93 seconds; Explorer V6 turbo, 5.68) to the slowe1st (Explorer V6, 7.95 seconds), all had respectable 0-60 runs.
The vehicles all had similar braking runs, with the two Chargers doing quite well at 130 feet; the Mustang EV beat everyone with 123 feet, and the Tahoe RWD was respectably at 127 feet. The only real laggards were the F-150 at 162 feet, and the Chevy pickups at 140.
The ergonomics winners were the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Tahoe, with scores of 8.4 and 8.3 each. The Silverado was rated 8.2, not far from the Tahoe. The Durango, Mustang, and Explorer were all at 7.9, and the Charger at 7.8.
Fuel economy was highest for hybrid Explorer (24 mpg), followed by the V6 Mopars (21 mpg) and then the Hemi Charger, Explorer Turbo, and Explorer V6 (all at 19 mpg). The worst mileage was for the Chevys, with 16 mpg for the two Tahoes and 15 for the two Silverados. The Mustang, being an electric car, had an estimate of 84 MPGe.
Those interested in the motorcycles may note that the BMW easily beat the two Harleys in dynamics, acceleration, braking, and top speed. For full results, see the MSP tests.
