{"id":47618,"date":"2017-04-03T16:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/?p=47618"},"modified":"2022-06-21T16:23:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T15:23:46","slug":"new-volvo-police-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/culture\/new-volvo-police-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Secrets of the new Volvo V90 police car"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volvo police cars have been a common sight on UK motorways since the 1990s. While the 850 was winning a following amongst BTCC fans, traffic officers were being convinced by its practicality, ruggedness and, thanks to its T5 engine, performance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, around 400 Volvo police cars are in operation in the UK. These are predominantly V70s along with a smattering of XC70s (popular in rural areas), plus a few V60s. Of course, the Volvo V70 is no longer in production, having been succeeded by the V90. So what does that mean for the future? The V90 has won over the motoring press since its reveal at last year\u2019s Geneva Motor Show. But are we going to see them in police livery on UK roads?<\/p>\n

The answer, Volvo hopes, is \u2018yes\u2019. It\u2019s currently working hard to get the V90 on the framework for UK police forces, and testing by Swedish cops has already given the V90 a 9.2 rating out of 10 \u2013 higher than any car ever tested.<\/p>\n

\"Volvo<\/a><\/p>\n

All Volvo police cars spend around six days passing through Volvo\u2019s special vehicles workshop, located close to its factory in Torslanda, near Gothenburg, in Sweden. Here, they take a standard V90 that\u2019s exactly the same as one sold to a customer and start to process of turning it into a traffic car for the UK police.<\/p>\n

Currently, you can only buy a diesel-engined V90 in the UK, so all police cars will be powered by the same 235hp four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel as civilian V90s. You might be surprised to hear the D5 remains completely standard. There are no tweaks under the bonnet to improve performance and aid keeping up with crims \u2013 rather, the modifications are more practical.<\/p>\n

\"Volvo<\/a><\/p>\n

Traffic officers carry an awful lot of gear to help with them with their job. Cones, ropes, first aid kits, fire extinguishers\u2026 you get the idea. And you don\u2019t want all that kit flying around while in a pursuit at three figure speeds \u2013 or worse, being rear-ended on the motorway. The answer comes in form of a strengthened, bespoke boot frame that holds everything in place and is designed to send everything out through the rear window in the case of a crash, rather than forward into passengers.<\/p>\n\n\t\t