Next we have a Saab 9-5 linear estate. This turbocharged car has a strong reputation for reliability suiting it well to police use.
The rear view of the Saab.
Also, this Saab is available in a four door format.
The rear view.
YN04 SNY This long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter van is operated by South Yorkshire Police. It has roof mounted cameras and a public address system. Notice the very minimal blue lights of the roof and grille.
This is a similar vehicle to the above, except this time operated by West Yorkshire Police for the Kirklees Community Safety Partnership. From this picture you can see one of the cameras extended to full height on its telescopic tower. The rear of the vehicle is also fitted with its own air conditioning unit.
West Yorkshire Police also operate a fleet of these medium wheel base Mercedes Sprinter vans. They are specially equipped with a riot shield to cover the windscreen and clear covers to protect the lights. Notice how there in an absence of blue lights on the roof. Instead there are several small LED units on the sides of the van.
Here is a Citroen Dispatch van which will be passed to North Yorkshire Police. It is equipped with four full-size dog kennels. It is fully sealed to enable it to be hosed clean on the inside. It is also equipped with a hand wash facility for the dog handler.
LW04 FFU is a Mitsubishi Shogun used by the City of London Police.
YX04 KEJ Is a short wheel base Ford Transit used by Humberside Police. This vehicle, like most of the force’s fleet, has been modified to run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
This Mercedes E-Class estate is operated by Sussex Police. This vehicle again uses the standard roof bars as a convenient mounting position for the light bar.
The front view.
Here we have another Sussex Police vehicle, a Mitsubishi Shogun. Notice the small blue light repeaters on the front of the bumper.
The rear view.
We finish this section with a Ford Transit JFM Crewmaster. This specially modified large van has a microwave fitted, hot drink facilities, hand wash amenities and even an electric flush toilet.
LX04 NRE This is a rather smart looking Vauxhall Astra of the Metropolitan police. Note that this is a rather high specification vehicle with metallic paint and alloy wheels.
Here we have an Iveco van police demonstrator. This vehicle has full approval for police use from the Home Office. Note the two roof light bars with LED repeaters.
This is a Vauxhall Vectra in police markings. Note the extra row of blue LED’s to complement the light bar on the roof. A wide range of powerful engines makes this an ideal vehicle for patrolling motorways and dual carriageways.
The rear view of the same vehicle.
VE04 FKT Here we have the 2004-version Vauxhall Astra. This Vauxhall fleet demonstrator is aimed at the panda car sector of UK police fleets, where Vauxhall has had a strong showing for many years. Notice how the roof lights are mounted on a separate carrier. This reduces the amount of damage done to the car in converting it to police specification, therefore keeping its re-sale value relatively high.
The rear shot. This model is powered by a 1.7 litre turbo diesel engine with direct injection.
This Ford Focus estate is operated by the Northern Constabulary. Notice how there is no Police wording on the front or sides of the vehicle. It also has extra high visibility stripes as opposed to battenburg markings.
VU52 YNV Here we have a 2002 Mitsubishi Shogun. Notice how it is devoid of any writing apart from the word ‘Police’ on the light bar. This four-wheel drive vehicle has a very enviable reputation of reliability and durability.
This is the Land Rover Discovery 3, launched in Autumn 2004. The vehicle is fitted with a sophisticated terrain response system. The driver tells the car what type of surface the vehicle is driving over. The car then reacts by changing the ride height, adjusting the throttle sensitivity, re-programming the ABS and traction control, locking the differentials and selecting the appropriate range of gearing. This is designed to make off-road driving easy.
BX02 YMU is a Range Rover Police demonstrator. The vehicle’s high power V8 engine and enormous load capacity make it an ideal motorway patrol vehicle. It is also extremely capable off road too.
The rear view of the same vehicle. Notice the rear dot matrix display and the tow hook, should its large towing capacity be required.
Next we have a Land Rover Freelander police demonstrator. Despite having lower ground clearance and no low ratio gears compared to the Range Rover, it is still able to be used off road to a good effect.
Notice how the standard roof bars are used as a mounting for the blue lights. This eliminates drilling and cutting of the roof.
DAZ 5796 This Land Rover Defender Tangi is operated by the PSNI. Everything that could be broken easily on the vehicle has been protected by heavy duty mesh. The only exception is the wing mirrors which look very easy to break!
This vehicle is heavily armoured. Its off road ability has been somewhat restricted by the addition of the wire mesh skirt around the vehicle. However, this is there to prevent any object from getting underneath which could be potentially dangerous to the crew.
Simple bench seats fill the interior. You can also see the how thick the doors are. They look more than capable of stopping and high speed projectile.
This high roof LDV van is powered by a 125PS diesel engine. It has accommodation for police officers in the front and middle, as well as a cage for prisoners in the rear.
AE04 WPW is a long wheel base Iveco used by Herts Police. It is equipped with a locker storage system similar to what is found on most fire engines.
Now we have the popular Volvo V70 in demonstrator livery.
This police specification vehicle has been adopted by many forces up and down the country.
Next we have a Volvo S60 police demonstrator. This vehicle has very similar performance to the V70 but obviously doesn’t have the large load carrying ability.
An interesting feature on this police specification model, and not on standard production ones, is the additional left hand side wing mirror. This is for the passenger’s use in place of an additional internal rear view mirror.
This Volvo S40 is also intended for police use. This family sized saloon offers a wide choice of powerful engines and is also extremely safe to both its passengers and also to pedestrians in the event of an accident.
The V50 is the estate version of the S40. The load space is considerably smaller than that of its bigger brother, the V70.
This Ford Mondeo estate is operated by Hampshire Police. Notice their unique livery, devoid of any high contrast colours. Again, the roof rails have been used as an effective mounting point for the light bar.
GP53 WGE is a Toyota Landcruiser and is a direct rival to the British built Range Rover.
The rear view. Note the extra repeater light bar positioned at the rear of the roof.
Next we have a Lexus GS430 operated by Wiltshire constabulary. This is a rare vehicle to see in police markings. Notice how the paint colour of the body is metallic silver. This should help with the re-sale value of this large executive car once it has finished its life in the police force.
The side view of this rather smart looking car.
Another Wiltshire operated Lexus GS430, but this time with white paint.
This is the more compact Lexus IS300. With a punchy 6 cylinder 3 litre engine and real wheel drive, it is ideal for high speed driving.
The side view of this rather smart looking car.
AU04 HNL This blue Lotus Elise Norfolk police car is liveried as a ‘cruise liaison’ vehicle. It is used to bridge the gap between cruisers and the police by bring them together on a common interest.
YJ04 CFG This is Citroen Dispatch from North Yorkshire Police. Notice the repeater lights mounted to the large black grille.
The side view of the same vehicle. Apart from minor cosmetic changes, the Citroen Dispatch is the same vehicle as the Peugeot Expert and the Fiat Scudo.
VX04 NBY This battenburg-marked Vauxhall Corsa is for community support officers in West Mercia.A South Yorkshire Police Peugeot dog van.
X61 AHL A South Yorkshire Police Peugeot dog van.
YJ04 CDZ A North Yorkshire Ford Focus. Notice the lack of roof markings and the apparently temporarily attached blue light bar.
YJ04 CEK is a North Yorkshire mobile police station. Its full battenburg markings on the sides make it difficult to miss. It is used in rural areas around Harrogate that do not have police stations.
T560 DUB A West Yorkshire Police Mercedes flat-bed truck. It is fitted with amber flashing beacons and is used for vehicle transportation.
LX03 KMG A Honda Deauville police motorbike demonstrator. Notice the small screen placed on top of the body that is replaying images captured from the on-board camera. It is housed in a pannier when the bike is in motion.
OE04 AWN A police Volvo XC70 demonstrator. Notice the additional LED flashing blue light mounted on the dashboard.
G31 PWT This is a heavily armoured Land Rover from West Yorkshire police. It has mesh covers over all the lights and blue light bar, as well as an optional grille for the windscreen. It also has armoured sides (with portholes) and a full body skirt.
These four images show PSNI motorcycles escorting ex-US president Bill Clinton from the City of Derry Airport during a visit to Northern Ireland in August 2004.
NC04 GLJ This black Mercedes SLK 200 is with Durham Constabulary to promote their Bike Wise event in the summer of 2004. It has a minimal livery and a small blue light cluster on the roof (which is magnetically attached). It has no internal alterations and it is likely that it will be stripped back to civilian specification and sold as an ex-demonstrator.
GV52 GVL This silver Toyota 4×4 is a demonstrator with Nav-Comm. It has a number of ultra thin flashing lightbars on the roof, front bumper and rear bumper.
The rear view. Notice the parking camera mounted below the registration plate and the lack of ‘police’ markings.
Y365 PRX A police BMW C1, on trial in South Yorkshire. Notice the battenburg markings and two blue lights on the front. It was on trial in South Yorkshire in 2002, but considered unsuitable for police duties. It has been used elsewhere as a police and fire vehicle. This single track vehicle with a safety cage is classified as a motorbike in the UK. The hybrid car/motorbike has caused problems in the British legal system regarding the use of a helmet when operating it. It depends whether you are ‘inside’ the bike or ‘on’ it.
The rear view. Powered by a 125cc engine mated to a continuously variable stepless automatic transmission, it offers super-safe motorbiking with its head restraints, racing-style seatbelts and crumple zones. Not available in the USA, this hybrid vehicle was first presented by BMW in 1992. Dwindling sales meant that it ceased production in October 2002.
NU02 ORA This is a Cleveland Police VW LT46 van. Notice that it has no blue lights on the roof. Due to its height they wouldn’t be easily seen, so they are placed around the edge.
The rear view.
YJ04 CFL This Ford Focus estate is generally used for non-emergency police work by North Yorkshire. It can be temporarily fitted with a blue light bar if required.
YG02 EZK is a North Yorkshire Police Peugeot Expert. This overhead view shows the extra wording of ‘crime scene investigation unit’ in red text on the rear of the vehicle and dark blue on the side window.
Y492 DCH a Ford Iveco EuroCargo mobile community police office. This truck has no sign of any police battenburg markings or striping.
The rear view. It has a canopy (that is retracted here) as well as a number of entrances. Also notice the small rotating blue beacon at the rear. The only other blue lights are on the front grille.
YJ04 CDV This North Yorks. Ford Focus looks like its sister vehicles, except for the lack of blue lights. It is used for non-urgent police work and is part of the force’s plan to increase the police presence on the streets by adding a livery to all force vehicles.