UK police replace Imprezas with Lexus IS-F cruisers
Lexus IS-Force - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Objects you do not want to see in your rear-view mirror: Hungry dinosaurs, pissed-off exes holding rifles, mushroom clouds and this guy. Indeed, you're looking at a Lexus IS-Force, an IS-F that's been converted to a cruiser for police duty in the English county of Humberside, which includes the notoriously criminally minded port city of Hull. For the past few years, Humberside bobbies have been chasing baddies in Subaru Imprezas, but the AWD cars just weren't up to the task at hand. What to replace 'em with? Here's what the cops were thinking, according to Sergeant Mike Peck:
"The Lexus was tested during a12-month period along with similar vehicles and proved itself to be ideally suited in providing a dynamically safe high performance chassis along with an electronically stable platform for the computer equipment. In the past this equipment has placed huge demands on vehicles but the Lexus IS-F easily met with our requirements. The final product provides a most formidable package and is undoubtedly one of the most advanced police vehicles in the world which in turn enables my officers to deal with the criminals who use the roads for serious and organized crime."
We're actually a little weak-kneed at the very thought of the IS-Force's existence. 416-horsepower 5.0-liter V8s with the power to yank your license tend to have that effect. Even on crooks.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
BoxerFanatic 3:32PM (7/27/2009)
they must be rollin' in pounds.
That sounds like a very expensive cruiser, even just to maintain.
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VictorRaikkonen 3:38PM (7/27/2009)
Which will no doubt be quickly paid for several hundred times over through fines.
dwightB 3:39PM (7/27/2009)
Did you seriously just try to imply that a LEXUS is going to have high maintenance costs? lol
Bloke 3:42PM (7/27/2009)
The title is misleading. Different counties have different contracts with manufacturers for their police vehicle needs. Also, vehicles do vary tremendously depending on the task in hand - a community police officer will likely get a Fiesta, Corsa, Focus or Astra, whereas countywide police and detectives will often use higher-powered Mondeos or Vectras. For high-speed motorway work, many forces use Jaguars, Range Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes and some forces use more offbeat machinery like Impreza WRXs or Mitsubishi Evolutions. The Volvo T5 estate was a very common motorway unit with many countries, for example. The IS-F doesn't seem like an out of the ordinary proposition, especially in Humberside's case since their contract with Subaru has expired.
dukeisduke 3:49PM (7/27/2009)
The 30k service on my MiL's 2005 ES runs over $400. I'd call that expensive. It's true that almost nothing ever breaks, but the scheduled maintenance costs are high. It will be interesting to see how they hold up as police cars, since they don't have all the heavy duty bits that something like a Crown Vic includes.
jv2k 4:39PM (7/27/2009)
Here in the states you just have to get used to the watch out for impalas, crown vics, and the occasional charger. Not only do you guys have to deal with speed cameras but you have to deal with police being anything from a fiesta, to a mondeo, to an evo.
audi_arena 5:47PM (7/27/2009)
This more so proves how cheap lexus's actually are to build, rather than how much the police department is willing to spend.
Kiiks 8:32PM (7/27/2009)
Probably cheaper than those idiot bobbies putting gasoline in their diesel Astras.
the4thheat 11:58PM (7/27/2009)
Cheap to build? These most likely cost more than the regular IS-F not less. And it's just one small city anyway I doubt that they're buying all that many.
anonymous j 12:12AM (7/28/2009)
audi_arena
Does that mean that Audi's, Bimmers and MB's must be even cheaper to build since they're electronics are always on the fritz STILL? Especially VW/Audi, who charges 40k+ for a 4 cylinder A4 that doesn't even come with polished exhaust tips.
Patrick 2:05PM (7/28/2009)
I know the UK is a Big Brother state with speed cameras everywhere and high levels of enforcement. The types of cars they have definitely show that they make a pretty penny out of citations and fines.
B3astofthe3ast 3:32PM (7/27/2009)
Almost as badass as the Lambo cop cars. Actually...not even close. But still badass.
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JDM Life 8:28PM (7/28/2009)
The IS-F is more exclusive then the lambo cop car.
Jason 3:36PM (7/27/2009)
That should make for some good car chases.
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Ben 4:33PM (7/27/2009)
Yes. Finally, the citizens will be entertained!
Alex 3:34PM (7/27/2009)
HA, awesome. This is a million times cooler than those Lamborghini "police cars". This isn't just some show car, this is a cruiser that'll be protecting the Fiestas from the baddies and their Corvettes.
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Protzenegger 5:12PM (7/27/2009)
The Lambo cop cars are on highway duty just like the others.
Phil Perman 3:36PM (7/27/2009)
I saw an unmarked police BMW 335i blast through my village a little while ago with the lights flashing though the grill. I thought that was quite a flash cop car, but this thing defiantly shows it up
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Rich 3:37PM (7/27/2009)
Gotta love the factual errors in reporting:
1. they're not replacing the Imprezas because the Imprezas didn't do good service -- they're just end-of-life.
2. these vehicles aren't used to "yank your license" (it's licence, in the UK, mate), they're used to pursue "the criminals who use the roads for serious and organized crime."
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BoxerFanatic 4:17PM (7/27/2009)
Oh, great.
So the organized criminals can just keep an eye out for lexus cop cars in particular, then.
Honestly, this reeks of wasteful spending. I don't like it here, I can imagine that there are brits who don't like it there.
And yes, my previous comments had to do with regular maintenance costs on a luxury and high-performance specialized vehicle. Not to mention wear and tear inherent in fleet-type useage, and law-enforcement demands.
Luxury sport performance vehicles aren't exactly designed to be inexpensive to run, and robust for such use cycles and non-ordinary demands.
At least an Impreza was designed with rally racing in mind, which gives it a measure of rough-use credibility, and being based on an economy platform gives it some claim to be somewhat inexpensive to maintain, moreso than an -F model Lexus.