Spotted: New police SUV in Fayetteville

Staff photo
Fayetteville police are testing the Chevrolet Tahoe as a replacement for the discontinued Ford Crown Victoria

Back in March, the Fayetteville City Council approved the purchase of six police package Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles to begin phasing out the recently discontinued Ford Crown Victorias in the local fleet.

The first of those vehicles is currently being tested by Fayetteville police, and we snapped a photo of it on Church Street recently.

Police departments all over the country are looking for a replacement for the Ford Crown Victoria, and since Ford has not yet released a certified replacement, fleet managers are being forced to look elsewhere.

Two years ago, the city purchased two Dodge Chargers, but Fayetteville fleet superintendent Dennis Pratt recently told council members that he doesn’t recommend purchasing any more.

Pratt said that the Tahoe actually gets better gas mileage than the Crown Vic, and that he believes the new model will have longer life expectancy, a higher resale value, and lower maintenance costs than both the Crown Vic and the Dodge Charger.

City staff research comparison

VehicleAvg. MileageAvg. Cost*LengthWidthHeight
Ford Crown Vic10 MPG$1,209/mo212″78″58″
Dodge Charger13 MPG$1,181/mo199″75″58″
Chevy Tahoe11.5 MPG$976/mo202″79″74″

* Maintenance, replacement, overhead, insurance

Flyer staff research comparison

VehicleCityHighwayCombined
Ford Crown Vic16 MPG24 MPG19 MPG
Dodge Charger18 MPG27 MPG21 MPG
Chevy Tahoe15 MPG21 MPG17 MPG

* Standard 2011 stats as reported by fueleconomy.gov.

More information about the vehicle, including comparison data and photos are available on the city’s website.