Ford Ranger teams up with Victoria Police to replace general duties fleet

Ford Ranger utes purpose built with “prisoner pods” on the back are to replace the Holden Colorado as Victoria Police’s fleet of divisional vehicles.

Ford Australia is supplying police with the specially built vans which are based on the Ranger XLT Super Cab and the Ranger XLT Dual Cab.

More than 200 Rangers each year will take up the blues and twos as the force renews its existing fleet over the next two years, with the first batch taking to the road from next week.

“Our 2,500-strong team of designers, engineers and auto specialists have the expertise to not only lead the development of global vehicles like Ranger, but also tailor them to meet the unique requirements of organisations like Victoria Police,” said Andrew Birkic, President and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand.

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The vehicles, developed by Ford’s Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) team, replace the current Colorado models which have been first responder vehicles for frontline officers since 2018.

The initial order of 200 vehicles this year consists of general duties divisional vans, with the majority of units based on the Ford Ranger XLT Super Cab.

The XLT Dual Cab will also be utilised as a divisional van fitted with a modified prisoner transfer capsule, capable of holding two offenders, in some parts of the state.

The pre-existing, self-contained pods featuring both air-conditioning and video cameras, have been redesigned by third party manufacturer, Centaur.

Ford has adapted the Ranger to have an “impressive ride height (237 mm of ground clearance)” and also improved visibility.

It has also included some key safety features including Pre-Collision Assist – AEB with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Keeping Aid, and six airbags.

Once the design work was complete, Ford SVE subjected the new divisional vans to rigorous testing at its You Yangs Proving Ground near Geelong to ensure it was fit for purpose, including both brake and handling tests.

In addition to the general duties Ranger vans, Ford SVE is working with Victoria Police on the design and development of Ranger 4x4s for off-road operational use, as well as other vehicles for specific operational duties.

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Acting Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Command, Deb Robertson, added: “Our frontline officers rely on divisional vans to provide the safest mode of transport for their duties, be durable and equipped for modern policing.

“We were pleased to find a manufacturer that could make major enhancements and modifications to one of their vehicles to purpose-build them for our operational use and to also met our fleet safety policy.”

This is not the first time the two have paired up to produce emergency vehicles. Ford’s relationship with Victoria Police stretches all the way back to the 1959 Ford Mainline divisional van.

As a result of the partnership, cops in Victoria join their counterparts in New South Wales, who have used a mix of Ford Ranger and Holden Colorado utes for the past five years.

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