Police Range Rover
 

Whilst walking through town today i saw a brand new police Range Rover drive past.

This got me thinking why is it necessary for the police to drive round in Range Rovers? Surely there are other vehicles of equivalent size and performance for half the price just with less luxury and a less pretigious badge?

I found it especially annoying in light of the recent service i received from the police when my car was stolen when the officer i dealt with said that they were under resourced and that i should complain so that maybe it might result in them receiving more resources.

Right so the police are underresourced yet they're cruising round in blo*dy Range Rovers :wonder: Surely if they spent less money on flash cars they would have more resources for extra officers?

I was just wondering what other peoples opinions are on this, and whether in fact there is a legitimate reason for driving these vehicles as i don't know of one myself?

Range Rovers are used by traffic police, they need the room in the back for cones etc (so use an estate I hear you say?) and they also use estates, but other traffic cars aint good off road (where some of your theives go) so the likes of a powerful range rover sometimes comes in handy :) (and some accidents can be on bad roads with snow etc where a 4x4 is more preferable to other cars)

Tony

Whilst I accept all of the things you have mentioned are necessary - room for storage, off road ability, bad road conditions etc - surely there are cheaper 4x4s which meet the above criteria?

Well at least they aren't prancing about in Jag XJ12s anymore.....no boot for cones and a 6.0 v12 that does 15mpg. Ok, that is not any worse MPG than a Rangie, but at least that could pull cars out of ditches. ;) However I very much doubt the latest one can do any of the sort.

And just for some icing, they use BMW X5s as well :D

Are any 4x4 cheap nowerdays ;) they also use X5's if that helps?
Range rovers are reknown for their off road ability, plus you may find that the government has contracts for these cars/vehicles on a fleed basis so get them cheaper, but if your going to buy a 4x4 then you may as well get the best one available :)

Tony

The spec of the Range Rover you will have seen is GREATLY reduced from the spec you would see in the showroom. The same goes for the price, especially as our fleet management company order 40 odd at a time. And before anyone asks, they're diesels.......NOT the supercharged ones!

For example, the ones we use have cloth seats, are supplied without radios etc. No comparison to my old mans new HSE!

Most car manufacturers (Subaru included) have a special vehicle section that deals specifically with the emergency services. They work with the forces and fleet management companies to tailor the spec of the vehicles to the needs of the service. There's no point supplying them with radios when they are ripped out and TETRA sets put in. In the case of traffic & firearms units, you need a hell of alot of space to accomodate all the equipment. It is often the case that only what would be considered a luxury vehicle, is big enough to fit the bill.

There are other things that should be taken into account:

• The effects on officers sitting in the vehicles every days for long periods of time
• Maintainance & servicing costs - we have a few X5's and they're much more expensive to run & maintain than the Rangies. I'd also rather spend a shift jumping in and out of a Range Rover than an X5, coz I find them the most uncomfortable thing in the world.
• My crews work in 3's.......can you realistically see 3 big blokes in body armour carrying enough equipment to start a small civil war trying to get to a shout quickly in a 1.3 diesel Astra?

For example: About Us - Special Sales | Subaru (UK) Ltd.

I've noticed a few police Range Rovers in my area and they drive me mad too - surely a Range Rover is a high-end luxury 4X4 and therefore total overkill for police use? Whats wrong with a shogun or even a discovery?:brickwall

:lol:

had to laugh at the big, cheesy grin on the face of the passenger in the pic on that link...!!!

and in response to some of the comments on here, and as mentioned above, these vehicles are leased...forces dont get 'x' amount of thousands to go shopping for brand spanking new range rovers...

stop police bashing just for the sake of it...:mad:

I think you will find it probably cost them about £1 to buy.Well,something stupid.

Can't remember if I was told that companies like their products placed with the police

Not disputing any comments above however I wonder how much of the desicion is based on 'well, we always drove range rovers'.

Thinking back to when I was 17 first time on the motorway... no such thing as an SUV/x5/shogun sport etc etc. Plod drove Rangies and I imagine it did no-end of good for the marketing folks at range rover so plod got them cheap as mentioned above in 'non showroom spec'

People like BMW & Range Rover like their vehicles to be seen having this kind of intensive use.

If they can put up with the sort of "abuse" they get as police vehicles, people are more likely to think they are reliable etc etc

I was very pleased to see the police have numerous cars like mine...Skoda Octavia vRS.Think they have started buying the new 2.0T version too.

Lots of Skoda vRS estates being used as well

And very good they are too!

My old mans force uses them, and I've been out for a play.

It's all down to sourcing the best vehicle for the job, be it Skoda vRS or Range Rover.

:D

Did you completely not read the post above yours?

Regardless:
A) it's the total cost of the car over the lifetime of the car. RR will depreciate a lot less than some other cars.
B) Does what the police really require, not what you thinks they 'should' require.
C) ahh, fook it, read TDT's post. Most of you, know FOOK ALL about the decision making process and the real costs etc involved but STILL spout your mouths off. Most of those that do will be anti-police and we all KNOW what type of people are anti-police. :p :D


<Awaits pathetic twats to leave anonymous reputation with lots of moronic nonsense> :D

with the mileage they rack up on them they offer quick feedback to vehicle manufacturers as well as to how there vehicles perform / wear. Free testing in the real world!

can't be arsed to read all the above, but the car will be leased.. the lease company will be keen on vehicles like Range Rovers and BMWs as the residulas are often alot higher than the likes of Volvo's etc..

therefore they will offer them at a more attractive price to the force..

plus the Range Rover no doubt has many advantages over most other 4x4s

Actually no, I didn't read the post directly above mine as it was posted while I was typing.

I'm simply offering my opinion so kindly do not suggest that I am:

A) Anti-Police
B) Uninformed as regards the decision making process
C) A 'Pathetic ****'

When you know nothing about me.

Our Octavia IRV at work takes a right old battering all day and night and keeps on going.
Whereas the Focus my sarge uses is a right old heap of junk

Lots of E class Merc estates in Cardiff. Volvo T5 estate is plenty practical enough for them I say, especially if it would bring my extortionate council bill down a penny or two...

D

Police helped a friend and her baby out of a Focus the other day. She'd rolled it 6 times on the motorway & up thr embankment. Police commented very favourably on all Focus's resilience & both were fine! D

A sort of semi iformed response is:-

Landy give them a really good deal on Rangey' as it is good kudos for the company and as they cane the mileage they get a good work out and an informed perfomance and quality apraisal onn the vehicle performance over the period they are being run (kinda like a free test driver) plus being utilised by the police authority means they will be used for everything!!

they used to use them due to the torque and ability of the auto gearboxes to take massive pullling abuse straight out of the box, ie they could drag an artic off the motorway or out of the way while it was on its side with permanent damage to the vehicles drive train, not sure if they are the only vehicle that is the case for any other vehicle any more as everyone has owned landy and nicked there 4wd system now.

Finally I think it was clarkson who championed Landy as the vehicle of the Century and as he (or whoever it was said) landrovers and they're siblings are generally seen doing something important (Okay maybe not all the time but hey who is).

Apologies, it looked daft when it followed TDTs post :D Not your fault.

The rest of it wasn't directed at you personally, but at those who are anti-police and those that like to spout off stuff they know little about. I apologise for A & C, even though they weren't directed directly at you but I guess my post wasn't clear enough in that respect. However, B does is (or was, now that TDT has posted his stuff up) valid.

Yes, I know nothing about you apart from what you post so I can only judge on that basis.

:sleep:

the police are ****!!! when you have a car or van broken into they dont give a shiny **** they dont bother to check cctv (whats the point in having it) and then they dont even bother to fingerprint the damn thing when you've not been able to use it for 3 days as they said they needed it uncontaminated they are pure ****ers who need a brain transplant and people who are thinking of visiting BOUNDARY MILL COLNE dont bother the security is **** and they dont give a **** when things get broken into with one measely cctv camera!!!!! sorry rant over now :)

Good, relevant post........ :rolleyes:

completely irrelevant to this thread, put your teddy back in the cot and type your crap somewhere else, it's getting boring.

Start your very own "Police bashing thread" in the muppet section or something

I was right! faceless keyboard warriors about :D

I would rather they got the right car that they feel they need for the job, start to re-employ traffic police again, and save the money on the PCSO's which appears to be the real waste at the moment.

Les

I suppose the Range Rovers do have advantages - big so easy to see, and also can go off-road should needs be. Residual values are very good as has been said, so might not cost as much to run as it first appears.

I have seen an undercover Police RS6 on the M4, and thats harder to justify - those are £70k odd, but I suppose again you could agree strong residual values etc..

What would you pay for an ex Police RS6 then Peter? Say with 150,000 on the clock and 75 careful owners, FSH, and lots of holes in the dashboard, cloth seats &and de-specced from new? I just dont get it - a third of the cost Scooby would run RINGS round it and be more reliable to boot!

I love cars as much as coppers but would rather they didnt make us pay for their luxury toys!! More traffic pol in less flash cars pls!!!