I was speaking with a Sergeant of a town department last week which just aquired a Ford Explorer SUV for a supervisor's vehicle. He was telling me that he didn't like it for the following reasons. The space between the driver's seat and the arm rest was tight and jammed his duty weapon against it. He also said that it was too small for all the equipment carried by the department. He likes the crown victoria much better because it has plenty of leg room. Personally I like the SUV for the following reason:
It's height puts you above other vehicles so you have a higher observation point of your surroundings. Being New England an SUV is good with 4WD for the snowy road conditions . I don't like the issue of your weapon being pressed against your side while in the driver's seat.
Posted by: RPD931
Need an explorer without the middle console and the weapon won't be an issue. But yeah, gotta love the way they handle - turn on a dime and great view advantage.
Posted by: MiamiVice
Real cops drive crown vics, you can't catch a bad guy in an Explorer. You can't go fast in an explorer, you can't corner in an Explorer, you can't even go a full shift on a tank of gas in an Explorer.
Posted by: PATS246
My dept has two new explorers. I'm not assigned to them, thank goodness, I prefer the CV. I've used them a few times though. The explorer isn't too bad, it has a couple positives, thats about it. Its good in the winter, 10 times better than the CV. We don't have light bars mounted on the explorers so its better to keep a low profile if you are doing radar or following a car. Better for a low profile vehicle b/c people often expect to see a crown vic. I think they are somewhat more comfortable than the CV. I certainly wouldn't want to be in a pursuit with an explorer. I would prefere the CV over the SUV.
Posted by: Macop
Personally I dont agree with SUVs as patrol vehicles. We just bought an Expedition and after a few weeks of it being used, I decided to drive it and decided that it no good for patrol work. You can whip it around or drive evasivly if needed, it sayd you should avoid exssive speeds. I decided to ban it form being used for patrol unless its inclement weather and if an officer has to go somewhere a C/V can't and any administrative purpose.
Posted by: Macop
oops i mean u CAN'T whip it or drive aggresivly, lol
Posted by: PATS246
For example, last night a neighboring town was in pursuit of a Crown Vic, how ironic. Well the officer from the next town over was driving an Explorer, trying to catch a crown vic. Needless to say he lost all of us in the end. But I was talking to the other officer after the fact and he said that there was no way he was keeping up with him b/c he had the explorer. Crown vics are a much better patrol vehicle. An SUV would suffice for some more specialized type unit.
Posted by: KDPSB71
The Explorer does not handle well in sharpe coners, the front seats along with the center console makes the interior cramped. With a full gunbelt, it is hard to latch the seatbelt.
Our 2002 Explorer has had several problems. The auto 4wd system has caused the trans to bang into and out of 4wd in wet or snow. This led to the trans being replaced three times in 32k miles. The tilt steering has be a constant problem, it sticks in either the lowest or highest position. The brake to shift gear lever has a short the causes the vehicle to not shift out of park, unless a pen cap is stuck in the bottom of the steering collum. This we suppose is due to the short blowing out one of the brake lights which happens every few weeks. The light bar blow fuses when the sirens are used for more than 15 minutes. This is all from a command car that is mostly driven by LT's.
Posted by: PATS246
The only thing the explorer is good for is driving in the snow. One of the other guys on the dept told me that when he was driving the Explorer one night, the gas pedal got stuck down and could not release it.
Posted by: RPD931
I have had ZERO problems operating a 2002 Explorer at a high rate of speed and around corners. Just have faith in the vehicle...it just takes a little getting used to.
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He likes the crown victoria much better because it has plenty of leg room. Personally I like the SUV for the following reason:
. I don't like the issue of your weapon being pressed against your side while in the driver's seat. 
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