How The Ford Explorer Became An Underrated Cruiser
The 2019 and newer Ford Explorer police interceptors didn't just happen. They were pushed into that role after years of departments complaining about the Crown Victoria being discontinued and the Edge being too small for actual patrol work. The Explorer filled a gap nobody was fully prepared for, and it turned out to work reasonably well. LAPD started ordering the Police Interceptor Utility version of the Explorer around 2019. Before that, they ran Crown Vics and then Expedition-based interceptors for larger units. The midsize SUV was a pivot point, and a lot of people wrote it off prematurely. It stuck around longer than expected, which is why you see them now in numbers that rival the old Crown Vic days. The setup they run is the 3.3L Ti-VCT V6 paired with the 10-speed automatic in most standard patrol packages. Some specialty units get the 2.3L EcoBoost for tighter maneuvers and slightly better fuel economy when they are running light. The 10-speed transmission is a genuine improvement over the old 6-speeds that used to melt under sustained pursuit gear cascading.
What Makes This Platform Work For Patrol
The Explorer platform gives you front-wheel-drive-biased AWD that can send up to 100 percent of torque rearward when needed. That matters less than people think in day-to-day patrol work, but it does help when you are tracking through intersections or working ice and snow in the mountain divisions. The ride height sits between theEdge and the Expedition. You get better visibility than a sedan without the handling penalties of a full-size SUV. Ground clearance around 8.7 inches means you can go over most curbs and speed tables without scraping the underbody. It also means the exhaust system and intake components are positioned where they survive more pothole encounters than you would expect. Standard equipment on the police variant includes reinforced suspension components, a heavy-duty cooling system, and the Police Service Package wiring harness. That last one is where departments save money long-term. If you are retrofitting civilian Explorers, you will spend more on the wiring and electronics integration than most people budget for.
Real Maintenance Concerns Nobody Talks About
I spent roughly fourteen months running a 2021 Explorer PIU with the 3.3L in San Fernando Valley conditions. The routine stuff was fine. Oil changes every 5,000 miles with 5W-30 synthetic, transmission fluid checks at the same interval because the dipstick is accessible without dropping the pan, brake pad swaps every 18 to 22 thousand miles depending on how much pursuit braking you are doing. The thing that caught me off guard was the turbocharger oil coking on the 2.3L models after hard sustained runs. If you are doing multiple high-speed pursuits back to back with minimal cooldown time, the oil in the turbo center section starts breaking down faster than expected. I saw premature turbo wear on a unit that had aggressive pursuit patterns. The workaround was straightforward: mandatory idle cooldown periods of at least sixty seconds before shutdown after sustained high-speed work, and switching to a higher quality synthetic oil that handles thermal stress better. Pennzoil Platinum Heavy Duty or Motorcraft European Formula both work well here. Another issue people miss is the rear differential cooling on extended operations. The standard Explorer differential cooler is adequate for normal use, but if you are running sustained high-speed rotations for extended periods, the differential fluid can exceed acceptable temperatures. Installing an auxiliary cooler kit from Motorcraft or Melling brought fluid temperatures down enough to prevent premature wear. This isn't a common fix, but it matters for units that do a lot of highway pursuit work regularly.
Get the Full Details
Performance Numbers That Actually Matter
The 3.3L V6 produces 290 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. The 2.3L EcoBoost makes 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet. Both are adequate for patrol work. Neither is going to embarrass you in acceleration tests against competitors. Zero to sixty times for the PIU come out around six and a half seconds with the 2.3L and just under seven seconds with the naturally aspirated V6. Braking from sixty to zero typically takes 130 to 135 feet with the standard police brake packages. That is within competitive range for the class. Fuel economy with the 3.3L comes in around fourteen miles per gallon in mixed patrol duty and sixteen point five in city-only driving. The EcoBoost version trades a bit of power for marginal fuel savings under light load conditions, usually around fifteen point five miles per gallon combined in real-world duty cycles.
Where The Explorer Falls Short As A Police Vehicle
The interior space is tighter than an Expedition. If you need to transport multiple subjects in the rear, you are working with three across at best, and even that gets cramped with gear and subject movement. The Crown Victoria used to handle four adults comfortably in the back. This is a real regression in capacity. The rear cargo area under the floor storage is smaller than previous generations of Ford police SUVs. Equipment bags, evidence lockers, and medical kits have to be packed more efficiently. Departments that ran organized stock systems before often need to reconfigure their equipment layout when transitioning to the Explorer platform. Vandalism resistance is another area where the Explorer doesn't match the old platform. The plastic exterior trim and certain interior components are more susceptible to damage during aggressive subject control situations. Parts replacement costs add up faster than you would expect from a vehicle in this price range.
What To Look For When Ordering Or Buying Used
If you are ordering new, specify the Police Service Package wiring from the factory. Retrofitting costs are significant and the integration isn't as clean as factory-installed systems. Make sure the cooling package includes the heavy-duty radiator and transmission cooler. The standard cooling is insufficient for sustained high-ambient-temperature operations in desert climates. For used purchases, check the maintenance records carefully. Look for evidence of proper oil change intervals and turbo cooldown practices on EcoBoost models. Examine the suspension components, especially the rear control arms and bushings, since patrol duty wears those faster than normal use. The 10-speed transmission should shift smoothly through all gears without hesitation or harsh engagement. Any issues there usually indicate internal wear that is expensive to repair. The tire pressure monitoring system sensors are a known failure point on these platforms. Replace them proactively if you are buying a unit with higher mileage, since patrol duty puts extra stress on the sensor stems and seals.
Bottom Line On The Platform
The Ford Explorer police interceptor is a competent midsize patrol vehicle that filled a void after the Crown Victoria died. It isn't perfect, and it has real limitations in subject transport capacity and interior durability compared to what came before. But the fuel efficiency, handling characteristics, and adequate performance make it a reasonable choice for departments that need a versatile platform rather than a specialist vehicle. If you are running purely urban patrol with minimal pursuit work, the 3.3L V6 is the more durable option long-term. The EcoBoost is fine for lighter duty cycles where the extra torque helps and fuel savings matter more. LAPD's decision to standardize on this platform reflects practical evaluation of their operational needs rather than marketing influence.
