Things you probably don’t want to know about. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

Here’s something you probably don’t want to experience: aspects of the standard features offered in the new 2025 Police Interceptor Utility:

Police Perimeter Alert. . . Police Engine Idle. . . Police Dark Car Feature. . . Rear Camera on Demand. . . H8 AGM Battery. . . Blind Spot Monitoring with Cross-Traffic Alert . . .Manual Police Pursuit Mode – Steering Wheel Switch Execution. . . Red/White Dome Lamp – Cargo Area. . . Rearview Camera with Washer Viewable in 8″ Center Stack Screen. . . Ford Pro Upfit Integration System. . . Keyless Entry with 4 Manual Keys. . . 6-Way Power Passenger Seat. . . Police Accessory Independent Timed-Release Output (PAITRO) – Output Tied to Liftgate Release Switch. . . Climate Control – Rear Aux A/C System. . . Updated Police Grade Cloth Trim Seat Material. . . 12.3″ Digital Instrument Cluster with Certified Calibration. . . Keyless Entry – Key FOB Only (Less PATS). . . Simple Fleet Key (w/o microchip, easy to replace: 4-keys). . . Two 50-amp power distribution junction box

Seems like the only thing you’d really be interested in were you to find yourself in the back of one is that rear aux A/C system. And perhaps the seating material.

The rest of the stuff is germane to the professionals.

The Police Interceptor is based on the Explorer that you can find in a dealer near you.

But this vehicle isn’t simply an Explorer with additional lights and a profoundly different paint scheme.

It is engineered to be a police vehicle. It is being offered through Ford Pro, underlining that this is a commercial, not consumer, vehicle.

There are three powertrain options. There is a 3.3-liter V6 that produces 285 hp. A 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 that produces up to 400 hp—but that’s if the vehicle is using Premium gas, which is probably not something that municipalities are in favor of.

And there is a 3.3-liter V6-based hybrid that produces a system output of 318 hp.

One of the arguments that Ford makes for the hybrid is that the onboard equipment operates even when the engine shuts off. This, it is calculated, means a savings of up to 838 gallons of gas per year because the engine isn’t idling so that various things in the vehicle work.

So, if gas is at $3.50 per gallon, this can translate into a savings of $17,500 over a six-year period.

Which matters as budgets at municipalities are stretched.

(Here’s something interesting: the new consumer version of the Explorer is not offered with a hybrid, something that had been available before the recent midcycle refresh. Given the popularity of that powertrain—as consumers budgets are being stretched—it seems likely Ford may rectify that. After all, they like fuel efficiency, too.)