Australian Police to Use BMW 5 Series Diesels

Victoria Highway Patrol adds diesel BMWs to its police-interceptor fleet starting in early 2018.

Welcome to the lap of luxury, Victoria Police. In 2018, the Australian state’s Highway Patrol department will take delivery of a new fleet of BMW 530ds. The turbodiesel Bimmers replace outgoing Fords and Holdens and will likely make up a significant part of the Victorian Highway Patrol fleet.

Aussie cops won’t be patrolling in total baller fashion, however. The cars will come with a police package much like those found in European police interceptors. And those 530ds tend to reduce the number of luxury options in favor of utility and heavy duty driving.
 

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The torque-heavy 3.0-liter turbodiesel six should handle that work particularly well. Not only will the monster amount of torque — 457 pound-feet — help the cops whip U-turns, it will also improve fuel efficiency. Whether that means reduced operational costs, we’ll have to wait and see how maintenance factors in. However, the diesel engines should feature reduced fuel costs and improved durability.

The modest 261 horsepower means that the 530d “only” gets to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds without the added weight of police equipment. That added bulk will slow the BMW a bit, but the 3.0-liter engine should still provide ample capability.

No prices were offered, but we expect the Victoria Police took a discount well under the MSRP of $121,000 AU (about $96,000 US).

Australian police hold a number of potential interceptor versions in addition to the 530d. The new-for-2018 Holden Commodore, based on an Opel design, sits among those choices. However, other departments may investigate the Chrysler 300C, Toyota Camry V6, or even the new Kia Stinger as potential interceptor options.

Motoring.com.au reports that the Australian Highway Patrol operates around 1,000 patrol vehicles across all of Australia. Victoria has about 200 of those, as does Queensland. New South Wales includes about 400 more of those. That makes a huge potential market if BMW can sway state police departments.

[Photo: Victoria Police]