Michigan test archive
Police car comparisons
Two cars from the Michigan State Police tests, set side by side figure by figure from the test books and bulletins. Every comparison page has the same layout, and each one states which figures can be compared and which cannot.
All comparisons (5)
Comparison 1
1983 Ford Mustang vs 1983 Ford LTD Crown Victoria S
From the 1983 book.
Open the full comparison →Mustang
Crown Victoria S
0–60 mph8.32 s
0–60 mph12.22 s
0–100 mph22.71 s
0–100 mph39.81 s
Top speed132.0 mph
Top speed117.9 mph
Lap average1:28.31
Lap average1:30.59
Braking rate24.969 ft/s²
Braking rate23.988 ft/s²
Total scorenot scored
Total score+0.528
Comparison 2
1983 Chevrolet Impala vs 1983 Chevrolet Impala (Canadian)
From the 1983 book.
Open the full comparison →US Impala
Canadian Impala
0–60 mph11.67 s
0–60 mph11.03 s
0–100 mph42.51 s
0–100 mph36.65 s
Top speed115.0 mph
Top speed107.1 mph
Lap average1:32.21
Lap averagenot run
Braking rate23.222 ft/s²
Braking ratenot braked
Total score−0.767
Total scorenot scored
Comparison 3
1993 Chevrolet Camaro (automatic) vs 1993 Ford Mustang (automatic)
From the October 1992 bulletin (the 1993 test).
Open the full comparison →Camaro
Mustang
0–60 mph6.18 s
0–60 mph7.98 s
0–100 mph15.82 s
0–100 mph22.34 s
Top speed154.0 mph
Top speed135.1 mph
Lap average1:19.52
Lap average1:23.39
Braking rate30.34 ft/s²
Braking rate23.76 ft/s²
Ergonomics185.67
Ergonomics170.33
Comparison 4
1996 Chevrolet Caprice 5.7L vs 1996 Ford Crown Victoria
From the 1996 book.
Open the full comparison →Caprice
Crown Victoria
0–60 mph8.02 s
0–60 mph9.10 s
0–100 mph21.47 s
0–100 mph25.18 s
Top speed139 mph
Top speed135 mph (limiter fitted)
Lap average1:23.35
Lap average1:24.79
Braking rate29.10 ft/s²
Braking rate29.02 ft/s²
Ergonomics217.19
Ergonomics206.12
Comparison 5
2012 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 6.0L vs 2012 Dodge Charger 5.7L (3.06 axle)
From the 2012 book.
Open the full comparison →Caprice
Charger
0–60 mph5.91 s
0–60 mph5.83 s
0–100 mph14.13 s
0–100 mph13.65 s
Top speed154 mph (limiter fitted)
Top speed151 mph (limiter fitted)
Lap average1:36.84
Lap average1:35.42
Braking rate30.77 ft/s² (6.0 sheet)
Braking rate29.82 ft/s² (5.7 sheet)
Ergonomics217.14
Ergonomics223.18
▲ marks the car ahead on that measure. A row with no ▲ was level, was not compared, or is missing for one car; each page says why.
The rules every comparison follows
- Every figure comes from the year’s source as printed; a figure worked out here, other than a difference between two printed figures, is marked computed, and a source’s own projected stopping distance is marked projected.
- Lap times are compared only between cars that ran the same course; where the laps were averaged differently, the page says so.
- Braking is compared only between cars braked under the same procedure.
- Total scores are compared only between cars scored in the same test; a book’s award is not the same thing as its highest score.
- “The short answer” on each page counts only the measures the page compares for both cars without a caution in its rules box, and says which car was ahead on each. It does not say which car was the better police car.
See how the Michigan test works, the test results table and the corrections page.