Michigan test archive

2024 Michigan State Police Patrol Vehicle Test

No Charger, and no police sedan of any kind, for the first time in the books held here. Two electric cars instead: the Mustang Mach-E and the first Chevrolet Blazer EV.

Twelve vehicles and no motorcycles, published in October 2023. Acceleration, top speed and braking were run at the Chelsea Proving Grounds on 16 September 2023, and the dynamics at Grattan Raceway two days later. The field is two Tahoes, two Silverado pickups, two Durangos, three Police Interceptor Utilities, an F-150, the Mustang Mach-E and a Chevrolet Blazer EV, the second battery-electric car model in these books. There is no Charger, and so no police sedan of any kind: the first Michigan test without one in the books held here.

The Mach-E has changed. The specification page gives the same 480 horsepower but 428 lb-ft rather than 600, and 19-inch wheels with narrower 225/55 tyres in place of 20-inch 245/45s. It reached 60 mph in 4.07 seconds, 0.14 slower than the 2023 car, but 100 in 10.87, 1.36 quicker, and it lapped Grattan 1.85 seconds quicker on average. One of its laps, 1:33.35, is the quickest single lap printed in the book. It no longer stops shortest: the EcoBoost Utility’s 129.4 feet beat its 129.6.

The Blazer EV reached 60 in 5.17 seconds and 100 in 11.08, second only to the Mach-E, and ran its printed 130 mph. Both electric cars lapped under the roughly forty-minute charging procedure the manufacturers had agreed in the 2022 and 2023 books.

Nine of the twelve specification pages print a Manufacturer Limited Top Speed (none of the three Police Interceptor Utilities does), and seven vehicles topped out exactly at it. And the F-150 misses the braking criterion for a third book running: 24.25 ft/s² against 25.79, and 159.6 feet from 60.

The police vehicles

Source: 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation, MSP Precision Driving Unit. Acceleration, top speed and braking at the Chelsea Proving Grounds, 16 September 2023; dynamics at Grattan Raceway, 18 September 2023, 32 timed laps scored on each of four drivers’ five fastest. Braking is twenty 60-to-0 full-ABS stops; the rate is the overall average and the distance the projected stop, both as printed on each vehicle’s brake sheet. Communications and ergonomics are scored per model on a 1–10 scale, so both versions of a model carry the same score. Muted row: see the purchasing criteria.
Vehicle0–60 (s)0–100 (s)Top speedTop speed atDynamicsBrakes (ft/s²)60–0 (ft)CommsErgo
Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD (electric)4.0710.871240.55 mi1:39.7829.88129.65.337.54
Chevrolet Blazer EV AWD (electric)5.1711.081300.45 mi1:39.4228.64135.28.717.87
Ford F-150 Police Responder EcoBoost 3.5L5.6914.401200.52 mi1:38.9924.25159.68.717.94
Ford PI Utility EcoBoost AWD 3.0L5.8115.131481.55 mi1:35.1729.93129.49.447.54
Dodge Durango 5.7L AWD6.6717.701301.07 mi1:38.0828.46136.19.788.22
Ford PI Utility Hybrid AWD6.9917.001361.10 mi1:38.6029.40131.79.447.54
Chevrolet Silverado Z7X 4WD7.2418.281120.48 mi1:41.5026.84144.29.737.85
Chevrolet Silverado Z71 4WD7.3918.281120.49 mi1:40.1426.72144.99.737.85
Ford PI Utility AWD 3.3L7.6419.131362.09 mi1:38.1829.54131.19.447.54
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L RWD7.6919.191301.49 mi1:38.5329.70130.48.848.27
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L 4WD7.9420.051240.87 mi1:38.8829.34132.08.848.27
Dodge Durango 3.6L AWD8.2523.061251.27 mi1:40.7528.21137.39.788.22

Gold row: the Mach-E is quickest to 60 by 1.10 seconds and to 100 by 0.21, both over the Blazer. The EcoBoost Utility takes the rest: the best dynamics average at 1:35.17, the shortest stop at 129.4 feet and the highest rate at 29.93 ft/s², and the highest top speed at 148 mph. The slowest average is the Silverado Z7X’s, 1:41.50.

The electric cars at Grattan. Both ran one eight-lap series per driver, four drivers each, with a 47 kW charger used between runs and roughly forty minutes of charging agreed. The Mach-E began its runs at 89 to 95 percent charge and finished at 49 to 62; the Blazer began at 90 to 100 and finished at 61 to 71. The two cars lapped differently. In each of the Mach-E’s series the first lap listed is its quickest, between 1:33.35 and 1:35.79, and the fifth listed lap is about six to 8.3 seconds slower. The Blazer’s five laps stay within about seven tenths of a second in every series. On average the Blazer is 0.36 seconds a lap quicker.

The Blazer EV weighs 5,870 lb, the heaviest vehicle here, with 498 horsepower and 571 lb-ft from a 105 kWh battery. Its specification page says EPA fuel economy labels were not yet available, and the fuel table prints none.

The F-150 is a 2024 model. Against the 2023 truck it is 0.03 seconds quicker to 60 and stops 2.6 feet shorter, but its rate, 24.25 ft/s², is still below 25.79. Its specification page again lists the drive system as “Front Wheel Drive”; every data sheet calls it the F-150 EcoBoost 4WD.

See the original pages in the 2024 book: lap times
Scan from the 2024 Michigan State Police vehicle evaluation: every driver’s lap times at Grattan Raceway and each vehicle’s overall average
“Vehicle Dynamics Testing – September 18, 2023”. The book prints this over 3 pages; they are shown here one below the other. Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program, PDF pages 36–38 (printed pages 35–37). Open full size.

Acceleration in detail

Source: 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation, summary of acceleration and top speed, printed pages 48–50. Averages of four runs, two in each direction, in seconds; distances in miles. Neither Silverado reached 120 mph, and the book leaves those two cells blank.
0 to…Mach-EBlazer EVF-150PI Utility EcoBoostDurango 5.7LPI Utility HybridSilverado Z7XSilverado Z71PI Utility 3.3LTahoe RWDTahoe 4WDDurango 3.6L
20 mph1.121.771.561.541.491.621.811.862.002.062.051.86
30 mph1.712.602.252.292.372.752.822.863.083.073.112.96
40 mph2.413.413.293.313.534.034.144.214.404.444.554.37
50 mph3.194.244.344.464.885.435.545.635.935.886.065.99
60 mph4.075.175.695.816.676.997.247.397.647.697.948.25
70 mph5.136.277.177.408.598.899.229.389.709.7110.0910.78
80 mph6.507.629.069.8311.0311.1511.6211.7912.3312.3012.7913.99
90 mph8.349.2011.2212.2313.8413.7914.4914.6215.3815.3516.1117.92
100 mph10.8711.0814.4015.1317.7017.0018.2818.2819.1319.1920.0523.06
Miles to 100 mph0.200.180.250.270.320.300.320.320.340.340.350.42
Miles to 120 mph0.410.320.520.500.640.57––0.680.700.740.93

The Mach-E leads at every speed up to 100 mph. The Blazer is fifth to 30 mph and second from 50 on, and closes to 0.21 seconds at 100. On distance the order turns over: the Blazer reached 100 and 120 mph in the shortest distance of any vehicle here, 0.18 and 0.32 miles, against the Mach-E’s 0.20 and 0.41.

See the original pages in the 2024 book: acceleration
Scan from the 2024 Michigan State Police vehicle evaluation: acceleration times from 0–20 to 0–100 mph, top speeds and distances to reach 100 mph, 120 mph and top speed
“Summary of Acceleration and Top Speed”. The book prints this over 3 pages; they are shown here one below the other. Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program, PDF pages 49–51 (printed pages 48–50). Open full size.

The purchasing criteria: one braking miss, and two trucks that never reach 120

The book repeats the MSP’s purchasing criteria on printed page 5: 60 mph within 9.0 seconds, 80 within 14.9 and 100 within 24.6; 110 mph within 0.92 mile and 120 within 1.70 miles; an average of 25.79 ft/s² across twenty 60-to-0 stops; and all 32 Grattan laps without major component failure. Meeting them, it says, “does not certify a vehicle as being pursuit rated”.

The F-150 averaged 24.25 ft/s² across its twenty stops, against 25.79, as the F-150s of the 2022 and 2023 books did. The book does not name it as failing, and it is muted in the table above for that reason only. The two Silverados are limited to 112 mph by their manufacturer, so neither reaches the 120 mph mark; the book prints the criterion and does not comment. The V6 Durango reached 100 in 23.06 seconds, 1.54 inside the limit. Every other car clears every criterion for which the book prints a figure; the distance to 110 mph is not printed for any of them.

Nine of twelve specification pages print the limit

Every vehicle on this page had a speed limiter fitted, unless the book notes otherwise. The report states it for the whole field in its General Information section, printed page 4: “All vehicles listed in this report were equipped with electronic speed limiters unless otherwise noted.” The top-speed test is described, on printed page 40, as a test “to verify the electronically limited top speed reported by the manufacturer”.

Nine of the twelve specification pages print a Manufacturer Limited Top Speed. The three Police Interceptor Utilities do not, although the 2022 and 2023 books printed the field for all three; they ran 148, 136 and 136, the figures printed for them in 2023.

Source: 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation, individual vehicle specification pages, printed pages 10–32; measured top speeds from the data sheets. The three Police Interceptor Utilities’ pages do not print the field.
VehicleManufacturer limitMeasuredSpec page
Chevrolet Blazer EV AWD (electric)130130p.18 (PDF 19)
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L RWD130130p.10 (PDF 11)
Dodge Durango 5.7L AWD130130p.20 (PDF 21)
Dodge Durango 3.6L AWD130125p.22 (PDF 23)
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L 4WD124124p.12 (PDF 13)
Ford F-150 Police Responder EcoBoost 3.5L120120p.30 (PDF 31)
Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD (electric)112124p.32 (PDF 33)
Chevrolet Silverado Z7X 4WD112112p.14 (PDF 15)
Chevrolet Silverado Z71 4WD112112p.16 (PDF 17)

Seven of the nine topped out exactly at their printed limit. The V6 Durango reached 125 against 130. The Mach-E’s page prints 112 mph, but its data sheet records 124, reached at 0.55 mile; 124 is the figure printed for the Mach-E in the 2022 and 2023 books, and for the Mach-E GT in 2026. The page and the data sheet disagree, and the book does not comment.

Ergonomics and communications

The ergonomics totals: Tahoe 8.27, Durango 8.22, F-150 7.94, Blazer 7.87, Silverado 7.85, Police Interceptor Utility and Mach-E 7.54. Against 2023 only the Durango scored higher; every other returning model scored lower. The lowest single marks on the sheet are the Mach-E’s two rear-seat scores, 6.00 each for legroom and for entry and exit. The book says five officers took part; every mark except trunk release moves in quarter-point steps, which suggests four.

Communications installation is graded separately, by personnel from the Michigan Public Safety Communications System. The Blazer, new to the sheet, scored 8.71, with 10.00 for dashboard access and the engine compartment and 6.00 for the trunk. Those three sub-scores average 8.67; the book prints 8.71, the F-150’s total, and the 2025 and 2026 books repeat both the sub-scores and the 8.71. Every returning model repeats its 2023 sub-scores exactly, the Mach-E’s 5.33 included.

See the original pages in the 2024 book: ergonomics
Scan from the 2024 Michigan State Police vehicle evaluation: the communications scores and the ergonomics scores for each vehicle, item by item, with the total scores
“Ergonomics and Communications”. The communications table and the ergonomics table, as printed on consecutive pages. Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program, PDF pages 71–72 (printed pages 70–71). Open full size.

Fuel economy

Source: 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation, printed page 72. EPA label figures, provided by the manufacturers and certified by the EPA; the book prints no unit for the Mach-E’s figures, which for an electric car are MPGe. It prints “Not available” for the Blazer EV and “TBD” for both Durangos.
VehicleCityHighwayCombined
Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD (electric)968490
Ford PI Utility Hybrid AWD232424
Ford PI Utility AWD 3.3L172319
Ford PI Utility EcoBoost AWD 3.0L172219
Ford F-150 Police Responder EcoBoost 3.5L162018
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L RWD151916
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L 4WD141816
Chevrolet Silverado Z7X 4WD141715
Chevrolet Silverado Z71 4WD141715

The Mach-E’s 96 MPGe city figure is higher than the 2026 GT’s 95, and both print 90 combined. Its fuel line again gives a total range of 270 miles and 40 kWh per hundred miles; its specification page gives a 91 kWh usable battery, against 88 kWh in 2023.

See the original page in the 2024 book: fuel economy
Scan from the 2024 Michigan State Police vehicle evaluation: EPA city, highway and combined miles per gallon for each vehicle, as printed
“Fuel Economy”. Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program, PDF page 73 (printed page 72). Open full size.

What 2024 settled

This is the year the sedan left. The Charger that had been in every Michigan book since 2006 is gone, and for the first time in the books held here the field has no police sedan of any kind: twelve sport utilities, crossovers and pickups.

And the electric cars are no longer one entry. The Mach-E reached 100 mph quicker than any car in these books but the 2026 GT, the new Blazer EV came second in this book, and between them they took the two quickest times to 60 and to 100. The best lap average still belonged to a petrol-engined Ford Utility, and the shortest stop passed back to a Ford Utility from the Mach-E.

Source. Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, 2024 Model Year Police Vehicle Evaluation Program, published by the MSP Precision Driving Unit, October 2023. Acceleration, top speed and braking at the Chelsea Proving Grounds, 16 September 2023; vehicle dynamics at Grattan Raceway, 18 September 2023, drivers Agema, Looney, Davis and Mercer. All figures transcribed directly from the report; 60–0 distances are the book’s own projected stopping distances. See how these videos are researched.