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powertrain components. Te 5-year/100K- mile program is more emphasis that the AWD system is up to the police duty cycle. Driver Training? Not. No special training is required when going from a FWD or RWD to an AWD police ve- hicle. In fact, AWD "feels" better than RWD when pushed hard. Te front tires pull in the direction the steering wheel is pointed. Te rear tires push just like any RWD vehicle. In the same way, it is very easy to switch back and forth between the PI Sedan and the PI Utility. Tey are built off the same platform and designed to feel the same. Not so much for switching from a sedan to a full-size SUV. An EVOC refresher was a good idea for those going from a RWD to a FWD vehicle. If you try to throw a FWD vehicle around, hang the back end out, like you do a RWD, all you get is lots of miserable understeer. Not so with AWD. AWD itself is extremely forgiv- ing. It makes a bad driver a better driver. It makes a good driver a great driver. Te AWD policed vehicles are "easy to drive hard." Interior Room When you first get into the PI Sedan, the height and width of the opening may appear small. Certainly the distances from the steer- ing wheel to B-pillar and from the seat cush- ion to the roof rail are tighter than the Ford CVPI. What may be small compared to the out-of-production CVPI is not so much when compared to some of the other NextGen po- lice vehicles. Once inside, the PI Sedan has the same leg room as the Ford CVPI. On the other hand, the PI Utility interior design provides much more interior room. Te PI Utility is extremely easy to enter and exit. Both the PI Sedan and PI Utility have a B-pillar location and strength designed to meet side impact requirements and help di- rect energy through the passenger compart- ment structure. At the recommendation of the PAB, Ford added nylon web tethers to the PI Sedan and PI Utility front doors. Tis is to prevent the door from slamming into the hinge stop when thrown open. When new, the tether stops the door well short of the door stop. Te webbed tether is designed to stretch slightly over the life of the vehicle. Tuned to be a little short when new, the tether will allow the door to just touch the door stop by the end of the ser- vice life. Once inside the PI Sedan, you immediately notice the police-spec seat. Compared to the CVPI, and thanks to hundreds of hours of work, the PI Sedan seat is both more comfort- able and more supportive than the CVPI seat. Te PI Sedan and PI Utility use the same seat. Give a seat engineer a full duty belt to use in police seat design and development and the result is amazing. Capable Trunk Te trunk of the PI Sedan is only slightly smaller than the Ford CVPI. (Remember that the published figures of the CVPI trunk vol- ume are without a full-size spare.) Virtually all Fuel Economy Speaking of fuel economy, the V6-powered PI Sedan gets better mileage than the V8-pow- ered Ford CVPI. Of course, the PI Sedan uses pounds, 1500 pounds for the Ford CVPI, and 1600 pounds for the PI Utility. Ford engineers also emphasized the ben- efits of carrying the least weight in the trunk. Less payload means: 1) faster acceleration, 2) shorter stopping distances, 3) better han- dling, 4) greater fuel economy, and 5) better access to what is actually in the trunk. Taking 200 pounds out of the trunk, or not putting 200 pounds in the trunk, is equal to one-half mpg City. S One of the most important PI Prep Package items is the Wiring Harness, an upfit must-have. This includes cables for front LED lights, trunk power distribution box, siren / speaker circuit, trunk circulation, and rear lighting circuits. CVPIs come with a full-size spare (exposed). Te PI Sedan comes standard with a full-size spare concealed under the flat load floor. Trunk volume aside, the Sedan PI is not rated for the same amount of payload as the CVPI. It is about 180 pounds less. Ford has a ready answer for departments whose cargo needs exceed the Sedan PI — use the Utility PI. Do not expect a "heavy springs-shocks" version of the Sedan PI, even though both the Sedan PI and Utility PI are built on the same basic platform. Te PI Sedan has a trunk cargo capacity of 400 pounds, while the PI Utility has a rear cargo capacity of 800 pounds. Te total payload for the PI Sedan is roughly 1400 less fuel when idling. All this makes sense — a 3.5L displacement for the PI Sedan versus a 4.6L displacement for the CVPI. However, both during idle and while driving, the PI Sedan gets better mileage than simply the 24 percent smaller engine. In fact, in actual police use with combina- tions of driving and idling, the Sedan PI gets 35 percent better mileage than the CVPI. Te biggest reason for the proportionately higher mileage? Variable Valve Timing on the 3.5L engine. Te cam phasing is actually advanced or retarded to exactly match the engine load and rpm. Speaking of fuel use at idle, even engines www.pfmmag.com 35