Cop Shop News: Chevrolet Details 2015 Police-Duty Tahoe

Don’t you just love irony? Chevrolet wants to showcase its latest police-pursuit machine, which is based on the 2015 Tahoe, so, where does it drop this news? Into the biggest hot-rod, performance-car, what’ll-it-do-to-60? display on earth, the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Gee, officer, didn’t I see you at the tables at the MGM Grand?

Chevrolet already has three Tahoes ready for police duty. One is a two-wheel-drive semi-pursuit vehicle, the other a 4WD meant for, in Chevy’s words, “support in general utility for off-road and non-pursuit operations.” There is another “special service” Tahoe municipal vehicle, a two-mode hybrid aimed at localities where hybrids are mandated. Much of what these Tahoes cover are duties like patrol, first response, HAZMAT, K9, and Border Patrol.



Now comes the heavy iron, the 2015 Tahoe with automatic four-wheel drive developed specifically for pursuit purposes. The specs tell the story. Tires are V-rated (for speeds up to 149 mph) Goodyear RSA P265/60-17s on steel wheels. Heavy-duty disc brakes are at each of those wheels. Plus, there’s the StabiliTrak electronic stability system onboard with traction control and (gotta love this name) Proactive Roll Avoidance. Powering all of this is the direct-injected EcoTec3 5.3-liter V-8 with 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque. Backing it is a six-speed automatic transmission with a unique calibration for police-pursuit work. As a comparison, the Ford Explorer Interceptor Utility’s 3.7-liter V-6 makes 304 horses and 279 lb-ft of torque, while the Dodge Durango Special Service can be had with a 360-hp, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. Chevy keeps the Tahoe V-8’s standard Active Fuel Management cylinder-deactivation system, but we don’t imagine it reverts to four-cylinder operation much while reeling in lawbreakers in patrol work.

• Instrumented Test: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L 4×4 Crew Cab
• First Drive: 2012 Ford Police Interceptor / Interceptor Utility
• Column: Aaron Robinson—The Law is the Law, Unless You’re the Law

As much as automakers often tout the weight-saving and overall-stiffness advantages of a unit-body vehicle, Chevrolet makes a point of the ruggedness of the Tahoe’s body-on-frame design (The Explorer and Durango police vehicles use unit-body construction). Also important for police work is the Tahoe’s 730-cca (as in cold cranking amps) auxiliary battery, meaning the radios, laptops, radar guns, and such can be used without draining the main battery. There are provisions that enable the electronic equipment from the previous enforcement vehicle to be transferred to the new Tahoe, saving tax dollars. Chevrolet also points out that the 2015 Tahoe has additional space in the rear seat, which provides more legroom and easier access to individuals. Good to know the perps will be more comfortable back there. OnStar and Bluetooth are standard equipment as well.

Start looking for these pursuit Tahoes in your rearview mirror in the second quarter of 2014.



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