Police looking to expand Kia Stinger fleets

While the Kia Stinger V6 currently serves as a pursuit car for both Western Australia and Queensland Police Forces in limited numbers, SA and the NT are evaluating the 2.0-litre four-cylinder model following positive feedback coming from the current V6 fleet.

“With the Stinger, the Police are happy with what comes out of the box, they don’t want a pursuit car that goes any quicker than that,” Kia Australia media and communications director Kevin Hepworth told Drive.

“I’ve heard the South Australian Police are starting to look at the 2.0-litre Stinger as a general duties car, and the Northern Territory are too.”

Beyond general duty use, Hepworth says the car has been a hit in Queensland where he expects the Stinger V6 to replace the entire pursuit fleet.

“Queensland will probably have all of their highway management fleet as Stingers by two years’ time. Western Australia has 50 and there’s no reason to think they won’t take more on board,” he said.

Some of the attraction of the model is that it provides an affordable ‘plug-and-play’ interface for adding equipment, like lights and on-board computers.

“It runs on 91 [RON unleaded] and you don’t need to load it up with high-end stuff. That was one of the big things with the Queensland Police and the numbers accountants - over the life of the car it will save money.”

“They’re out of the box with nothing to do to the brakes or engine, just a plug-in wiring loom and that takes care of the lights and everything else.”

However, it seems not every state is interested in the less powerful model just yet, given the sacrifice of space for crims in the back seat.

“With SA looking at the two-litre that would be interesting, as a general duties car they are already using Sorentos as first intervention vehicles. We can supply 2.0-litres tomorrow hand over fist.

“QLD looked at them but with backseat space - after you put the protection screen in - it does make it a squeeze in the back.”