- Ford’s 2025 Police Interceptor now has a standard hybrid powertrain
- Ford no longer sells Explorer hybrid to consumers
- A non-hybrid V-6 and twin-turbo V-6 remain optional for police-spec Explorers
Ford has made a hybrid powertrain standard in its Explorer-derived police car for the 2025 model year.
The hybrid powertrain was previously optional in the police vehicle, which is officially known as the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, but is now the default choice. Ford previously offered a civilian Explorer Hybrid, but discontinued it after the 2024 model year. A return of the Explorer Hybrid remains “under consideration,” Ford spokesperson Dan Barbossa recently told DriftBreath Reports.
Hybrids use a 3.3-liter V-6 and electric motor integrated with a 10-speed automatic transmission, for a combined 318 hp and 322 lb-ft of torque. A 1.5-kwh battery pack under the rear seat feeds the electric motor. Ford continues to offer the 3.3-liter V-6 without the hybrid system, rated at 285 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, and a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 producing 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque, as options on the Interceptor Utility for 2025.
2025 Ford Police Interceptor Utility
Ford noted that hybrid powertrains are a particularly good fit for police cars, as they can continue to run onboard equipment even when the gasoline engine is switched off. In the Police Interceptor Utility, this can save up to 838 gallons of fuel per year, the automaker claims. Ford estimates that this translates to $17,500 in savings over a six-year ownership term, with gas prices at $3.50 per gallon.
The Police Interceptor Utility receives other updates for 2025, including a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and more standard driver aids, but it did not get the same styling refresh civilian Explorers receive for the new model year. It also retains the portrait-oriented central touchscreen that the 2025 Explorer ditches in favor of a landscape-format screen.
Ford launched the current-generation Police Interceptor Utility for the 2020 model year alongside the current generation of the civilian Explorer. Michigan State Police testing at the time showed the hybrid to be the quickest police SUV then on sale, but not the quickest overall.
Ford was offering hybrid police cars for years before that. It introduced its first pursuit-rated hybrid cop car based on the Fusion Hybrid sedan in 2017. In 2021 the automaker also unveiled a Mustang Mach-E police testbed, which the NYPD subsequently expressed interest in. The previous generation of the Ford Escape Hybrid, although not offered in an official police package, had also been a favorite with parking bureaus and private security patrols.
