Kia Stinger announced as Western Australia’s newest police vehicle

SPEEDING drivers in the wild west need to watch out for new police patrol cars.

Kia Stinger will replace the longstanding Commodore and Falcon in the WA Police fleet.

KIA is adding some sting to policing in Western Australian. Its sporty Stinger four-door will replace the former locally produced Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon pursuit vehicles in the state’s police fleet.

WA Police and Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts made the announcement as part of the state’s road safety campaign before the long weekend.

“We continue to give the Western Australian Police Force the money they need to replace their fleet and to provide the best service they can for the community of Western Australia,” Mrs Roberts said.

“These cars are fit for purpose and they are all five-star ANCAP rated, which is important for our officer safety.”

The Stinger was selected after a six-month assessment program, having reportedly performed well in such areas as performance, safety and cost effectiveness.

The initial WA Police order of 50 vehicles will be the high-performance V6 twin-turbo (272kW/510Nm) that drives the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Stinger claims a 0-100km/h time of 4.9 seconds.

NSW Police revealed the BMW 530d and Chrysler SRT Core as the replacement vehicles to the outgoing Traffic and Highway Patrol cars.

A top-of-the-range Stinger GT is priced at less than $60,000 (before on-roads) for private buyers but fleet purchases would receive a discount on this budget friendly price.

Stingers to be delivered to WA Police are identical to the showroom versions except for a plug-and-play wiring loom to manage multiple operational set-ups.

The move to the Stinger as the WA pursuit car follows the Queensland Police Force’s decision earlier this year to choose the Stinger as its Highway Patrol vehicle.

The Stinger is also under assessment by the South Australian and Northern Territory governments.

Victoria Police BMW 530d highway patrol sedan. Computer illustration courtesy of Victoria Police.

Victorian Police have chosen the BMW 530d as the pursuit vehicle. NSW has currently selected the BMW 530d and the Chrysler 300 SRT to replace the locally produced four-door sedans.