2025 Mopar police cars vs GM, Ford, as tested

The 2025 police car tests from the Michigan State Police are out now, and while you can view the report yourself, this the summary is that the only Mopar was the Durango, and it did reasonably well.

The 2025 Durango Pursuit is a carryover from 2024. In theory it was supposed to have Hurricane engines for 2025, but that never materialized, and it’s not especially likely now. However, the future of the Durango, like the pickup for Belvidere, is up in the air again with Carlos Tavares’ departure. What we are certain of is that the Michigan State Police were only given a pair of Dodge Durangos to test—no Dodge Charger electric police cars, though those are reportedly in the works.

The Jeep Wagoneer L SSV (Special Service Vehicle), which has the Hurricane, was designed for administrative applications and was not tested; nor was the Ram Special Service Vehicle collection.

In 0-60 mph runs, the Durango Hemi turned in a good 7.3 second time, while the V6 lagged at 9.0 seconds; both had all wheel drive. The Durango Hemi beat all the gasoline powered Chevrolets (Tahoe 5.3 RWD, Tahoe 5.3 AWD, Silverado Z7X and Z71 4×4), and the Ford hybrid, but as usual was beaten by a good margin by the Ford Explorer turbo 3.0, which ran 0-60 in 6.2. The Blazer EV easily outran the Ford turbo—the electric Blazer police car did a 5.1 second sprint. (The Ford F150 turbo ran a 6.0 second sprint, but doesn’t really compete with the Durango.)

In 0-100 mph times, the Durango continued to do well for the non-turbo gasoline crew, turning in an 18.9 second run with the Hemi; but the V6 was the slowest vehicle in the group, with a 25.1-second time. The Tahoe 5.3 was close to the Durango, at 19.3 RWD and 20.1 4WD. The electric Blazer unsurprisingly beat all comers, with an 11.2 second time. The Fords with turbochargers still did well in this test. Still, acceleration is not everything. Even police trucks have to stop and turn now and then.

Stopping distance for the Durangos was midpack. The V6 stopped in 142 feet and the V8 in 140 feet. The Tahoes stopped in 130 and 134 feet, RWD and 4WD respectively; the Silverados were respectable this year at 147 and 140 feet. The electric Blazer again showed off with the best numbers in the group, stopping in 128 feet. The Fords stopped in 135 to 138 feet, except the truck, which had a potentially crash-causing 152 foot stopping distance.

The state police run track times as well, testing each car with four drivers each taking five laps, to avoid favoritism and randomness; the result is 20 laps per car. The lowest times are best. The Durango Hemi ran a 1:39 average time (one minute and 39 seconds), while the V6 followed closely behind at 1:42. In city driving, that means the V6 is actually a contender.

The Tahoe RWD matched the Durango Hemi time; oddly the Tahoe 4WD was a bit slower, a 1:40. The Silverado pickups ran in 1:41 and 1:42 while the Ford pickup ran in 1:40. The Ford Explorers turned in 1:40 times except the turbocharged model, which came in at 1:36. The Chevy Blazer EV, despite its excellent acceleration and braking and all wheel drive, came in at just 1:40, lagging the Durango Hemi. It’s possible GM hasn’t had time to dial in performance as much as desired, or the weight of the batteries truly hampers the handling.

The Dodge Durango is not the best or the worst in these numbers, and one could easily justify buying them—or buying the Chevrolets or Fords. The Silverado pickups are dialed in far better than in the past, while the Ford pickup still has problems stopping. Unfortunately, the performance of the promised Charger police cars remains a mystery, along with their launch dates.