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Holden Commodore joins South Australian Police fleet

Crooks in South Australia will have a familiar sight when they look in their rear-view mirrors, with the ZB Commodore officially joining the state's police fleet.

While police in NSW have adopted a mix of Chrysler and BMW vehicles as replacements for the homegrown Commodore and Falcon, and QLD officers will be steering a fleet of Kia Stingers, South Australia Police has just taken delivery of the first of its liveried (and now fully imported) ZB Commodores.

Holden tells us the South Australian fleet will eventually be home to more than 100 examples of the Commodore, with police opting exclusively for the RS trim - powered by a 3.6-litre V6 good for 235kW and 381Nm, sending that power to all four wheels via a nine-speed gearbox.

“Our Holden engineers know what Australian drivers – and police officers – expect from driving a Commodore and this vehicle delivers,” says Holden’s Director of Sales, Peter Keley.

“We’re proud to see the new Commodore wearing the South Australian Police livery and look forward to seeing it in action on roads across South Australia.”

While almost every state police department used homegrown Ford and Holden products in its fleet, the demise of local manufacturing sparked individual testing in each state to determine which vehicles were suitable to replace them. While Victoria, NSW and Queensland opted for German, Korean or American product, crooks in Adelaide will still see a Holden badge in their rear-view mirror when those red-and-blue lights flash.

“SA Police have run an exhaustive comparison of vehicles from every manufacturer and we’re proud our latest Commodore has once again proven its credentials when it comes to vehicle safety, specifications, durability, dynamics, performance and importantly manufacturer and servicing support,” Keley, says.

More: Chrysler 300 SRT and BMW 530d confirmed for NSW Police

More: Kia Stinger police pursuit vehicles hit Queensland

Is the Commodore still the best crook-catcher? Tell us in the comments below.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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