Victoria Police score Mercedes-AMG E43

Victorian motorists looking to escape from police pursuit will now have a much harder time doing so with the addition of a twin-turbo V6 Mercedes-AMG E 43 to the Victoria Police stable, which has been loaned by the German carmaker for 12 months to highlight road safety.

The E43, which has been given the codename 'Guardian V2', replaces the original Guardian – a Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe which had served the Victorian police force for the previous 12 months as a highway patrol vehicle and a promotional tool for in-car safety technologies.

Guardian V2 will continue the safety promotion legacy of the original, championing the Towards Zero campaign which looks to reduce fatalities on the road.

One way the campaign is trying to promote road safety is through the roll-out of safer cars on the road, with three out of every four deaths on country roads happening in cars that are more than 10 years old.

Road policing command assistant commissioner Doug Fryer said that the unveiling of Guardian V2 ahead of the road safety conference would help highlight the importance of safety features in vehicles.

The quicker we see these advancements in technology in our new cars the quicker it will be passed down to our teenagers.

“Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz is about highlighting safety features in vehicles; we want to be part of the discussion around what safer cars look like and know that having the Guardian V2 out and about in the community does this,” he said.

“Operational members will use the car to patrol the roads; will show the car at community events, it is important to us to highlight what real safety looks like and to have conversations with community around this.

“The quicker we see these advancements in technology in our new cars the quicker it will be passed down to our teenagers, to our most vulnerable, when they are buying their second hand cars.

“All we are asking is that you consider safety for your car as an investment, an investment in the safety of yourself and for your family, it shouldn’t be an optional extra.”

Under the bonnet of the E43 is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 that pumps out 295kW/520Nm, with power being fed to all four wheels via a nine-speed '9G-Tronic' automatic transmission.

The E 43 hurtles from 0-100km.h in 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically capped top speed of 250km/h, and comes with a price tag of $159,990 before on-road costs.

The Towards Zero conference will be hosted by police and held over the course of two days, and will discuss topics such as autonomous vehicles, speed, collision reconstruction, safe systems and road safety.

What makes a better highway patrol vehicle – an E 43 or GLE 63 Coupe? Tell us what you think in the comments below.