Police

It’s been a minute since the only cars we would regularly see wearing a strip of blue and white Sillitoe tartan down the side were the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and sometimes Toyota Camry.The world of police cars and vehicles has broadened — Ford Rangers, Hyundai Santa Fes, Volkswagen Passats, the list goes on. All must be practical, of course, and for different purposes.But there are new things to consider now, like hybrids and EVs, new ute options and of course which cars will be the PR show cars, the ones that don’t really have to work too hard. Here are five suggestions from across the spectrum.BYD Shark 6Something about a ute in white with police decals and a bullbar on the front just works. Our digital artist Thanos Pappas has rendered the Shark 6 as a police car both in the red dirt of rural Australia, and in the Sydney CBD.Australia and its vastly different environments could be the perfect place to see if the innovative BYD Shark 6 has what it takes to ‘keep the streets safe’ as it were.While its electric ability would make it ideal for city and suburban patrols, its petrol power means range anxiety on longer routes isn’t a concern.The big question surrounds its ability to off-road - CarsGuide’s off-road guru Marcus Craft deemed it suitable for “light to moderate off-roading” only, though we’re not sure how many police chases end up requiring rock-crawls and hill-climbs.Still, it looks good in the livery, and isn’t that the most important thing about policing? Right? Isn’t it?Kia TasmanPerhaps a little closer to reality is the idea of a Kia Tasman police car. Not only is there already a strong relationship between Kia (and Hyundai) and many police services around the country but there’s even a mock-up Tasman cop car already.During 2025 there was even a period that around Australia “multiple jurisdictions considering and are interested” in using the Tasman for policing.Whether that comes to fruition is yet to be seen - a lot of testing has to be done before a car is deemed suitable for police work, perhaps one reason a couple of other cars on this list may fall short in certain areas.Ford MustangThe Mustang is one such car that might have a couple of downsides - the inability to to detain someone safely being one - but police have often had high-powered highway patrol cars or community engagement vehicles that aren’t really built for your everyday patrols.It wouldn’t be the first time this has come up - about ten years ago the NSW Police Force was considering a Mustang GT for highway patrol, but the previous generation car was struggling with some overheating issues under hard testing.The Ford Mustang seems like a good choice given it’s an easy design to admire, it’s actually a very capable sports car, and it’s got a link to the former FPV patrol cars in the form of its Coyote 5.0-litre engine, on which FPV’s Miami V8 was based.Toyota RAV4This might seem like a boring, obvious answer, but the incoming Toyota RAV4 would make a really sensible car for Australian police.The hybrid of it all, not to mention Toyota’s long history of supplying police cars and its reputation for reliability.That and if the current RAV4 is anything to go by, the new one should be a fairly capable and easy-to-use thing.Genesis G70Victoria Police announced in 2017 it would add dozens of BMW 5 Series highway patrol cars to its fleet, so why not a similar rear-drive sports sedan from the sibling brand to Hyundai, models from which police have been using for some time now.A 3.3-litre twin-turbo engine with 274kW and 510Nm, plus some decent handling and dynamics alongside a design I reckon would suit the blue and white (and yellow in highway patrol form).

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Who would have thought the sight of red and blue flashing lights in the rear view mirror could put a smile on your face?

Kia has confirmed to CarsGuide its Tasman ute is currently being evaluated by police forces around Australia.

There are some states where the very existence of unmarked police cars seems almost as illogical as it is cruel, while in others, like Victoria, it’s a surprise that every second vehicle isn’t a cop car in disguise.

Kia Tasman gets police makeover.

Is having a radar detector or jammer in your car against the law in Australia? In fact, are radar detectors illegal in Australia, even if they’re not in your car?

You never love to see them in your rear-view mirror, but you do like knowing they’re out on the roads keeping us safe. I’m talking, of course, about police cars.

Nobody likes seeing the red and blue flashing lights in the rear view mirror. A run-in with the law usually means you’ve done something wrong and are facing a penalty as a punishment, which typically consists of a monetary fine and some demerit points.

The City of Sydney council has been slowly reducing speed limits of high foot-traffic roads to 40km/h to enhance local safety.The 10km/h lower limit will now become the standard on regional and local roads within inner-city suburbs of Glebe, Forest Lodge, Beaconsfield and Waterloo.Illuminated electronic signs will be put in place in affected areas for a minimum of two weeks after the new limits become law.Suburbs further out with existing 50km/h limits including Annandale, Alexandria, Redfern Woolloomooloo and Zetland will also have some speed limits lowered to 40km/h.The City of Sydney's eventual goal is to implement more 30km/h zones in high pedestrian and cyclist areas.“It is everyone’s responsibility to make our roads as safe as they possibly can be for people walking, riding and driving,” said Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.“Currently, 75 per cent of local and regional roads in our area already have a 40km/h speed limit or lower. That’s up from just five per cent in 2004. This has been achieved through our work with the NSW Government, which is funding the latest round of speed limit changes," she added.Myriad studies have shown a 10km/h reduction can benefit both pedestrian and vehicle safety in built-up areas.This latest reduction will only apply to local and regional roads. Motorways and State roads are spared.It is not all speed reduction in New South Wales, with the M4 motorway's WestConnex tunnel having its limit raised from 80km/h to 90km/h in March. Perhaps surprisingly, that speed limit increase was also for safety reasons.The number of deaths on NSW roads continues to climb despite newer, safer cars and generally lower speed limits. So far, 181 lives has been lost on roads in NSW compared to 165 in the same period last year.