By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
- Michigan State Police (MSP) released 2026 model-year test data for pursuit/SUVs, pickups and police motorcycles; vehicle dynamics run Sept. 13–15, 2025 at Chelsea Proving Grounds and Grattan Raceway. Officer
- Quickest 0–60: Ford Mustang Mach-E GT (4.03s); Chevy Blazer EV PPV logged 5.14s; Ford PIU 3.0L EcoBoost hit 148 mph top speed. Officer
- SUV standouts: Chevy Tahoe 5.3L (0–60 in 7.39s RWD / 7.83s 4WD, up to 130 mph) with projected 60-0 stops near 131–132 ft. Dodge Durango ranged 7.24–8.26s (up to 130 mph). Officer
- Pickups: Ford F-150 Police Responder (0–60 5.68s); first-time test of RAM 2500 6.4L 4WD (0–60 8.41s, top 103 mph). Officer
- Motorcycles: debut of Harley-Davidson Police Road Glide and Honda NT1100 Police in MSP testing. Officer
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan State Police Precision Driving Unit has published results from its 2026 model-year Vehicle & Motorcycle Evaluations, detailing acceleration, top speed, and brake performance across a mix of pursuit SUVs, pickups, EVs and duty bikes that agencies will spec in 2026. Testing split across two venues—Sept. 13(acceleration/top speed & brakes) at Stellantis’ Chelsea Proving Grounds, and Sept. 15 (vehicle dynamics) at Grattan Raceway. Officer
EV performance and top speed. MSP again clocked battery-electric entries among the quickest to 60 mph: the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT eAWD posted 0–60 in 4.03 seconds (top 124 mph) with a projected 60–0 stop of ~122 ft. Chevrolet’s Blazer EV PPV (AWD) ran 0–60 in 5.14 seconds, 130 mph top speed, and a projected ~132-ft stop. By contrast, among ICE SUVs the Ford Police Interceptor Utility 3.0L EcoBoost AWD paired 5.95s 0–60 to a 148-mphtop speed—highest in the field. Officer
SUVs & pickups. The Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L posted 7.39s (RWD) and 7.83s (4WD) 0–60s with top speeds of 130/124 mph, and projected 60–0 stopping distances of ~132/130 ft. Dodge Durango recorded 7.24s (5.7L AWD) and 8.26s (3.6L AWD) to 60 with 130/128 mph top speeds. In pickups, the Ford F-150 Police Responder 3.5L EcoBoost 4WDran 5.68s 0–60 (top 121 mph). MSP conducted a first-ever test of a three-quarter-ton with the RAM 2500 6.4L 4WD, which logged 8.41s 0–60, 103-mph top speed and a longer projected 60–0 of ~170 ft. Officer
Brake focus and trends. MSP emphasized shorter stopping distances, noting “remarkable” braking improvements even in larger platforms. The unit also highlighted ongoing market shifts toward bigger, more versatile vehicles (e.g., Ford Expedition SSV) and clarified that EVs must be VIN’d as police-specific to qualify for MSP testing—a hurdle for some OEMs. Officer
Motorcycles. On the bike side, MSP continued with acceleration/top speed/brake testing only, debuting the 2026 Harley-Davidson Police Road Glide (fixed fairing, improved stability/wind management) and welcoming the Honda NT1100 Police to U.S. testing, which MSP said performed comparably to BMW’s duty platforms. Officer
Full vehicle dynamics rankings are contained in MSP’s 2026 preliminary report, which lists the tested field—PIU (EcoBoost, Hybrid, 3.3L), Tahoe, Durango (3.6/5.7), Blazer EV PPV, F-150 Police Responder, RAM 2500, and others—across Grattan Raceway lap averages and anti-lock brake results. Michigan
Context: Earlier in 2025 MSP also placed its first battery-electric patrol unit (a Mach-E) into real-world duty with the State Security Operations Section to gather long-term fleet data. Officer