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BMW 530d joins Victorian highway patrol fleet

German sedan takes over duties from Commodore and Falcon


The 2017 BMW 530d will report for duty as a highway patrol car "by early-2018", as part of the Bavarian manufacturer's new vehicle supply partnership with Victoria Police.

Up to 80 of the diesel-powered sedans will be patrolling Victorian roads within the next 12-15 months, largely due to the end of local vehicle manufacturing - spelling the demise of the current police crop of Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores.

However, unlike the 530d that is available to regular customers, the police version foregoes some of the luxury items in favour of what BMW calls a factory-fitted "police pack" - which is said to "prepare the vehicle for heavy-duty operations".

While what exactly that entails remains a mystery, it's likely features like leather trim and other comfort niceties will be replaced with more hardy materials fit for the various tasks a police vehicle must undertake.

In production form, the 530d develops 195kW of power and 620Nm of torque from its 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel. Police specification could potentially see those outputs increased, which would improve the model's already respectable 5.7-second sprint from 0-100km/h.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the 530d and the Aussie-built sedans it replaces will be the fuel use. BMW claims 4.7L/100km combined for the market version, which is way down on the 9.1L/100km and 12.9L/100km ratings claimed by the current V6 and V8 Commodores respectively.

What do you think of the new 5 Series patrol cars?


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