Police in Australia's Northern Territory are the third jurisdiction to choose the Kia Stinger GT as their road traffic policing vehicle.
Straying away from the classic SS Holden Commodores, they are following in the footsteps of both Queensland and Western Australia with the move. The high-performance bi-turbo V6 Stingers have similar performance to the rear-wheel drive V8s that the force is used to.
A total of seven Stingers will be delivered to the Road Policing Command, replacing every current Commodore in their line-up.
After trialling the Stinger in the Nothern Territory, Commander Matt Hollamby from the Road Policing Command said that the Stinger would be the suitable replacement.
“Holdens and Fords have been standard road policing vehicles in the NT for the best part of 50 years but now that they are not manufactured, it’s time for us to look at an alternative,” he said.
“We needed a car capable of operating at reasonably high speeds in temperatures of 45 degrees in the shade without missing a beat. The Stinger showed itself to be that car.”
With a twin-turbo V6 engine that produces 272kW of power and 510Nm of torque, the Stinger can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds.
NZ Police recently recalled their fleet of ZB Commodore liftbacks after it was revealed that officers had complained about the lack of headroom in the rear seats.
Being swapped out for Station Wagon variants, the liftbacks will be repurposed to roles where transporting passengers isn't a priority.