Western Australia’s highway patrol unit will shift to patrolling in a squadron of properly fast and practical wagons from Skoda
Skoda has announced that the Western Australia Police (WAPOL) has ordered its Superb 206TSI wagon as the constabulary’s next highway patrol vehicle.
A total of 55 Superb wagons have been ordered by WAPOL to serve on its highway patrol unit with an additional 10 units expected to be added later.
The police-specified Superb wagons are based on the range-topping 206TSI Sportline grade that arrives armed with 206kW of power and 350Nm of torque.
This is thanks to a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which is coupled to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission that sends the grunt to an all-wheel-drive system.
With a good amount of power and traction at the ready, this large wagon is actually quite brisk with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 5.8 seconds.
Skoda says the police-issue wagon is largely unmodified, with the only notable difference between the civilian model and that ordered by WAPOL is the removal of the Canton subwoofer to create room to fit a dual-battery system required to power all of the additional police equipment inside.
It comes after New Zealand’s police force ordered over 2000 Skoda Superb wagons in a variety of specifications after taking a shine to the vehicle’s calm highway manners and huge internal space.
Over in Australia, the mechanically-similar Volkswagen Passat has seen increasing use in police forces in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia – including the rapid 206TSI grades for highway patrol duties.
Buyers are able to purchase the Skoda Superb as either a sedan or wagon, with the entry-level sedan Style grade starting at $49,590 before on-road costs and the tops-spec Sportline wagon priced at $62,590 before on-road costs.
Until last year, buyers were able to purchase the wagon in Superb Scout configuration, which offered a raised ride height for more versatility and become one of the few cars to score a 9/10 in a Chasing Cars review thanks to its ample power output and ‘superb’ road manners.
All prices listed are before on-road costs.
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