[abhishek46]

Yes, you read it right.

Bangalore Police has started using the Ertiga as Mobile Units.
The old Boleros are supposedly being phased out.

It looks like they have got 222 Ertigas already delivered to them, and they are all upgraded with GPS systems.

Usage of Ertiga as a police patrol car is not the first time in India, as Ertiga is already used by some other State Police personnel. (Like MH)

It will now be a very comfy ride to the police station in Blore!

On a sidenote, I thought that the Bolero made more sense as a police vehicle, due to it's rugged and ground clearance, given Bangalore's poor roads. Not that the Ertiga is too far behind in this aspect. But still!

Source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/52670932.cms

Note to Mods: Pls merge this topic to Police cars thread, if we feel, we don't need a dedicated thread for Ertiga's utility and shortcomings as a police car.

[anjan_c2007]

The Maharashtra Police has also almost switched over to the Ertiga about a year back. Boleros though are still being procured.

These move swiftly in the city on the paved roads. But the Bolero had an added advantage with which it traversed through very rough patches. Though the Boleros and the earlier Commanders of the Maharashtra Poilce did not have 4X4, the ruggedness of the Mahindra is missed in the Ertiga.

Advantages of the Ertiga are that it is a fast moving city car and its slightly smaller dimensions allow more manouverability in the city traffic.

[Skyline_GT]

Its been months since the Mumbai Police switched to the Ertigas. However they still retain much of their Boleros as well. The Mumbai Police have named each Ertiga with a "Mobile Division-Number" sticker on the back and sides
eg- Mobile Division-1/2/3/4/5

[vinit.merchant]

It is worthwhile to point out here that the Police department have actually opted for the Petrol LXI variant of the Ertiga, and not the Diesel versions.

The amount of running they do, Diesel made sense.
But then we all know how things work.
Maybe they got LXI at rock bottom pricing, or maybe some hands greased, but we will not know.

EDIT: It can be that they are CNG variants, but about this I am not sure.

[BlackPearl]

Ertiga would be much better than a Bolero in most of the cases except when the police want to ram into some vehicle to stop it. But first they have to catch the other vehicle which is almost impossible to do in a Bolero

[wanderernomad]

Even Assam police is having Ertiga in their fleet now. Some of them are in the guise of highway interceptors with speed cams.

[chaudh2s]

On a related note, some corporates in gurgaon donated vehicles to gurgaon police for better policing. Shameless fellows even wholeheartedly accepted them . But thats a different issue.
So i see on a regular basis gurgaon police patrolling in gypsies, sumos, arias, ford figo(ya you heard that right, ford figo), tavera, etc. I think gurgaon has the most varied fleet of patrol vehicles.

[hangover]

It could also be a result of our mantri's getting innovas and fortuners. A rattling bolero can't really keep up as an escort for those vehicles.

PM and CM pilot cars are usually gypsies. So a petrol Ertiga is a useful replacement car.

Cops carry lathi's and sometimes rifles and helmets. A jeep was quite practical for carrying that sort of equipment.

Another issue is that non SI cops wear huge boots. A driver may find it difficult to operate the pedals in an Ertiga.

On patrol duty cops eat dinner and lunch inside the jeep. Cleaning food debris was quite easy. I guess they'll have to improve their etiquette.

The TOI report mentioned 7 inch Panasonic tablets. They seemed chuffed about it. First thing to do is install candy crush. I've seen cops in stations playing it for hours.

[tacho9000]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Ertiga would be much better than a Bolero in most of the cases except when the police want to ram into some vehicle to stop it. But first they have to catch the other vehicle which is almost impossible to do in a Bolero

Unfortunately KP still uses those almost ancient Sumo DI Bolero Invader and Bolero which means forget catching up. KP needs few modern and powerful vehicles which other states have already inducted into their fleets. An Ertiga in KP livery would look nice and would be a meaningful addition to the fleet I feel sumitro da.

[Skyline_GT]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

It is worthwhile to point out here that the Police department have actually opted for the Petrol LXI variant of the Ertiga, and not the Diesel versions.

The amount of running they do, Diesel made sense.
But then we all know how things work.
Maybe they got LXI at rock bottom pricing, or maybe some hands greased, but we will not know.

EDIT: It can be that they are CNG variants, but about this I am not sure.

From what i have noticed once while tailing a police Ertiga in traffic is that the third row of seats is missing (may have been folded down or probably removed for additional storage). Instead i could see a small portion of a white pipe like contraption which could possibly be used to hold the CNG tank in its place.
Am pretty sure our governments could never afford running police cars on petrol!

[2000rpm]

For City Patrolling, you rarely require a Bolero. Plus in my recent trip to Ratnagiri, I found Ertiga good enough to take care of poor roads. I think its a good move as Ertiga is more comfortable (Policemen spend a very high amount of time in these care) and has better chasing capabilities

[chncar]

I see that most of the people in the thread are discussing the Indian police cars in the context of American squad cars i.e the main usage being:

1. Transporting arrested people
2. Chasing and stopping rogue vehicles at high speed

Both these use-cases are fairly rare in India. For the first one a van or jeep is probably better, and the second use case is mostly in highways.

The bulk of the time what these cars are going to be used for are:

1. Cops to drive around the city in comfort
2. Transporting officer staff and their families on personal chores
3. Being parked on the road as a mobile shelter when they decide to hang out in an area for some reason
4. To annoy people and perhaps cause seizures in epileptic people by idiotically keeping the strobe lights on without any reason, even when they are just cruising the neighborhood aimlessly, parked on the side of the road or going for some personal chores
5. Violating every traffic rule in the country and all rules of common sense, by driving on the wrong side of the road, going into no entry roads, and taking giant U-turns from the far left lane. All this while just regularly cruising around, we aren't even talking about Bad Boys or Miami Vice type chase scenarios here.

With that said, probably a Nano would be more than enough for most cops, and a bike would actually be most practical for city cops who need to go into small lanes etc. But in the interests of safety and comfort, a Nano is more than enough. They can retain some high-powered vehicles for highway chases, and transporting high-risk individuals etc.

[BlackPearl]

Last year on my way to Chennai I saw quite a few Ford Ecosports used by the Police Highway Patrol specially in Andhra Pradesh. They were white with nice livery on them. For the first time after coming back from US I felt the same fear on seeing a Police car on a highway. Sorry for going off-topic.

[Viju]

Good to see cops using more comfortable cars. They sure have a very stressful job, and it helps if they can drive around in relative comfort.

By the way, I have a question for people who have seen these cars up close. Are they regular LXi variants? I mean, do they have A/C and Power-steering?

The reason why I ask is, a decade ago when I used to work for a Toyota dealer, I remember a big batch of Innovas coming in for some government department. They were the base 'E' variants that did not come with power steering, but stripped of even the AC, wheel caps etc. They came in white colour from the factory, and in some cases were painted and accessorized by the dealer at reduced prices.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by Viju

By the way, I have a question for people who have seen these cars up close. Are they regular LXi variants? I mean, do they have A/C and Power-steering?

They look like regular LXI variants.

Have a look at the Interiors here (Source: TOI)