We’re seeing more and more police departments employ BMW i3s into their fleets of police cars, lately. It’s happening in both Germany and the United States, as police departments attempt to go green. Most recently, the police department of Peabody, Massachusetts just received two BMW i3 squad cars from the Lyon-Waugh Auto Group and BMW of Peabody dealership. These were gifts to the Peabody Police and will bear the official livery of the department.
According to the Peabody Chamber of Commerce, one will be used to help the senior center and another will be used to assist Peabody Main Streets. The latter of which is a sort of community that works to improve downtown area of Peabody. So these BMW i3 squad cars won’t be in any high-speed chases or on highways. They will be small, city cars meant to roam small areas of town under pure electricity. This works on multiple levels, as it allows officers to use these vehicles without creating extra emissions in a congested area and it allows them to have a small, nippy and sharp handling car for the narrow streets.
The newly updated BMW i3 94 Ah has 170 hp from its rear-mounted electric motor and can get a total electric range of around 114 miles. Peabody police officers should see a range of around that, considering the small city streets they will be roaming. Though, their cars might be a bit heavier, thanks to police gear like computers and possible weapons, depending on how they outfit these i3s.
It’s funny that the i3 sort of looks like police car when it’s fitted with police livery. It sort of works and looks cool, whereas some other cars do not look good in cop-car get-up. The i3 seems at home as a police car. While these BMW i3 police cars don’t have a ton of range, they will do a good job in the small downtown area of Peabody.
[Source: Peabody Patch]
