The demise of the Australian car manufacturing industry forced various Australian State Police forces to choose new patrol cars.
Since the last rear-drive Commodores and Falcons met their end we’ve seen the Kia Stinger, Chrysler 300 and even the BMW 5 Series get the nod.
Now it’s Skoda’s turn, with the Western Australian Police ordering 55 Superb wagons to help patrol its vast highway network, with another 10 expected from there.
It’s the first large-scale sale by the Czech brand to an Australian law enforcement agency. While it has made huge strides in terms of sales and awareness in recent years, this nevertheless appears to be a real shot in the arm from a publicity perspective.
Its bonafides as a big and roomy squad car with some guts are certainly there, given it runs the familiar 206kW and 350Nm turbo-petrol four-cylinder, a dual-clutch transmission, and all-wheel drive.
It’s not quite the V8s we’ve seen in the past, but the zero to 100km/h dash time of 5.8 seconds isn’t tardy in anyone’s language.
The highway patrol Skoda Superb wagon is said to be a “largely unmodified” Sportline grade that differs from the civilian model only in the removal of the standard sub-woofer to accommodate a police-specification dual battery.
Skoda Australia director Michael Irmer said the brand “could hope for no more resounding endorsement of our Superb than its selection by WAPOL”.
“To be the car of choice for the officers who serve the great state of Western Australia is an honour,” he said.
The Volkswagen Group (of which Skoda is a part) has had some success securing police fleet contracts of late, with Volkswagen Passats serving in Victoria as general duties, unmarked, and highway patrol vehicles.
MORE: Everything Skoda Superb
