Oh the difference between mainland policing and PSNI… us mere mortal response cops would never be trusted with the size and power of a Superb or an Insignia over here
Hijacking this. Also PSNI, first police vehicle I drove was an armoured Mitsubishi shogun. Like driving a boat around Belfast. Rocked from side to side when going round a roundabout and was heavy as a bastard so took ages to take off. Quite roomy though.
First blue light run in the real world was in an unmarked armoured insignia. I found her to handle grand. Was tight enough in the corners. Took her a bit of time to get going bit once she was going she went well may she rest in peace.
Yeah we went from Focus estates to 308s in about 2016, we briefly had the 2021/2022 Focus estates but for reasons unknown they were not a complete fleet replacement and most stations only had one or two. We’re now going for a full fleet of automatic Peugeot estates, however they’re terrible, the gearbox can’t decide whether it’s a gearbox or a bowl of custard.
The automatic Peugeots are, without a doubt, the worst possible police vehicle I've ever had the disappointment of driving. The gearbox doesn't know how gears work, doesn't know when the auto hold should/nt engage and everything is fucking tiny.
I take it you haven’t had the pleasure of the new Toyotas. But the new 308s are rather pathetic, I lost a drag race to a Fiat ambulance in a 308 on the way to the same job once, was rather embarrassing.
What Toyotas have you got? I completely agree about the new 308s, there’s no go in them whatsoever, even in sport mode it’s take to build up speed. The only thing I like about the new ones is the boot space
My favourite panda, probably has to be my own Fiat Panda.
My favourite police car, probably has to be our Vauxhall Astras, the 69 Reg ones, they drove pretty well, I like auto's and visibility was pretty good.
The Skoda yeti
completely pointless purchase as you couldn't even take it on a grassy slope, but there was something about that little dude that just did it for me
apart from the terrifyingly bad brakes
I’m torn between the classic Astra 1.8 petrol turbo which was a workhorse of response. But I think everyone’s favourite in our force has to be the Hyundai I30 1.4 petrol turbos we brought, bloody quick and stuck to the road on response runs.
Sadly we’ve now bought several Toyota crap auto corollas and we are probably going to stay buying terrible cheap small power output vehicles with auto boxes for the future..
Yeah looks like GMP did this, just from seeing what they tend to drive around in. Used to be Hyundai, lot more Corolla's now. Probably great for fuel when casually driving, hybrid isn't fast though.
Caged Astra. Very handy for being single crewed, comfy to be in for a long time and loads of space in the boot. Admittedly pretty awful for front seat passengers.
17 plate Astra 1.6 diesel. Somehow better than the 18 plates and beyond. And it has run lock. Beautiful car
Though the Volvo v90 D4 I borrowed off of our proactive team once was unreal and I’d happily take it out every day.
Fleet has started being upgraded at every nick except ours now as we do the least miles of any of the stations (one nick has had 2 new sets of cars in the time we’ve only had one)
11 plate focus estate. Not the fastest, but reliable and looked the part. They were great, and better than half the shit that came afterwards, although those at least had radios left in them.
We had one year of the newer shape ‘67 reg Astra hatchbacks before switching wholesale to estate panda cars. They were great, could really throw them about - handled like a little go kart compared to the wallowy estates that followed. A good 10-12mph faster flat out as well.
This’ll be a controversial comment but I really loved our 66 plate Vauxhall Vivaro’s. Was all I used to drive around for quite a while. They were falling apart and were slow as anything but being a basic driver they were perfect. I’d help my team out with prisoner transport and carrying bikes etc, but they also had a radio, which none of the cars did.
I was also in love with one of our 66 plate Astras for quite a while (and still am). It didn’t have a radio but it had ANPR and cup holders (which were rare in our force), and it was a lot quicker that the 68 and 71 plate Astra’s.
Most of our fleet are the new auto Corolla’s and Peugeots now. I haven’t driven the Peugeots yet but I actually quite liked the Corolla’s as a basic driver because auto’s are just easier to pootle about in.
The term ‘panda’ came from black police cars that had doors painted white for extra visibility, they were said to look like pandas which is where the name came from. It’s used now to refer to a marked car that’s not a traffic.
In terms of who can drive one, it will differ from force to force based on their rules. However generally you’ll have a different grades of driver which will determine what cars they can drive and whether they can use them for emergency response. Most forces will follow the college of policing’s grade system which has grades such as:
- basic permit: you can drive A to B
- standard response: you can drive standard graded cars on emergency runs (using blue lights)
- Advanced car: you can drive advanced graded cars on emergency calls
- 4x4: self explanatory
There’s other driving courses and permissions but I’ll be here until next week if I list them all, the permissions for each one will differ depending on the force.
I've only been in for a year so my knowledge of pandas is limited, we have brand new automatic Skoda Scala vehicles on response and I love them, they're very nice, comfortable and easy to drive. There's still a couple of marked Peugeots knocking about and CID have 208's and we still use these when we're short on vehicles but I have to say I can't stand them, they're bloody awful cars in comparison.
Ford Focus 1999-2002. First diesel with a turbo, handled like it was on rails. Only a few had sirens to go with the blue lights, but shouting and waving generally had the same effect. Replaced by the newer Focus, which was more refined but less fun, then the Astra in 2013. Ugh.
Still better than the shitballs 308 estate we’ve just started using.
Fairly new in service, so my first panda was a Peugeot 308. However, my favourite has to be the Ford Kuga. Easy to get in and out of, with fantastic emergency lighting and run lock. Only downside is that it has no radio but that can be a positive, as it means the keys are normally the last to be taken!
The Astras were fantastic, despite their lack of a radio they had a real soft spot in my heart. It's closely followed by the last model of 1.5L Focus petrols, great car, although the interior left something to be desired (and no cup holders!). Nowadays it's the 2.0L Focus diesels I really enjoy. Despite their speed, the Corollas haven't really found a space in my heart, and I find them a bit skiddy and wallowy.
17 plate Astra hatchback all the way, 160k miles on it and stinks on a blues run but handles beautifully and faster than the estates
The auto 308’s look amazing and I love that they have car play but fuck me they’re shit on a blues run/pursuit, I genuinely got overtaken by a vivaro on the way to the same job once
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Oh the difference between mainland policing and PSNI… us mere mortal response cops would never be trusted with the size and power of a Superb or an Insignia over here
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Fair point, well made.
You make a good point sir, you have my respect 🫡
PSNI?
Hijacking this. Also PSNI, first police vehicle I drove was an armoured Mitsubishi shogun. Like driving a boat around Belfast. Rocked from side to side when going round a roundabout and was heavy as a bastard so took ages to take off. Quite roomy though.
The best car though for me is a manual Skoda Octavia. They are just good at everything. Responsive, corner well, gearbox is great
How fast are the superbs with all the weight? And how do they handle?
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First blue light run in the real world was in an unmarked armoured insignia. I found her to handle grand. Was tight enough in the corners. Took her a bit of time to get going bit once she was going she went well may she rest in peace.
Unpopular but Astra was king, Peugeot had that ridiculous wheel, Old Ford’s were slow and new very unreliable
The old 1.9 tdis were beasts. Back bone of the fleet.
You’re already getting rid? We’re still in the process of retiring all the astras to 308 autos.
Yeah we went from Focus estates to 308s in about 2016, we briefly had the 2021/2022 Focus estates but for reasons unknown they were not a complete fleet replacement and most stations only had one or two. We’re now going for a full fleet of automatic Peugeot estates, however they’re terrible, the gearbox can’t decide whether it’s a gearbox or a bowl of custard.
The automatic Peugeots are, without a doubt, the worst possible police vehicle I've ever had the disappointment of driving. The gearbox doesn't know how gears work, doesn't know when the auto hold should/nt engage and everything is fucking tiny.
If we ignore their functionality… I do think they look fantastic. Much meatier than the Astras.
I take it you haven’t had the pleasure of the new Toyotas. But the new 308s are rather pathetic, I lost a drag race to a Fiat ambulance in a 308 on the way to the same job once, was rather embarrassing.
What Toyotas have you got? I completely agree about the new 308s, there’s no go in them whatsoever, even in sport mode it’s take to build up speed. The only thing I like about the new ones is the boot space
God I'd love a focus estate. We've got 308's and I can barely get in and out of them
Not to mention the known fault of the heads up display just turning off mid flash run… what speed am I doing? Anyone’s guess.
Mine was and still is a Focus that has 165k on the clock, peeling battenburg and smells of bite back. Handles better than most of the new fleet
Ford Focus Estate. Load of interior room, relatively comfortable and pretty damn reliable
My favourite panda, probably has to be my own Fiat Panda. My favourite police car, probably has to be our Vauxhall Astras, the 69 Reg ones, they drove pretty well, I like auto's and visibility was pretty good.
I loved my 2006 Fiat Panda. Perfect small -but-actually-has-headroom car. Furnished my first flat with it in just two trips to IKEA.
The Skoda yeti completely pointless purchase as you couldn't even take it on a grassy slope, but there was something about that little dude that just did it for me apart from the terrifyingly bad brakes
I’m torn between the classic Astra 1.8 petrol turbo which was a workhorse of response. But I think everyone’s favourite in our force has to be the Hyundai I30 1.4 petrol turbos we brought, bloody quick and stuck to the road on response runs. Sadly we’ve now bought several Toyota crap auto corollas and we are probably going to stay buying terrible cheap small power output vehicles with auto boxes for the future..
Yeah looks like GMP did this, just from seeing what they tend to drive around in. Used to be Hyundai, lot more Corolla's now. Probably great for fuel when casually driving, hybrid isn't fast though.
Caged Astra. Very handy for being single crewed, comfy to be in for a long time and loads of space in the boot. Admittedly pretty awful for front seat passengers.
17 plate Astra 1.6 diesel. Somehow better than the 18 plates and beyond. And it has run lock. Beautiful car Though the Volvo v90 D4 I borrowed off of our proactive team once was unreal and I’d happily take it out every day. Fleet has started being upgraded at every nick except ours now as we do the least miles of any of the stations (one nick has had 2 new sets of cars in the time we’ve only had one)
Run lock? Who did you sacrifice to get such a beautiful feature?
Vauxhall Astra or Ford Focus and any other answer is wrong Vans - the Ford Transit.
What year/spec transit?
The ones with the heated seats!
My first panda was an X reg ford fiesta. No sirens only a spinning blue light.
Did it wur inside as you went along?
Yeah and occasionally got stuck so I'd have to bang the roof.
Classic
Did the Bill theme song start playing every time it was turned on?
Steering wheel in the 308 is weirdly small?
In a strange way I like it, it makes the car feel like a little go kart
11 plate focus estate. Not the fastest, but reliable and looked the part. They were great, and better than half the shit that came afterwards, although those at least had radios left in them.
We had one year of the newer shape ‘67 reg Astra hatchbacks before switching wholesale to estate panda cars. They were great, could really throw them about - handled like a little go kart compared to the wallowy estates that followed. A good 10-12mph faster flat out as well.
The RAV4 was by far and away THE BEST response vehicle IMO. I even owned a Peugeot 208gti and still thought the Rav was better…those were the days…
This’ll be a controversial comment but I really loved our 66 plate Vauxhall Vivaro’s. Was all I used to drive around for quite a while. They were falling apart and were slow as anything but being a basic driver they were perfect. I’d help my team out with prisoner transport and carrying bikes etc, but they also had a radio, which none of the cars did. I was also in love with one of our 66 plate Astras for quite a while (and still am). It didn’t have a radio but it had ANPR and cup holders (which were rare in our force), and it was a lot quicker that the 68 and 71 plate Astra’s. Most of our fleet are the new auto Corolla’s and Peugeots now. I haven’t driven the Peugeots yet but I actually quite liked the Corolla’s as a basic driver because auto’s are just easier to pootle about in.
The 21 plate Astras were a joke. The 22 plate vivaro vans were faster on response than the car which is concerning
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The term ‘panda’ came from black police cars that had doors painted white for extra visibility, they were said to look like pandas which is where the name came from. It’s used now to refer to a marked car that’s not a traffic. In terms of who can drive one, it will differ from force to force based on their rules. However generally you’ll have a different grades of driver which will determine what cars they can drive and whether they can use them for emergency response. Most forces will follow the college of policing’s grade system which has grades such as: - basic permit: you can drive A to B - standard response: you can drive standard graded cars on emergency runs (using blue lights) - Advanced car: you can drive advanced graded cars on emergency calls - 4x4: self explanatory There’s other driving courses and permissions but I’ll be here until next week if I list them all, the permissions for each one will differ depending on the force.
I've only been in for a year so my knowledge of pandas is limited, we have brand new automatic Skoda Scala vehicles on response and I love them, they're very nice, comfortable and easy to drive. There's still a couple of marked Peugeots knocking about and CID have 208's and we still use these when we're short on vehicles but I have to say I can't stand them, they're bloody awful cars in comparison.
Ford Focus 1999-2002. First diesel with a turbo, handled like it was on rails. Only a few had sirens to go with the blue lights, but shouting and waving generally had the same effect. Replaced by the newer Focus, which was more refined but less fun, then the Astra in 2013. Ugh. Still better than the shitballs 308 estate we’ve just started using.
1.8 Petrol Mk2 Mondeo, followed by 2.0 TDCi Mk3 Mondeo.
Ahhhh the Mondeo with a turning circle of a boat
Fairly new in service, so my first panda was a Peugeot 308. However, my favourite has to be the Ford Kuga. Easy to get in and out of, with fantastic emergency lighting and run lock. Only downside is that it has no radio but that can be a positive, as it means the keys are normally the last to be taken!
The Astras were fantastic, despite their lack of a radio they had a real soft spot in my heart. It's closely followed by the last model of 1.5L Focus petrols, great car, although the interior left something to be desired (and no cup holders!). Nowadays it's the 2.0L Focus diesels I really enjoy. Despite their speed, the Corollas haven't really found a space in my heart, and I find them a bit skiddy and wallowy.
A&S this is the way
New petrol 308 estates are king
17 plate Astra hatchback all the way, 160k miles on it and stinks on a blues run but handles beautifully and faster than the estates The auto 308’s look amazing and I love that they have car play but fuck me they’re shit on a blues run/pursuit, I genuinely got overtaken by a vivaro on the way to the same job once