You’re probably not in the market for a pursuit vehicle/cop car, and the closest we at MotorTrend will get to one (hopefully) is a week behind the wheel—which, to be fair, is pretty dang sweet. But for most drivers, there’s still something awesomely intriguing about police vehicles—they’re like forbidden fruit most people will never taste. But we can at least learn about them, and the latest such rides from Dodge, the 2021 Charger Pursuit sedan and 2021 Durango Pursuit SUV, are now in the wild and available for order.
Built with direct input from the Police Advisory Board and officers themselves, Dodge’s fleet of pursuit vehicles are claimed to be technologically advanced and packed full of law enforcement-friendly features. The Charger Pursuit has new standard equipment like Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and electric power steering across the board. The Durango Pursuit touts more than 20 new standard features, including an instrument-panel-mounted shifter lever to free up more working room in the center console, four programmable auxiliary switches, police-specific front seats to better accommodate loaded-up belts, a Vehicle Systems Interface Module, a beefy BR9 brake package, durable vinyl flooring, and K9 pup-friendly tri-zone air conditioning.
Powertrain advancements further enable the Dodge Pursuit vehicles to get the job done without hindrance. The Charger Pursuit—offered with a more powerful V-6 with all-wheel drive or a V-8 Hemi with rear-drive—both are now offered with the eight-speed automatic transmission for increased performance and fuel efficiency. We’re talking a top speed of 140 mph, which likely outpaces a majority of bad guys’ rides. An increase in the Charger’s Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) to 5,500 pounds allows for the additional payload that police aftermarket equipment requires. The Dodge Durango Pursuit is AWD-inly and motivated by the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar or optional 5.7-liter Hemi V-8; the transmission is also the TorqueFlite eight-speed. The Durango Pursuit has a top speed of 130 mph.
Dodge didn’t release output for each model, but civilian AWD Chargers now make 300 horsepower and 264 lb-ft; the same engine was worth 292 horses and 260 lb-ft in pervious Charger Pursuits and 293 or 295 horsepower and 260 lb-ft in the outgoing Durango Pursuit. Last year’s figures for the Hemi V-8 were 370 horsepower and 395 lb-ft in the sedan and 360 horsepower and 390 lb-ft in the SUV, and we expect those numbers to carry over.
Production of the 2021 Dodge Charger Pursuit begins in the fourth quarter of 2020 at the Brampton (Ontario) Assembly Plant, while production of the 2021 Dodge Durango Pursuit begins in the first quarter of 2021 at Detroit’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant.
