Replacing the entire fleet of Garda cars!

pburns

Hmmm...one disadvantage with diesel I'd envisage might be the long time it takes for the engine to warm up sufficently. I can imagine Bodie & Doyle jumping into their Mondeo TDCI and revving the nuts off a cold engine.

Or maybe that only happens on TV:o

Seriously though, when I moved from petrol to diesel I noticed I had to takes things much easier, for much longer on my drive to work before the engine warmed up sufficently.

Ferris

+1

petrol is a lot cheaper than turbo's.

Matt Simis

I note everyone went down the environmental and cost saving route (mpg) which is fine and all, but Ive always felt a Police force should instill respect and authority. A Aigo/Yaris/Corsa does the complete opposite. They wear uniforms to so a level of professionalism and authority then get into a car favoured by pensioners.

And no, Im not suggesting black M5s as the state car, but something solid and dignified would be major boost to their morale and image. Can you imagine being the Garda driving near the rough neighbourhood with tyres burning and rocks being thrown about in a Yaris?

CharlieCroker

My personal choice would be a Skoda Octavia 2.0 Tdi Estate 140bhp DSG auto.

-Cheap to buy pre VAT and VRT
-Reliable (top of JD power surveys for years)
-Space in boot for equipment
-Rear space for people/prisoners
-Power and torque from 2.0 Turbo Diesel
-DSG gearbox for city driving without effecting the economy
-52 mpg combined

I admit they're not the most stylish or the most desirable but thats not the point of a Garda vehicle.

delly

Aside from type of cars, I think a change from the standard white to silver as in the UK might be good, giving a bit of a fresh looking image?

CharlieCroker

delly wrote: »

Aside from type of cars, I think a change from the standard white to silver as in the UK might be good, giving a bit of a fresh looking image?

I'd agree with that. The police in the UK did that beacause they wanted to recoup some money when the cars were sold on at auction after use.
They do look 100 times smarter but i cant see the Irish beancounters authorising the extra money to pay for the metallic.

Steve

delly wrote: »

Aside from type of cars, I think a change from the standard white to silver as in the UK might be good, giving a bit of a fresh looking image?

Isn't it ironic that most white cars (not vans) on the road are either squad cars or ricerockets....:D

Well the most noticeable ones anyway..

Beta Ray Bill

The Evo VII - IX are perfect for the Garda, so would the newer STi's

Reason:
Fast
4 doors
Boot
designed for the crappy roads we have here

Problem is:
they only run on octane 98
need a service ever 5000 miles
cost a fair few quid
and the biggest problem is that you would have every scumbag and knacker joining the Garda to drive one. And the existing 'LADS' would be rallying them around also

Evo's and Sti's attract the wrong kind of attention from both scumbags and Garda.

CharlieCroker

They had at least 1 Evo in dublin either last year or this as a motorway traffic car but they went through a couple of clutches so they sent it back.

Ferris

CharlieCroker wrote: »

They had at least 1 Evo in dublin either last year or this as a motorway traffic car but they went through a couple of clutches so they sent it back.

I wonder how that happened? :rolleyes:

Cops have always liked donuts I suppose:D

Beta Ray Bill

CharlieCroker wrote: »

They had at least 1 Evo in dublin either last year or this as a motorway traffic car but they went through a couple of clutches so they sent it back.

Clearly Driven by "One of the Lads" If you drive them hard the whole time they will tear through clutches!

Junior #8

Ok, so from what i can gather they drive the following as undercover cars.


Ford Mondeo
Toyota Avensis
Toyota Corolla
Opel Vectra
Opel Astra
Subaru Forrester

Do they plan on changing them too? Coz I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a chipped 1.8 Mondeo...it defo kept up with my tDI golf..


The new toyotas are giving trouble, so they should change them, Skoda is a good choice, maybe for the higher end they could go for the Octavia vRS...and at the lower maybe stick with the Mondeos. They look good.
VW is out of the question...as is Audi and Lexus, too expensive.
Honda has never come into the equation...The new civic would look deadly!!!

Who decides all these things anyway???

G Luxel

cars ive never seen in garda colours........

focus hatchback, skoda octavia/superb, golf, avensis hatchback, even the
last Primera and almera..

ninty9er

grahambo wrote: »

the biggest problem is that you would have every scumbag and knacker joining the Garda to drive one. And the existing 'LADS' would be rallying them around also

Not that it would completey stop the issue, but entire extended families have to pass a background check before someone gets accepted for Garda training.

Note I said background check, which includes but is not exclusively a criminal record search.

Zonda999

How come the gardai dont use vw's at all at all???In fact ive never once seen a garda car from the entire VAG group

CharlieCroker

Zonda999 wrote: »

How come the gardai dont use vw's at all at all???In fact ive never once seen a garda car from the entire VAG group

I've never seen a marked VW but they had a couple of Bora and Passat unmarked cars in the last couple of years

Zonda999

O ya they have unmarked VAGs alright.Maybe the gardai can only choose the marked cars from a specific list

S.I.R

hmm, seen volvo s40's, saab 95's and puntos, but meh, nothing that can keep up with a pug 106/saxo let alone a performance car.... Even a glanza could pull away from 99.9 % of the fleet...


give em something useful... But teach them how to drive correctly at high speeds first...

Beta Ray Bill

ninty9er wrote: »

Not that it would completey stop the issue, but entire extended families have to pass a background check before someone gets accepted for Garda training.

Note I said background check, which includes but is not exclusively a criminal record search.

True

But there are plenty of little knackers/scumbags out there with no Criminal Record or affiliation to a family member with a criminal record.

IE they are first generation Skangers within their family

ya know what I mean?

Also I only re-read that the Evo was used on the motorway?... again another poor decision by the Garda. there are faster more maintainable cars out there for motorway usage. IE Opel Vectra OPC?

horseydevine

Junior #8 wrote: »

Ok, so from what i can gather they drive the following as undercover cars.


Ford Mondeo
Toyota Avensis
Toyota Corolla
Opel Vectra
Opel Astra
Subaru Forrester

Do they plan on changing them too? Coz I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a chipped 1.8 Mondeo...it defo kept up with my tDI golf..


The new toyotas are giving trouble, so they should change them, Skoda is a good choice, maybe for the higher end they could go for the Octavia vRS...and at the lower maybe stick with the Mondeos. They look good.
VW is out of the question...as is Audi and Lexus, too expensive.
Honda has never come into the equation...The new civic would look deadly!!!

Who decides all these things anyway???

also seen a peugoet 306 on the m1...

groupb

Zonda999 wrote: »

How come the gardai dont use vw's at all at all???In fact ive never once seen a garda car from the entire VAG group

Because we have bad roads and anyone driving a car with a decent chassis would leave them for dead! The mondeo is chosen as a garda car for reasons other than budget - ie. it handles superbly.

Antrim_Man

Value for money. Reliable and fast.

Zonda999

Antrim_Man wrote: »

Value for money. Reliable and fast.

That vRS estate looks great for a state vehicle.The gardai would actually have some street cred drivin these.And the 170bhp diesel would cost less to run than the avaerage 1.6 mondeo too.Proper poke in the engine for chases as well