What's the world's best-selling car, you ask? The Toyota Corolla, as over 50 million copies have been made since right after the mid-1960s, which is when the original entered production.
Throughout the decades, the ultra-popular compact model has served multiple police forces worldwide, and as of recently, it has entered duty with the United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police.
"Ensuring that we applied standard Toyota practices for the work means we have been able to deliver a vehicle that meets the police forces' stringent requirements," commented the brand's local Managing Director, Richard Kenworthy. "The adoption of Corolla by the police is testament to the efforts our employees invest in every vehicle that comes off our production line."
Burnaston's Special Vehicle Operations Division converts the Toyota Corolla for police duty, and the facility can create 15 vehicles weekly. They all feature the typical police livery that combines blue and yellow with a touch of red on the white body. The roof-mounted light bar is another novelty compared to the series production model, alongside the special exterior and interior illumination.
Photo: Toyota
The Corolla Police Cruiser also gets a sire, a radio system, and extra reinforcement for the secondary battery equipment and control systems. Stuff such as the dog guard for the load compartment is included, alongside parking sensors and a built-in satellite navigation system. The model is in the Touring Sports (station wagon) configuration, and it comes in two specifications for policing duty: the 1.8L Active and the 2.0L Icon.
The Corolla Touring Sports Icon is the base version of the car, kicking off at €31,840 (equaling $40,500) in the UK. It comes with 16-inch alloys, a 10.5-inch infotainment system, a 12.3-in digital instrument cluster, a wireless charging pad, parking sensors, and others. Power comes from a standard hybridized 1.8L gasoline engine, making 138 hp (140 ps/103 kW). The 2.0L motor is also a hybrid, and it is good for 193 horsepower (196 ps/144 kW).
In the United States, the 2024 Toyota Corolla family starts from $22,050 for the Sedan and $23,505 for the hatchback. Pricing for the hybrid is set at $23,500 in the entry-level form before the dealer markups and destination charge, and the top model in the series is the GR Corolla. This is an all-wheel drive hot hatch that guns for the likes of the Volkswagen Golf R, carrying an MSRP of $36,500 for the Core trim level, $40,320 for the Premium, and $45,140 for the Circuit Edition.
Power comes from the same 1.6L turbocharged three-cylinder engine in all versions of the Toyota GR Corolla. The motor develops 300 hp (304 ps/224 kW) at 6,500 rpm and 273 pound-foot (370 Nm) of torque from 3,000 to 5,500 rpm. Naught to 60 mph (0-97 kph) takes a hair under the five-second mark, and the top speed is capped at 143 mph (230 kph).
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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