Queensland Police has chosen the Kia Stinger 330 V6 as its highway patrol car to replace the outgoing Commodore and Falcon.

QUEENSLAND POLICE will roll out 50 Kia Stinger highway patrol cars between now and December, replacing the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon pursuit vehicles.

Speaking at the handover of the first vehicles, Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said, “This is a very important day for us. We needed a special product to do a job for us, and that is what we have here. A wonderful product.”

Queensland Police has chosen the Kia Stinger 330 V6 as its highway patrol car to replace the outgoing Commodore and Falcon.

Assistant Commissioner (Road Policing Command) Mike Keating (and Commisioner Ian Stewart pictured below) said the evaluation process had been extensive and in several parts: “It started with the desktop evaluation, then a track performance evaluation and then the operational evaluation conducted in real-world conditions.

“The final overall evaluation and review included the very important aspect of maintenance and cost. The Stinger performed very well in all areas and we had nothing but top reports from all the field officers.

“The result is a road policing first for us, the first foreign car to perform these duties.”

Queensland Police has chosen the Kia Stinger 330 V6 as its highway patrol car to replace the outgoing Commodore and Falcon.

Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer, Damien Meredith, said the policing role for the Stinger was an excellent outcome for Kia and a watershed moment for the brand image.

“This level of public exposure and endorsement from a high-profile government utility is something which wouldn’t have been on the radar just a few years ago,” Mr Meredith said. “It is just a beginning, but a very important one for us.”

The Victorian Police announced it would be purchasing the BMW 530d as its highway patrol car replacement while the NSW Police have followed suit in choosing the 530d but also the ageing Chrysler 300C. In its statement to the media, Kia said the Stinger and the Sorento were being evaluated by other police forces around the country.

The Kia Stinger 330 runs a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 making 272kW and 510Nm of torque. While many see the Stinger as the spiritual successor to the Commodore and Falcon of yore, it isn’t, not in this writer’s opinion anyway. Sure, it’s rear-drive and got plenty of grunt but it’s more of a cruiser than a bruiser. Still, I think Queensland Police have made the right choice…I think the other police forces around the country will be kicking themselves they passed up the Stinger.

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