Volvo S70 Police Car

September 3, 1998 Aylmer, Québec

After hearing that the city of Aylmer Québec, had purchased 2 Volvo S70 sedans as replacement police cars, I couldn't resist paying them a visit. Michel Labelle, Sécurité Publique, Division police, Ville d'Aylmer was most helpful in allowing me to shoot the following images. As well, M. Labelle told me many facts and considerations he made in recommending the purchase of the S70 Volvo. Since General Motors no longer supplies factory police vehicles, the only remaining alternatives are Ford and Volvo. The S70 Swedish built Volvo was chosen for many reasons:

renowned safety reputation of Volvo will better protect the driver and front passenger
200,000 kilometer warranty vs 60,000 with Ford
additional transmission cooler for stationary work will avoid transmission failures
cheaper operating costs with 168hp 5 cylinder engine vs V-8 in Ford
higher residual value for trade-in at end of service
S70 easier to maneuver (requires driver retraining!)

As well, the S70 was equipped with many standard features that didn't exist or were optional on the Ford:

rear passenger seat is a vinyl covered bench style, with metal plates in the front seat backs
child safety door locks and electric window controls essentially disabled any rear seat egress
rear doors open wider than production S70
heavy duty police suspension
anti-intrusion electronics
standard S70 front dash and cloth covered seats give officers the ultimate in comfort and safety

The S70 has been brought up to Aylmer standards with the addition of a front "push" bar and a rear hitch for holding a bicycle rack. The electronics package to control communications and the roof lights have been installed inside the engine compartment and the trunk, without loosing any storage space. The S70 is being used by at least 3 other Quebéc police departments and other police forces are monitoring the success of Alymer. As well, I understand that the Halton Regional police department in southern Ontario have also bought S70 police cars.
If you wish to discover more about the community of Aylmer, please click on their official village crest.