Kirkwood Police Acquire First Hybrid Vehicle

The Kirkwood Police Department will acquire its first hybrid vehicle after the Kirkwood City Council approved the purchase of a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

The car gets 47 miles per gallon in the city and 47 miles per gallon on the highway, which makes it far and away the City of Kirkwood's most fuel efficient vehicle. The city will purchase the vehicle for $23,661.

Currently, the Kirkwood Police Department's most fuel efficient vehicle is the Chevy Impala which gets 18 city and 30 highway miles per gallon. The department's fleet include Impalas, Chevy Tahoes and two new Ford Interceptor SUVs.

The Fusion will be the second hybrid in the city's entire fleet and far and away the most fuel efficient. Parks Director Murray Pounds drives the other hybrid, a 2009 Chevy Malibu hybrid that gets 26 city and 34 highway miles per gallon. 

Kirkwood Mayor Art McDonnell said he was excited about the acquisition of the Fusion.

"That's going to be a very gas efficient vehicle," McDonnell said. "I'd like to get more miles per gallon out of city vehicles with the cost of gas."

The Kirkwood Police Department will use the Fusion for code enforcement. 

"It won't see as many miles (as a patrol car), but there's the potential that it could be moved to police duty," said Chris Wenom, the city's fleet director. "It's a way to kind of test the waters."

The high mileage Fusion is used in other cities as a patrol vehicle. For instance, in 2010, the New York City Police Department purchased hybrids for patrol use. The 2010 model gets 41 city and highway miles per gallon.  

In terms of patrol cars, a void was left when Ford discontinued the Crown Victoria.

"Since the Crown Vic went away, everyone is trying to figure out what will replace it," Wenom said. 

Tell us what you think. What car would you like to see patrolling the streets of Kirkwood?