Victoria Police have begun replacing more than 250 existing divisional vans in the force’s fleet with specially developed next-generation Ford Ranger vehicles.

The Operations Support Division Superintendent, Andrew Miles, said these vehicles were the workhorses of Victoria Police’s fleet.

“They’re bigger, better and, most importantly, will keep our members even safer,” he said.

“Be it in the city or out in the bush, we know they’ll be put to good use in helping police keep the community safe.”

Specially developed next-generation Ford Ranger vehicles will replace more than 250 existing divisional vans in the Victoria Police force’s fleet. Photos: Contributed

The next generation divisional vans are ANCAP five-star safety rated, boasting features including 360-degree camera technology with cameras on the front, side mirrors, and rear to assist with manoeuvring.

The larger prisoner pod has storage for police kit bags and operational equipment, which previously had to be put inside the vehicle’s cabin.

All new divisional vans are fitted with a steel bull bar and LED lightbar to enhance member safety, provide additional lighting, reduce downtime from animal collisions and provide extra stability, countering the prisoner pod’s weight. Previously, only vans in the country and urban fringe had bull bars.

The next generation divisional vans are ANCAP five-star safety rated, boasting features including 360-degree camera technology with cameras on the front, side mirrors.

The divisional van is considered the workhorse of Victoria Police’s vehicle fleet, with vehicles changed over once they reach 90,000 kilometres or three years in service.

Some vans in regional areas travel more than 15,000km a month – the equivalent of driving from Melbourne to Perth and back twice.

The next generation Ford Ranger XLT– the most innovative vehicle Victoria Police has put on the road – has a 2.0L Bi-Turbo 154Kw engine with a 10-speed automatic transmission, offering better performance and fuel economy. The previous model was a six-speed automatic.

The next generation Ford Ranger XLT has a 2.0L Bi-Turbo 154Kw engine with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Autonomous emergency braking and blind spot monitoring and assist are among the new model’s additional features.

The changeover to the new, larger, safer divisional vans is expected to take two years, with aims for 15 new divisional vans to be delivered each month.

Kyneton this month became the first area to get the new vehicle, with Stawell to follow in coming weeks.