On Dec. 13, Austin City Council approved 7-0 a contract to purchase 97 police vehicles for an amount not to exceed about $2.8 million.

"I think it's worth mentioning that this particular vehicle is one that has been designed to be a police vehicle," Mayor Lee Leffingwell said. "They sell this vehicle as a police vehicle and to meet the operational effectiveness needs of police cars, which is, to me, one of the most important factors, the second important factor being safety."

Austin Police Department staff said the traditional Ford Crown Victoria police vehicle is no longer available, so staff settled on Ford Police Interceptor utility vehicles.

The purchase includes 58 SUVs to be used as patrol vehicles, with six being new vehicles and 52 replacing existing units; eight SUVs to be used as K-9 vehicles, replacing all existing units; one unmarked SUV, replacing all existing units, and 30 unmarked sedans, replacing all existing units.

Councilman Mike Martinez questioned staff about the purchase and about the fuel efficiency of the vehicles.

"The last time we went through a round of vehicle purchases for APD, we had a long and lengthy discussion about trying to think outside the box in terms of our fleet that we're putting into police services and whether or not we need to continue to purchase what I consider really inefficient vehicles in terms of fuel," Martinez said.

APD Assistant Chief Brian Manley said fuel economy was one of the factors used when assessing the new vehicles, along with space inside the vehicles for transporting those taken into custody as well as trunk space because of the electronic components installed in the vehicles.

"At the end of the day, based on all the metrics we looked at, the Police Interceptor utility vehicle provided the best option, in our opinion," Manley said. "This vehicle will actually be even more fuel-efficient than the Crown Victorias that we currently use."

The new vehicles get an EPA rating of 19 miles per gallon. The Crown Victorias are rated at 17 miles per gallon.

Another concern brought up by council was that the contract did not include any hybrid vehicles, but staff said since these vehicles are to replace pursuit vehicles, they need the extra horsepower for quick response and possible pursuits.

"We do currently have hybrid vehicles in our fleet that serve in administrative roles," Manley said. "We have [Toyota] Prius models and Ford Escape models, so where appropriate, we do plug in the hybrids."