NISSAN'S launch of its new police specification Terrano II came in the nick of time for Essex Police which was left high and dry by Ford when Maverick production ended. The Essex force had taken a police-spec Maverick on test, decided it was ideal for duty and placed an order with Ford, only to be told production had ended and it couldn't have any.

Fortunately Nissan has followed the launch of its Primera police car in March of this year with the Terrano II. Essex is now adding eight of the vehicles to its 700-strong fleet to be used as marked area patrol cars, with the potential for many more to be ordered in the future.

The Terrano II, which rolls off the same Barcelona-based production line as the Maverick used to, meets Home Office guidelines and is based on the five-door SE model with the 2.7TDi engine.