WHEN it comes to a real sales coup for a car maker . . . may the force be with you.

With 53 police forces throughout the UK, and each one investing heavily in vehicles of all shapes and sizes to fight crime, it all represents a sizeable amount of showroom traffic.

But securing a police order is more than just another feather in a manufacturer's fleet business cap.

Each make of car, four-wheel-drive, or van undergoes a detailed and demanding evaluation process before it is approved for police use.

So any motor taken on board after being pushed to the limit sends a clear message to the wider public that here is a capable, and reliable, set of wheels.

Mitsubishi is the latest manufacturer to submit a vehicle to this intense scrutiny, sending along its new Lancer, in 2.0-litre diesel guise, along to the Metropolitan Police for a performance, brake, and handling test to evaluate the suitability of the vehicle.

And the evaluation was not conducted on a bright, dry day with just a driver inside - the Met took the Lancer to the limits with a full tank of fuel and loaded to maximum gross vehicle weight. The results were impressive.

Speed tests registered the Lancer 2.0 DI-D GS4's 0 to 30mph acceleration time at 4.45 seconds, and top speed was recorded at 125.3mph.

The Lancer was found to reach, and maintain, this fast speed in a highly stable condition, even while fully laden. With low-profile tyres fitted as standard, handling is much improved over the previous Mitsubishi Lancer, and the police testers said the steering was "light and responsive", while finding that braking on, and through, a bend caused little effect to the overall handling performance.

The new Lancer also successfully completed a 50-stop brake test, where 50 stops are made as quickly as possible from 50mph to 0mph. This incredibly tough test was done in just 13 minutes, 59 seconds, reaching a maximum brake disc temperature of 746C.

This trial also resulted in the Lancer achieving a Metropolitan Police Service, Class 1 Pass for brake pad wear and component durability.

On the inside, the dashboard was described as "ergonomically designed, allowing good sighting of various types of police equipment", and the boot area was found to be "generous, allowing space for the fitment of additional equipment used by the force".

Outside of a manufacturer's own rigorous trials, testing of a vehicle rarely gets tougher - so the Met appraisal augurs well for the Lancer's future.

GM's special vehicles are also fitting the bill, as it were, with the appropriately-numbered 999th police traffic patrol car recently delivered to the Chiltern Transport Consortium, which provides vehicles for the constabularies of Thames Valley, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

It is quite a milestone for GM's Special Vehicles arm, which has been in business for less than a year.

"We are very pleased with our relationship with GM UK Special Vehicles," said Ian Godolphin, head of transport for Chiltern Transport Consortium.

"As well as delivering specialised high-speed pursuit vehicles such as this Vectra, they also provide us with the Vauxhall Astra 1.3 CDTi - the cornerstone vehicle of our police forces.

"We rely on the Astra because of its high standard of reliability and the comprehensive support package offered by GM UK, which means we have peace of mind regarding the ongoing maintenance of our fleet."