Opel is already exploring the possibility of a police package for its electric vehicle. According to the company, the Ampera could be the perfect police car for urban use.

Like the Volt, Opel’s version of the car can be driven in pure electric mode for 40-80 km before the petrol engine kicks in to produce electricity and / or motivate the front driving wheels pushing the total driving range to over 500 km. The Ampera completes the standard sprint in 9 seconds while reaching a top speed of 160 km/h.

The final production version of the Ampera will receive its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. And with a starting price of €42,900 (about US$58,000) in Europe, GM’s Opel division will need all the help it can get to sell the Ampera.

The Opel (known as Vauxhall in UK) Antara has received a mid-life makeup. It hasn’t been a great facelift, just minor tweaks to keep the Opel’s crossover looking up to date in a line-up of newer Opel products such as the Meriva, Astra and Insignia.

For the 2011MY, the Opel Antara gets a new front grille with a less prominent logo and redesigned front bumper with new fog lights and lower grille styling, plus modified rear light clusters and optional 19-inch light-metal wheels. Interior changes come in the form of a new center console with extra storage solutions, new materials and added color options.

The most important changes for the Antara are hidden under the hood. The latest entry to the range is a newly-developed 2.2-liter CDTI Turbo diesel, which comes with two outputs: a 163hp version that offers 36 hp more than its predecessor model, and a 184 hp variant offering 34 hp more power.

The 163 hp variant is available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive as well as with manual or automatic six-gear transmissions, while the 184 hp also offers a choice of manual or automatic transmissions, and comes with all-wheel drive as standard.

As for the gasoline line-up, the 2.4 liter four-cylinder unit now produces 170hp, it is is available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive and comes as manual or automatic six-gear transmission.

Today Opel unveiled its front-wheel drive Antara soft-roader (also known in US as the Saturn Vue). Ditching the four-wheel drive hardware saves weight, reduces frictional losses and most importantly for buyers, has significant cost savings. The Opel Antara front-wheel drive is available with Opel’s Common Rail Turbo diesel 2.0-liter CDTI with 127HP as well as the 2.4 liter engine that cranks out 140HP. Regardless of the motor chosen, the price of the front-wheel drive is $2,600 less than Antara’s all-wheel version. Prices for the Antara FWD start from €25, 970, while the diesel sells for €27,880.

The 127 hp-strong 2.0 CDTI common rail diesel versions needs 7.3 liters to travel 100km and sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.5 sec. The 140HP 2.4 liter gasoline variant reaches a speed of 100 km/h from a standstill in 11.6 seconds it and needs 9.3 liters of gas to travel 100km.