An example of our poly count would be the LA7...
It comes in at 5472 polys at the highest LOD. That's including the high LOD cockpit.
Keep in mind that is just the base shape.
Multi-layer materials (normal mapping / specular / bump) are great ways to make an object look far more detailed than the actual geometry.
Only problem with doing it that way, is you have to create a super high poly model, then render/bake the normal maps....the build a low poly version (better to build than use poly reduction software) and map the created textures to it.
The texture resource alone increases 2-3 fold per object. Makes for a big download. If you're shipping on DVD, you can have pretty much unlimited art resources, but for us, smaller is better.
Here's a cool thread showing bump mapping on low poly panzer.
http://www.military-meshes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2666