Holden Caprice

The Holden Caprice is the pinnacle of the General’s Australian passenger car range, and arguably the most luxurious of all Australian-made cars. The big news, apart from the “angles and curves” styling, is the more powerful V8 engine and raft of high-tech safety features and gizmos. Caprice is the first locally built car with active head restraints and seatback DVD players for rear passengers.

The Caprice is based on the VY Commodore and shares its V8 engine, transmission and basic look. Styling is what Holden calls “expressive and purposeful”, with bolder front-end treatment and a sharper rear-end with lower trim heights. Holden says it has deliberately tried to create “an individual Euro sports character for Caprice”. To this end, Caprice gets a more powerful 245kW version of the Gen III alloy V8 engine along with a stainless steel dual exhaust system said to deliver that trademark V8 burble. Suspension modifications, steering changes and lower profile tyres further differentiate the Caprice’s “more sporting driving dynamic”.

The Holden WK Caprice is just over 200mm longer than the Commodore, and 44mm shorter than the previous Caprice. Wheelbase remains unchanged at 2939mm, as does the car’s overall width (1847mm). Ground clearance is down 20mm due in part to Caprice’s more sporting suspension, while a slightly taller body overall reduces the vehicle’s height by only 13mm to 1436mm.

Caprice is available with the naturally aspirated V6 or the more powerful 245kW V8 that we tested. All WK models come with a four-speed automatic transmission as standard. Holden’s biggest sedan weighs 1780kg and rides on a 17-inch alloy wheel and tyre combination.

The Caprice interior is entirely new, at the same time reflecting a similar design move with the VY Commodore and adding more exclusivity. The instrument panel, centre fascia and steering wheel are also entirely new.

Holden says “all controls are updated, the layout is simplified and logical”. Trailer Boat thinks the stereo controls are overdone, with over 40 buttons and switches on the centre console alone. The Caprice we tested had twin DVD screens in the rear of the front seat headrests – great for keeping the kids busy on long journeys – and optional remote control satellite navigation ($3800). Towing requires a bit of forethought when buying a Caprice because you’ll most likely have to option the heavy-duty rear suspension in place of the sports rear end if your boat and trailer combo exceeds 1200kg. Holden has three tow pack levels available, rated at 1200kg, 1600kg and 2100kg respectively, which will add around $350 to the $72,990 purchase price.

If you’re venturing anywhere near the maximum limit don’t bother with the V6 Caprice. This engine’s on borrowed time – a completely new High Feature V6, with more power and better fuel economy, is less than 12 months away.

When towing with the Caprice it’s best to manually select from the four-speed automatic gearbox, as the gear-changes lose some of their smoothness under load. That said, it’ll do a fine job if there’s only a jetski on the back. The antilock-equipped, four-wheel disc brakes offer plenty of feel and good retardation when towing.

The Caprice has good side and rearward visibility for backing, and the wing mirrors move position when you select reverse to improve this even further.

Fuel economy did suffer when towing, but that’s the price you pay for V8 power. Overall the Caprice capably and easily handled everything we threw at it during our week-long test. Our only regret as a driver was not being able to sit in the back and watch DVDs on long trips.