Holden Caprice 2011 Review

Sergeant Steve Lentz is dressed for action. The Arizona policeman is in full battle gear, right down to a bulletproof kevlar vest that includes spare magazines for his pistol and extra ammunition for a police-issue assault rifle. He is on a mission and taking things deadly seriously. Lentz has come to Firebird Raceway, on the outskirts of Phoenix, to assess the latest suspect in the search for a new-age American cop car.

The three contenders are the Ford Taurus, the Dodge Charger and the Chevrolet Caprice, with all three brands pushing hard to take the place of the classic Ford Crown Victoria that's been the front-line battlewagon - and starred in countless television shows - for more than 15 years. Lentz is one of 40-plus police people who are running through an intensive one-day program with Chevrolet that includes a 90-minute briefing and two driving sessions intended to show what the Caprice can do.

"I'm ready. This is serious. I've even got the vest on so I can see what it will really be like to drive this car on patrol," Lentz tells Carsguide. We are here because the Caprice is not just another American car with bright lights on the roof and a fittings for a police computer and shotgun. The Caprice PPV - Police Patrol Vehicle - is Australia's newest pitch for export business with the homegrown Holden Commodore.

A big deal could mean more than 10,000 sales a year. GM Holden did well in the USA with a Commodore that was tweaked into the hot Pontiac G8 but, when General Motors closed the brand as part of its bankruptcy proceedings, the deal died too. Sadly, the G8 was only just starting to fire when it was killed. Now Holden has targeted the massive police car business in the USA and believes it has the right package in a tweaked Caprice that should tick all the boxes for patrol car work across America.

"I like that car. We like our big cars here," says the bus driver who drops us at Firebird.

It's a similar story among the police teams - front-line officers, driver trainers, purchasing staff and workshop crews - who assemble for the Caprice PPV program. Lentz is typical as he prepares for action.

"I have high hopes but low expectations," he says.

It takes less than half a day to run through the program, which is winding down through a 20-city roadshow over the past three months. Host Michael Lord talks hard and fast about the Caprice and program manager Dana Hammer is ready to answer any questions.

The biggest concern for most of the police is how their computers will transfer into a car with a tee-bar shifter in the centre of the car. They seem impressed by the design, the space and claims of class leading performance from the 6.0-litre V8 engine.

"I will make the case for the vehicle today. But at the end you're the judge, you're the jury, you will make the verdict," says Lord.

The officers listen intently but the smiles come as they head to the track to drive. It takes less than a minute for the sound of tortured rubber and hard working V8s to echo around Firebird. Many have already driven the rival cars and are not impressed by the cabin of the Charger or the front-wheel drive in the Taurus.

They see the real rival to the Caprice as the Chevrolet Tahoe, a mid-sized SUV, although it is also more costly. At the end of the program, the Caprice PPV has won fans but it's time to crunch the numbers. The car is not cheap - definitely not the cheapest - and the next step for many police forces will be to take one or two cars for an on-the-job evaluation to check the running costs and the in-service abilities of the Caprice.

But the Aussie contender has made an impression and it's mostly positive. "I like the car. As a car and as a police tool," Sergeant Johnny John tells Carsguide. "It's gonna keep you alive."

The PPV package on the Caprice is not just some lights and stickers. The shifter is moved out of the console on the patrol vehicle, there are steel wheels and special Goodyear tyres, a tweaked engine-management computer, better brakes, coolers for the engine-gearbox-differential package, and even upgraded front suspension so the car can cope with driving up over gutters on a daily basis.

"What we have here is a fundamentally different patrol sedan. This one is for you," Michael Lord tells his police audience.

There are two PPV models, the 9C1 patrol car and the 9C3 detective vehicle, and the package was developed after intensive testing by the Michigan State Police and the Los Angeles Country's sheriff's department.

The car is priced from $30,995, although large orders could trim the bottom line and police departments face extra costs for everything from paintwork to the potential transfer of equipment from Crown Victorias. Lord says the Caprice leads police contenders in most categories, from cabin and boot space to acceleration and top speed.

The PPV will sprint to 100km/h in 6.4 seconds. Just as importantly, it has survived the toughest brake torture test in the USA and running costs are said to be the lowest of the police car contenders.

DRIVING

The Caprice PPV doesn't look, or feel, much different from the Holden sold in Australia. At first. Sliding behind the steering wheel at Firebird, even if it's on the wrong side, brings no surprises. But the sledgehammer thump from a standing start, the killer brakes and the tuning of the transmission has lifted the American contender to a new level.

It's a serious performance car, and way different from the easygoing luxury feel of the Caprice in Australia. Driving is done in unmarked PC3s and the police are having a great time, howling through corners and thumping down the straights. Sometimes the brakes smoke a bit, but there is no fade or failure.

The high-speed course is fun but it's a tight little track with maximum acceleration and emergency braking that highlights the car's real abilities. The PPV runs and runs at the limit with no sign of failure.

Sliding into the PC1 shows how the car will really be used, from the switches for the lights and siren to the police computer and the protective barrier between the officers and offenders. It's a little like a movie scene, except this is real.