The Holden Caprice is a 4-door sedan from Holden, built from 1990 to 2017, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard.
How it came about
The Holden Caprice is a full-size luxury car which was produced by Holden in Australia from 1990 to October 2017. The similar Holden Statesman, which was also introduced in 1990 as a model below the Caprice, was discontinued in September 2010. Between 1971 and 1985, Holden marketed their long-wheelbase sedans under the Statesman marque. Statesman and Caprice are essentially long-wheelbase variants of the Commodore range, and as of 2006, were the largest rear-wheel drive sedans offered by GM. Internationally, Statesmans and Caprices have been rebadged as the Buick Royaum, Daewoo Statesman, and Chevrolet Caprice. In addition, these cars have formed the basis of the Chinese-built Buick Park Avenue and the Bitter Vero, a rebodied version from Germany.
The main difference between the Statesman and the Caprice lies within their equipment packages. Moreover, Caprices are commonly powered by V8 engines rather than V6s and, whilst modern Caprices may be mistaken as fully specified versions of the cheaper Statesman, the two were separate Holden models in the past. In appearance, Caprices can be distinguished by their unique interior and exterior trim such as the grille insert. In addition to the large V8 engine, in latter years, the Caprice suspension was often more sport-oriented (from the 2003 WK series). Traditionally in Australia, the Statesman and Caprice have been direct rivals to the Ford Fairlane and LTD, respectively. However, Ford's decision to discontinue these models in 2007 left Holden with the Chrysler 300C as the only direct competition at pricing point occupied, at le
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 4-door sedan — and the layout: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Family and rivals
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Statesman; its successor was the Holden Caprice (WM); assembly was at Adelaide, South Australia (Elizabeth), Australia. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Renault Clio, the Ford Explorer, the Honda NSX — show what else the money bought that year. Its Holden stablemates include the Holden 48-215 and the Holden Adventra.