√2015 Holden Caprice V-Series owner review

I picked up this fine example of Australian automotive engineering at a time when I thought my fleet was going down to two cars from three.
Owner: Richard

I picked up this fine example of Australian automotive engineering at a time when I thought my fleet was going down to two cars from three. Bit of a long story involving a stolen VT Commodore that was then recovered… The vehicle traded was a 2021 Mazda 3 G25. I got a reasonable deal overall with 115,000km on the clock and have now owned it for five months.

The car was originally an Avis rental car operated out of Sydney Airport 2015–2017. Traded and went into the automotive wholesale – wound up at the Holden dealer at Gateshead in the Lake Macquarie area. Somehow it was found by its next owner, a farmer from Wee Waa NSW, who traded it in on a LandCruiser last year at the Toyota Dealer in Dubbo.

On first impression, the car was in pretty good condition. However, after a few weeks I started to notice a few dings, and these were removed for a few hundred dollars via Paintless Dent Removal. Further driving in the statutory used car warranty period revealed a front end vibration; the strut tops and swaybar links were replaced. And on the same trip, the dealer also repaired the radius rods and a leaking rear calliper. Good service from the selling dealer to rectify the issues. It’s all fixed now.

Overall, the driving experience is exquisite.

Starting from the outside, the styling is impressive. The right amount of bling, and the alloy wheel design gives it an art deco feel. Statesman/Caprice owners often refer to their cars as boats or yachts – with the WN Caprice in Heron, it’s easy to see perhaps another meaning to this slang term. I have used this as a wedding vehicle, where it truly looks the part!

Inside, the interior is of reasonable quality and fairly well laid out with excellent colour schemes and presentation. When I first got the car I had massive issues connecting my phone to MyLink. But after a few months, the infotainment system recognises my phone much more easily. But the Mylink display is still cheap and dated compared to the Sync system I had on a Ford Focus ST of a similar vintage. The seats, space and comfort are, however, faultless. Moonroof, TVs in the back seat (that I’ve yet to figure out how to use) – how awesome is that?

Luggage-wise, between the boot and rear seat I managed to move half a single garage of boxes in four trips. Three moving boxes will fit across the back seat, and even two in the boot!

Performance-wise, I was expecting 145kW/tonne to be more exciting. The 6-litre V8 produces maximum torque at over 4000rpm, so you do need to rev it to get the most out of it in a neck-snapping sense. Frankly my 147kW/304Nm 2000 VT Commodore has more punch around town at 50–60km/h. But ultimately highway cruising is effortless, with rarely any need to go above 2000–2500rpm. The transmission is quite smooth. No convenient paddle shifters like on the Mazda 3 it replaced, but it still has an effective manual override option.

Fuel economy – 15–16L/100km around town, 9–10L/100km on the highway. I usually run it on straight 91-octane. Not the best, but I don’t do monster kilometres either.

The steering is very light at the centre, but overall is well weighted and provides heaps of feedback. Low-profile tyres and 19-inch rims probably help here. I was expecting essentially a luxury limo to be more supple in terms of ride quality, but 40-series tyres don’t help. Its handling is as fine as it needs to be – it’s a sporty tourer, not a ball-tearing speed machine.

The Caprice has a full suite of safety equipment, perhaps with the exception of radar cruise control. Much of the high-tech passive safety sensors were from a time when the technology was in its infancy, either not recognising hazards or being super-sensitive to the point of being at times hysterical for no good reason!

The Caprice is fairly easy to work on, being a Commodore at its heart. Once the used car warranty expires in a few months, I will be undertaking as much servicing and repairs as I can myself. Getting your hands on a genuine workshop manual and an OBD2 scan tool is a must.

I’ve already repaired a broken front parking sensor that was damaged in a bird strike for nix after an hour or so pulling the bumper off, taping up the loose sensor and reinstalling said bumper. Parts prices probably are no better than a modern Japanese car, especially if you buy well-known brands through conventional channels.

It needs 7.6L of Dexos standard oil every change; an awkward size/type to buy compared to the 5L of SJ mineral oil the VT takes! Uses red coolant. As a warning, the battery drains very quickly, and can be difficult to get going via conventional jumpstarting (from another vehicle). Needs the NRMA.

Overall, if you are after something that is both sumptuous and a talking point that may attract attention, look at a 2010s Holden Caprice V8. It’s the cheapest way to get a modern Holden V8 – VF Calais models are usually $5K dearer, SS $5–10K more still. WNs start at high 20s on the used car market for moderate-mileage examples.

In a world of Korean SUVs and Japanese dual-cab 4×4 utes, be a Caprice!

Owner: Richard