Caprice PPV shines in Michigan police testing

Michigan's state police have determined that the Holden-built Caprice PPV is top of the class — in a straight line at least.

In a press release issued by General Motors, the Caprice posted a faster top speed than the Ford Police Interceptor Taurus and recorded a shorter stopping distance in a standard braking test.

“When we set out to develop the Caprice PPV, we received critical input from police officers around the nation and they told us they wanted a serious rear-drive performance cruiser,” said James Soo, lead development engineer of the Caprice PPV.  “The Caprice has been designed solely for the police officer who depends on performance and technology to get the job done.”

“In terms of braking, an average deceleration rate of 30.77 feet per second is unprecedented for police cruisers, so we’re quite pleased,” Soo also observed.

The top speed for the Caprice was 154MPH (248km/h), versus 148MPH (238km/h) for the Ford. In braking from 60MPH (97km/h) the Caprice pulled up in 125.8 feet (38.3m), four feet (1.2m) less than the Ford.

Those figures were for the V8-powered Caprice, but the V6 model also performed credibly against the Dodge Charger V6 and the naturally-aspirated Taurus V6. According to GM's press release the V6-engined Caprice topped the list for braking, top speed and acceleration.

Two other Chevrolet vehicles, the Malibu sedan and the Tahoe SUV also came away from the tests highly recommended.

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