Holden Caprice LPG review

Joel Helmes has filed this Holden Caprice LPG review.

Paul Maric and I have had a few good, in-depth chats in recent weeks about the new LPG system on offer in the Commodore range (you can find them here and here).

I think we both agree that for the most part the system is quite good and recommend that buyers look at paying the extra to take advantage of the somewhat cheaper LPG fuel.

I just wanted to also share with you a few extra details about the V6 Caprice model I drove.

Let’s not beat around the bush the fuel economy was bad; I averaged over 16 litres per 100 in the city.

On the open highway you can probably expect that figure to drop down into the 10’s (combined the claimed use is 12.3).

That’s pretty thirsty isn’t it?

Sure the Caprice is a big, heavy car with lots of extra trimmings, but surely Holden could source, or develop a more efficient engine?

The LPG option keeps these sorts of vehicles viable for many buyers including hire car businesses etc. but even with the ability to pay less at the pump the car is still chewing through, what I think, is simply too much fuel.

While you probably wouldn’t even realise that the car isn’t running on unleaded when you drive it the LPG system does come with a major drawback and that is that you lose a fair bit of boot space due to the full sized spare being housed in there (don’t worry I’m sure you can still get the golf clubs in).

This could however present an issue for those aforementioned hire car businesses, when picking up clients at the airport they need to actually have room for their full-sized suitcases (check out the picture, what do you think?).

On the plus side the Caprice is almost unmatchable in regards to highway driving, if you have big k’s to cover I couldn’t think of a better car.

Sure the interior has lost a little sparkle but the seats are still comfy and there’s (almost literally) a mile of leg room front and back.

Other plusses for the Caprice include the external styling which is understated but not boring, the rear reversing camera works nicely on the centre display screen, steering is excellent, ride is comfortable without feeling too soft and floaty, and the materials used inside the cabin are generally pretty good.

The disappointment column is fairly short, however it has to be headed by the unbelievably ridiculous handbrake design; the brakes were very spongy on the car I drove, unlocking all the doors requires two button pushes (which I loathe), and there’s an old fashioned straight blade key.

But priced from $64,490 for the LPG version the Caprice is good value for money and a generally very nice car to travel in and live with.