The WM and WN series are the third and final generation of the Holden Caprice/Statesman, a range of full-size luxury cars produced by the Australian manufacturer Holden from August 2006 to October 2017, sold primarily in Australia and New Zealand. They were also exported in various guises to the United States, the Middle East, China and South Korea. The range debuted alongside the smaller Holden VE Commodore, which the Caprice shares its Zeta platform with, on 16 July 2006 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The WM Caprice and Statesman were an A$190 million investment, in combination with the $1.03 billion VE Commodore programme. The car's main target market was to senior Federal and State politicians, government officials, businesspeople and private buyers in Australia and overseas. In August 2010 the WM Series II was released, and the 'Statesman' variant was discontinued, leaving only the Caprice. The range was updated further to the WN in 2013, followed by the WN Series II in 2015. Holden discontinued production of the Caprice, retired the range and exited the large luxury sedan segment as of October 2017.
Models and Updates WM Starting in 2006, Holden offered the WM series in two trim levels:
Statesman: Features basic leather seats, woodgrain trim, Blaupunkt base sound system, dual-zone climate control for front passengers, 4-way power adjusting front passenger seat, halogen headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. Features a slatted front grille and a chrome number plate surround on the rear bumper. Comes standard with the 3.6-litre LY7 V6 engine. Caprice: Gains bolstered premium leather seats, rear seat entertainment system with twin LCD screens and DVD player, rear seat tri-zone climate control, brushed aluminium trim, Bose premium sound system, 8-way power adjusting front passenger seat, bi-xenon headlights, headlight washers, heated side mirrors, chrome-accented door handles, 18-inch alloy wheels and sports suspension. Has a different front bumper to the Statesman. Comes standard with the 6.0-litre L98 V8 engine.
Both trims featured common leather-wrapped steering wheels, 8-way power adjusting drivers seats, reversing sensors, built-in fog lights and LED taillights, as well as a Holden-developed MP3/CD/radio infotainment system with a 6.5-inch colour screen, 3.5-mm auxiliary audio input and Bluetooth connectivity for phone calls. Options across the range included a GPS navigation add-on for the infotainment system, sunroof, full-size spare wheel and a limited-slip differential. The available V6 and V8 engines were optional for both trims. Automatic transmission is standard for all WM models, with no manual option available in any configuration.
The WM received upgraded engines in 2009. The Statesman's LY7 V6 was replaced with the new direct-injected LLT V6, while the Caprice received the L77 V8 with GM's Active Fuel Management cylinder deactivation technology. New badges were added to the cars advertising these technologies. The V6 variants also received the same 6L80 6-speed transmission as the V8, replacing the older 5-speed unit.
The front windscreen and the front doors are the only parts of the Caprice that are visually the same as the related VE Holden Commodore. Unlike previous Caprice models, the rear doors were not taken from the Commodore wagon; the WM has its own elongated rear door designs that enable easier entry and egress.
Compared to the previous generation, more sporting trim highlights are used in the cabin and the centre dash incorporates real aluminium. The already considerable rear leg-room has been increased over previous models. Holden's tri-zone climate control system was carried over from the WL Caprice, allowing regulation of the car's temperature at three separate places inside the cabin. Themes for the specialist interior design team were comfort, sophistication, harmony, luxury and attention to detail. The extroverted instrument pad features a wide binnacle, unique chrome-ringed instrument cluster and integrated centre stack with a high-resolution colour screen, zoned audio and climate controls and satin chrome detailing.
WM Series II The WM was updated to a Series II designation in mid-2010. The 'Statesman' nameplate and trim was discontinued, including its unique wheels, front and rear styling and woodgrain interior trim. To replace it, the remaining Caprice was split into two trim levels - a decontented base Caprice intended to replace the Statesman in both price and equipment, and a new flagship Caprice 'V' series. The Caprice V gained its own alloy wheel design, standard sunroof and rear seat entertainment system over the base Caprice, making it roughly equivalent to the original WM Series 1 Caprice in equipment. Drivetrain options were also standardised; the Caprice came standard with the 3.6L V6 with an optional LPG variant, while the 6.0L V8 became the sole engine choice on the Caprice V.
The WM2 Caprice was largely unchanged in general interior design from the WM1, but gained Holden's new 'iQ' infotainment system, enabling the connection of USB devices, enhanced bluetooth connectivity for music streaming, satellite navigation with traffic alerts and a reversing camera. The exterior remained similarly unchanged, except for new wheel designs and the chrome boot garnish, which was modified to house the reversing camera. The 'Caprice' nameplate was moved from the garnish to a separate badge as a result.
WN The new 'WN' generation Caprice V was released in July 2013.
For the first time, the Caprice no longer had a unique dashboard; instead, the WN gained the same all-new interior, dashboard, sports steering wheel and corporate MyLink infotainment system from the VF generation Holden Calais. The LCD screens for the Caprice V's rear seat entertainment system were redesigned to fold into the seat backs instead of being housed in the front headrests as before and in addition, new auxiliary ports were added for external video devices. Only dual-zone climate control for front passengers is offered on all models; the tri-zone system and rear seat controls from the WM were deleted. The exterior design of the WN Caprice was left almost completely unchanged from the 2006 WM; the only minor visual differences were new, larger 19-inch alloy wheels as standard, a new chromed door handle design and a new rear antenna assembly.
Various new safety and convenience technologies were implemented, including trailer stability control, rear cross traffic alert, backup camera, blind spot monitor, lane departure warning system, forward collision alert, HUD (head-up display), electric park brake, electric-assisted steering, automatic parking and keyless entry and ignition. The previously optional limited-slip differential became standard across all WN "V" models.
The flagship Caprice V was offered in two engine choices. The standard option was the carryover 6.0L V8 from WM series 1 and 2, and an optional LPG 3.6L V6 that was only available for one year from 2014 to 2015. The decontented, base trim, non-V Caprice came only with the LPG 3.6L V6, and was primarily aimed at fleets. It came with the older 18-inch alloy wheels from the WM2 Caprice V, featured a non-sport steering wheel, leather seating and a standard sound system, and deleted the optional rear seat entertainment system, heated seats, HUD, memory seats, lane departure warning, forward collision alert and electric passenger seat adjustment. In 2015, Holden discontinued the base Caprice with no replacement, and the LPG V6 was removed from the entire lineup as a result.
WN Series II The final series II revision of the WN Caprice was released in September 2015. The range was streamlined further with the deletion of the 3.6L LPG V6, leaving only a single trim level with a single V8 drivetrain. The 6.0L L77 V8 engine was replaced with the 6.2L LS3 V8 from the HSV Grange, albeit detuned to . Cosmetic exterior changes included a new 19-inch alloy wheel design, a rear lip spoiler as standard, and dual exhaust tips replacing the quad exhaust tips of previous V8 models. The interior was mostly unchanged, bar the deletion of the rear seat cupholders and the 3.5 mm auxiliary audio input jack.
Drivetrain The WM Caprice originally came standard with the 6.0-litre L98 V8 engine, producing coupled to the GM 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission as featured on sports Commodore variants. A , 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 was also standard on the Statesman, and optional for the Caprice. The semi-sports suspension was stiffened compared to the Statesman, sitting halfway between their standard suspension tune and the "FE2" suspension tune of their sports models. The L98 V8 had a claimed time of a little over six seconds.
For the WM MY09.5 update, the L98 was superseded with the newer L77 V8, matched to a six-speed automatic transmission with Active Select. Although less powerful than the L98 at , the L77 introduced Active Fuel Management (AFM) cylinder deactivation technology, and also offered the ability to run on bio-ethanol or E85 fuels. The WM series 2 update also received Holden's new 3.6-litre SIDI direct injection V6, paired to the same automatic transmission. In 2012 the option for an LPG engine was introduced. It was based on vapor injection technology rather liquid injection offered by competitors. The engine offered 180kW and 320Nm and was paired to the same six speed automatic as the rest of the engine lineup.
For the final WN series 2 update, the long-running L77 V8 was superseded by the 6.2 litre LS3 V8, producing of power.
Eng. disp.; configuration Engine PowerPower figures are measured in accordance with the ECE standard. Torque Transmission Fuel type Fuel consumptionFuel consumption figures are measured in accordance with the ADR 81/01 (2006–2009) and ADR 81/02 (2009 onwards) standard. Fuel economy figures may differ between body styles and specification levels. Production 3.6 L (3,564 cc); V6 High Output Alloytec (LY7) 5-speed GM 5L40-E automatic Petrol 2006–2009 SIDI (LLT) 6-speed GM 6L50 automatic 2009–2012SIDI (LFX) 2012–2013LPG (LWR)6-speed GM 6L45 automatic LPG12.1 L/100 km (19.4 mpg‑US)2012–2015 6.0 L (5,967 cc); V8Performance figures attained when running on 98 RON premium unleaded fuel. Using 91 RON fuel will result in slightly lower power and fuel economy. Generation 4 Alloy (L98) 6-speed GM 6L80-E automatic Petrol 2006–2008 2009-2009 Generation 4 Alloy (AFM) (L77) 2009–2010 2010–2013 2013-2015 6.2 L (6,162 cc); V8 Generation 4 Alloy (LS3) 2015–2017
Safety In the safety aspect the Statesman comes with Bosch Electronic Stability Control, traction control, ABS brakes, EBD, BAS and a tyre-pressure monitoring system as standard Front, side and curtain airbags come as standard which is another incentive to improve the Caprice's safety equipment, this also contributed to the fact that the Caprice's safety rating surpass that off its main rival, the LTD. Development commenced with the largest virtual crash modelling program Holden has ever undertaken. Emphasis was placed on considering the range of impact scenarios that occur in real world accident situations and differing occupant criteria. Safety technologies were benchmarked along with the world's leading luxury brands and major engineering programs delivered a stiffer body structure and vastly increased usage of advanced strength steels. Multiple load corridor strategies for frontal, side and rear impacts improve passenger compartment integrity. They are complemented by an improved multi-point airbag sensing system and an adaptive restraint system which includes dual stage front airbags, thorax side impact airbags, curtain airbags and front seat active head restraints as standard equipment. Structurally optimised crush zones absorb crash energy and other occupant protection features include a steering column ride-down mechanism and breakaway brake pedal.
HSV Grange