Video: Chevrolet Caprice PPV reports for duty

For years, police have hit the streets with the reliable but aging Ford Crown Victoria. That car has now been retired, and the Detroit Three are rolling out replacements. Ford now makes an Interceptor version of the Taurus, Dodge has the Charger and Challenger police vehicles, and Chevrolet is coming back with a revamped version of its Caprice.

Autoweek recently drove the new Caprice cruiser at the General Motors Proving grounds in Milford, Mich.

The 2012 Chevy Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) gets a V8 that puts power down at the rear wheels and has plenty of space for both cops and perps. It sits on a stretched version of the Zeta platform that underpinned the now-discontinued Pontiac G8.

The first thing officers will notice on the road is that the car feels lighter than its 4,160-pound curb weight. That's due in part to the 355-hp, 6.0-liter V8, but also because of the police-spec suspension that includes heavy-duty shocks, upgraded springs and thicker stabilizer bars. The Caprice PPV exhibits minimal body roll in corners, and any oversteer is easily balanced with well-weighted steering.

Inducing oversteer in the Caprice is made easier with GM's programming of the traction and stability control system.

With a touch of a button, the system allows some wheelspin and yaw before stability control intervenes.

The system can't be fully deactivated--police officials told Chevy that's how they wanted it. There have already been a few cases of overzealous officers turning off the safety devices and introducing cruisers to walls. But at least the Caprice PPV can dig itself out of a snow pile if necessary.

Chevy also added something called PAL, which stands for performance algorithm left foot. PAL puts the PPV's engine and transmission in a performance mode. When activated, the computer will keep the revs in the sweet spot of the powerband. It works best when braking into a corner, but it's useful in any situation where a little motivation is needed.

The PPV made quick work of the small cone course GM set up at its proving grounds. The track included a slalom section, quick lane change, an acceleration lane and a panic stop.

Now, panic stop would probably be a misnomer in this case, because while there was plenty of stop, there wasn't much panic at all. The Caprice has disc brakes at all four corners, measuring almost 14 inches in front and 13 inches in back. A hard stomp on the left pedal and a sturdy hand on the wheel easily brought the cruiser to rest.

As important as performance is, the officer will spend most of his or her time in the cockpit. The Caprice PPV has all the requisite spaces for computers, display screens, radios and radar devices.

The seats are made of high-wear, low-friction cloth with extra softness in back where the equipment belt sits. The seats are flatter and wider than regular seats to accommodate a gun holster, and they have a quick-adjustment lever in addition to eight-way power adjustments.

The Caprice is offered in PPV and Detective trim. The Detective model deletes all the lights, push bars and partitions to operate undercover. The gear shifter is in the typical spot on the center console--in the PPV version, the shifter is offset to the left to make room for computer equipment.

The only problem we see is that the blacked-out, never-seen-before sedan will be noticed on the streets purely because of its newness.

Unfortunately for rear-wheel-drive sedan fans, the Chevy Caprice is for fleets only, so you won't be able to pick one up at your local dealership. But you could find yourself cruising in a heavily used one in a just few years.

We also had a chance to check out the Impala PPV and Tahoe PPV, enjoy the video

By Jake Lingeman