Just when it looks like the new range has won every award there is to won here in Australia, it goes and bags itself a trophy by being named the 2006 Autocar Best Luxury Car of the year award held in the Middle East. Pitted against some of the biggest names in the Luxury marquee over three days of solid testing, the Caprice has come out a clear winner over its closest rivals, the Volvo S80 V8 All-wheel drive and the Lexus ES350. 

“The Caprice represents unbeatable value given its list of standard features, size and that six-litre V8 engine,” Autocar Editor and chief judge, Damien Reid said.

 “Given that it’s an all-new model, our judges were impressed by the improvement in build quality, ride and overall refinement over the previous model. As it was judged against its competitors the panel found this latest version had retained many qualities which makes this style of car so popular to Middle Eastern customers,”

The cars, which are sold as a Chevrolet Lumina and Chevrolet Caprice, are part of Australia’s biggest and longest running export program which sees cars distributed throughout the Middle East. More than 30,000 Holden vehicles alone were exported in 2005, which enabled Holden to invest $190 million in the development of the WM series.