Holden Caprice favourite with LA Police

The preferred patrol sedan of US law-enforcement is big, V8-powered and built in Australia, if recent testing by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is anything to go by.

Squaring off against entrants from Dodge and Ford, the Holden Caprice-based Chevrolet PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) took top marks in a 32-lap track test.

The specially-tuned Caprice scored 10-out-of-10 in each category, including steering, body lean, 'bounce', brake fade, brake pull and anti-lock brake performance.

It was a close contest however, with the Ford Taurus falling short of the Caprice in only the 'bounce' category, where it scored a nine.

Dodge Charger was behind the Taurus in both 'bounce' and ABS tests, receiving a score of five for both.

Acceleration proved to be a strength for the pursuit-ready version of Taurus, its all-wheel-drive system and turbocharged V6 getting it to 60mph (96km/h) in 5.83 seconds. The Caprice and Charger weren't far behind however, pulling times of 6.01 and 6.14 respectively.

The Charger proved strongest in the unpredictable nature of pursuit driving. The Caprice (in E85 form) and Taurus both scored 9s for steering and body lean, while the Charger landed perfect 10s.

The Australian entry proved best for braking, with the Caprice coming to a complete halt from 60mph in 42 metres. The Charger stopped in 43 metres and the Taurus in just over 43.5 metres.