Holden Commodore SV6 2007 new car review

The SV6 looks like it’s moving forward even when standing still. It has the muscular presence of its more well-endowed V8 cousins but packs a more frugal 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 pumping out 195kW and 340Nm. You get a respectable mid-7 seconds to 100kph, but the SV6’s claimed fuel usage of 11 litres per 100km trounces that of its V8 brethren. Perhaps another Dirksen quote is relevant here: “The oil can is mightier than the sword!”

And that quote is more apt than it seems at first. You’d think a billion bucks would be prohibitive money for the Aussies until you realise their big market is the Middle East, and there they are competing for the sales that petrodollars will buy.

The SV6 feels like a spacious car — if you’re a basketball player you would have enough room to stretch your gargantuan legs. In fact, when I put the seat the furthest back I could barely reach the pedals, and I’m a gnat’s hair under six feet.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel houses controls for the stereo, and they don’t intrude when driving vigorously, unlike some cars that cram as many buttons on the wheel as possible. These switches control the 80W Blaupunkt stereo which comes with seven speakers. The six-disc, MP3-compatible changer is optional, though.

Rear passengers get their own aircon vents, and there’s a ski hatch that folds down to form an armrest with a couple of cup holders. Which brings me to the disadvantage of the six-speed manual version: where you would usually put your arm when changing gear is exactly where the cups go for the driver and passenger.

It’s even worse if you’re a water bottle-toting, hydration junkie like me because those bottles are tall. You want to have your arm perfectly placed, and well out of the way of liquid-carrying vessels to get the best out of the sporty gearbox, but unless you put your drink in the passenger’s side cup holder that just isn’t going to happen.

So, you get V8 Supercar-inspired looks, but with a sensible V6. Like Republican versus Democrat, there are going to be people who just have to vote V8, but who know that a V6 might be better for their personal economy. It’s a question of what you need versus what is best for you, and that’s not saying that a V8 Holden isn’t the right choice over the SV6. It’s apt, then, to close on another Dirksen quite, “I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times.”