Holden Commodore Ute SV6 2007 review

As siblings go, the middle member of the Holden Commodore Ute family looks to be in a tough spot; much dearer than its entry-level brother, much less charismatic than its other brother, the alpha male of the dynasty.

This six-cylinder version shares the sporty look of the top-dog, V8-powered SS, but costs less, drinks less and can carry a heavier load.

The SV6 also can move along very briskly, and like everything in Holden's newly released Ute range; rides and handles with car-like good manners.

Explore the 2007 Holden Commodore range

• Holden Commodore Ute SS 2007 review
• Holden Commodore Ute VE 2007 review
• Holden Commodore Ute 2007 review
• Holden Commodore Ute SV6 2007 review

Yet it is the SS which all the petrolheads covet. Just shows that in matters of the heart, common sense comes second.

In the real world, if you could leave emotion aside; easier said than done when it comes to shopping for a car; the SV6 would be a more logical choice.

Holden has arranged the pecking order in this year's new Ute series to mirror last year's new Commodore sedans, so the SV6 is a step up in style, performance and price; from the entry-level Omega version, which is $5000-$6000 less; but a rung below the more powerful V8-engined SS, costing $4000 more. The SV6 is available with a five-speed automatic or six-speed manual gearbox, and its high-output six-cylinder engine is more potent than the basic unit powering the Omega automatic.

You'd almost call the SV6 sensible. 'Almost' because none of the Ute family can handle real heavy-duty work as well as a less-fancy one-tonner utility does, nor does the Ute have the people-carrying convenience of a normal sedan.

But in its way, you can see the appeal. Part work vehicle, part flash car. Wholly comfortable and well-behaved, with just a couple of annoying traits.

From the Commodore sedan, the Ute has inherited windscreen pillars wide enough to hide a pedestrian or oncoming car at an intersection. Plus it has added another blind spot of its own, the steeply raked rear pillars, obstructing vision over the driver's right shoulder. You learn to take a long, careful look in the outside mirror and hope for the best.

Trouble is, the SV6 name gives the impression they're proud of the powerplant but; whether in Commodore sedan or Ute; it sounds and feels slightly less refined that you rightly expect of a modern-design engine.

Fortunately, you soon become attuned to its raspiness.

No spine-tingling burble comes from the SV6's twin tailpipes, but then again, it doesn't have the V8's thirst.

So it comes across as the sensible middle ground of the Ute bunch.