HOLDEN’S new V6 is loaded with high technology and high expectations. In the new SV6 sports sedan, the top-shelf Alloytec 190 boasts all-alloy construction, twin camshafts per cylinder bank, four valves per cylinder, six separate ignition coils – even variable valve timing – all promise an exhilarating drive experience. Especially when it’s replacing a time-honoured but primitive V6 that was never renowned for its smoothness or refinement. The Alloytec reality is a bit of a letdown. It doesn’t sound or feel a lot different to the old engine, even if it most certainly is, and doesn’t return anything special in terms of fuel efficiency or accelerator response. The Alloytec is undoubtedly a better engine, and will take Holden well into the future, but could it be we maligned the old V6 a little too much?