Holden Barina Reviews

Plenty apparently if that name happens to be Holden and you stick it on the back of an imported car, then sell it as one of your own.We're talking in this case about the new TK Barina, the fifth car to bear the name here in the last 20 years from almost as many countries.The first "Beep Beep" Barina launched here way back in February 1985 was a rebadged Japanese Suzuki Swift. It was followed soon after by another Swift in September 1986, that pioneered the popular Cino body style.Then in April 1994 Holden turned to Europe for a replacement which came in the form of an Opel built in Spain, followed by a second Opel in March 2001 and finally by the current Daewoo from South Korea in October this year.Barina has always been a solid performer for the General, but it has come under increasing pressure in recent years from the likes of Hyundai's Getz and more recently Toyota's Echo/Yaris.At this end of the market, it's all about price and what you get for your dollar, which goes a long way towards explaining Holden's current strategy.It can get cars much cheaper from South Korea than it can from Europe, which gives it the edge it desperately needs to compete with low priced imports.The job of selling the cars is up to Holden's marketing people but having that badge on the back is a good place to start.It's a thing the automotive industry calls "badge power".Holden claims the new TK Barina has been heavily re-engineered for its new role in life.It was offered briefly by Daewoo here under the name Kalos for $14,990.As such many people would not have given the car a second thought, but with the name Holden on the back those same people are likely to give the Barina serious consideration.The new Barina is competes against a dozen different cars in this segment, led by the Toyota Yaris and Hyundai Getz.It's easily outsold by both but at a price of $12,990 undercuts every player in the field, even Hyundai's 1.4-litre Getz at $13,490.For your money, you get a three-door hatch with a "lively" 1.6-litre engine, airconditioning, power steering, two airbags, power windows, power mirrors and a CD player with six speakers and steering wheel mounted audio controls.You also get a full size spare wheel.The price does not include ABS ($1190 including alloys) or automatic transmission ($2000), nor is it a driveaway price so on-road costs must be added.However, it's still adds up to a pretty impressive package.The DOHC 16 valve engine is good for 77kW of power at 6000rpm ad 145Nm of torque at 3600rpm.Fuel economy is a claimed 6.9 litres per 100km for the manual or 7.8 litres for the auto.It should be noted that the Barina's rear brakes are drums but this is reasonable with a lightweight vehicle such as this and does not justify crossing it off your list.The original Kalos was not a bad looking car but we like the subtle changes that Holden has made.It's roomy inside, with a bright, fresh young feel and a finish that is better than some cars we've driven lately.While dynamically it's not a patch on its Euro predecessor, the ride and handling is acceptable.The 1.6-litre engine is a willing worker, but coarse at times and runs out of puff if pushed hard.The five-speed manual shift is disappointing, with a spongy feel and the distance between gears is too great.Annoyingly, it also suffers from throttle run on when changing gears.This is best dealt with by waiting a tick for the revs to die before completing changes.All in all, Barina is excellent value for money but is unlikely to win Wheels Car of the Year as its predecessor did.But at the price, who really cares? 

Perhaps a sense of style, some zip, even some modicum of class.But, I'll give it to Holden — this new Barina is cheap.At $14,990 with the automatic gearbox, airconditioning and electric windows and mirrors, it shapes up well — on paper — against its nearest rival, the Hyundai Getz.Born in Korea of Korean-American parents, the Daewoo Kalos has been adopted by Holden to start life in Australia as the Holden Barina.The smallest Holden now comes with a broad range of standard equipment and feature-to-feature represents good value for money.Externally, it's a pretty car that follows similar design cues with the Hyundai Getz. Basically, these two babies are cubes with noses.The three-door Barina tested comes with long doors for easy access to the rear, but the door won't open far if there's anobstacle alongside the car.The five-door model costs $1500 more yet is more user-friendly, even when not carrying rear passengers.The Barina's boot is shallow, requiring folding down the split rear seat to carry any decent load.Beneath the floor is a full-size spare tyre, which is very welcome.I'll now pour cold water on all these niceties by pointing out the dashboard.Whatever possessed the cabin designers to choose gloss-black plastic sheets — in four different textures from flat to leather-look to golfball dimples and raised bumps — to make the dash is anyone's guess.It is a vision, tragically permanent for the car's owner, that sits in front of the driver and passengers as a stark reminder that this is a cheap car.At least the centre console has plenty of buttons.Standard fare rates highly, with dual airbags, MP3-compatible CD player, electric windows and mirrors, comprehensive instrumentation and airconditioning.Occupants have good all-round visibility, even those in the back.The seats are relatively comfortable, but offer little body support, and even two adults can fit in the rear.Performance is quite brisk with one person aboard, though suffers when fully loaded, which is surprising for a 1.6-litre engine.This one should have a lot more zip for its capacity, though I'd admit the four-speed auto entices a few horses out of the corral so they don't compete in the stampede.Generally, it's a car that is easy to punt around. As you'd expect, it's size and tight turning circle makes it nimble for shopping.It is also surprisingly adept at cruising the freeways at 100km/h with the only intrusion being tyre roar.It's a nice package backed up by Holden, but has some fierce rivals in this light-car category.

These city cars are not meant to put a smile on your face.They're not meant to look hot yet still appear like they come from the factory.And they're certainly not meant to incite rivalry between male and female drivers as to who gets the keys for a run down to the shops.Holden's Barina SRi, right, is the exception.Admittedly $22,490 is a little pricey for a runabout but the SRi is the top of the food chain in terms of Barinas.And for this you get the 1.8-litre four cylinder, a step up from the 1.4-litre engine in the rest of the range.Right from start up it is evident that there is a little more urge and excitment under the skin.It is armed with lusty performance yet together with a harder edge there also is a degree of practicality.Inside the Barina there is a spacious cabin in which adults will not feel like sardines when they climb into the rear.In some respects the Barina is a more enjoyable drive than the corresponding Astra SRi.Vision is clearer all-round, there is a well sorted manual gearbox, crisp steering, sharp turn-in, supportive seats and a punchy engine.Perhaps one of the best attributes of the Barina SRi is the fun factor.There are faster, wilder and meaner four-potters around but they also are pricier.All-round the Barina does everything with a reasonable degree of competence.It sits proud around town and on more demanding runs on the freeway and handles well, tucking in and sitting confidently around tight corners.Road manners are polite, obedient and brisk from a lightweight package that is heavy on enjoyment levels.There has been changes to the Barina SRi compared to when it first came out a few years ago.For starters the windows have gained electric controls compared to the manual ones which kind of didn't quite cut the mustard for what it was trying to be.It now has all the mod-cons in a smart package that wants for little.While the rest of the Barina range recently underwent a revamp which coincided with price reductions of between 5-6 per cent, the SRi is rock solid at $22,490.

Even a facelift and freshen-up is not enough to re-ignite whatever excitement was caused when the model burst on to the scene.Take Holden's Barina – yes, the 'Beep Beep' car – as a case in point. With much fanfare and more than a little praise, Holden launched the XC Barina early in 2001. Its Euro-build, big-car dynamics and pleasing demeanour shot the Barina to the head of the light-car class and gave its rivals a target to aim for. And aim they did, with laudable efficiency.Mazda was first into the fray, scoring a hit with the Mazda2. Then Honda lined up the pair of them with its Jazz.The Barina slipped off the publicity radar but never too far down the popularity scale, continuing to sell its 500-odd cars a month.Early this year Holden sent its beep-beep baby off for a make-over – nothing extreme, just a tuck and trim and a bit of a update on the wardrobe.Back on the party circuit, it was time to revisit Barina and what a nice experience that was.All the good things that impressed everyone at the original launch – the feeling of substance and quality, strength of engine, space and steering that put many more expensive cars to shame – were still evident.The changes are largely cosmetic with a new chrome grille, colour-keyed front and rear bumpers, body-coloured door and tailgate handles. The five-door CD manual, the model re-visited, has won some significant interior changes with a new charcoal grey fabric trim, and co-ordinated centre console along with a 60/40 split rear seat.The Barina's dynamics, impressive to start with, have been tweaked to further sharpen the steering control. Changes to the ride are so fine as to be almost indistinguishable.A new 1.4-litre engine – available only with the manual gearbox – delivers exactly the same 66kW of power with a marginal 5Nm improvement in torque but does, according to Holden, improve fuel efficiency to below 6L/100km.During the test period it wasn't quite that good – around 6.6L/100km – but there was a fair degree of enthusiastic zipping involved. And that, in a nutshell, is the attraction of the Barina.It does encourage a bit of fun without ever feeling that it is just a try-hard out of its league.You are not going to blow off too many performance models – well, none to be honest – at the lights, but when asked, the Barina gives its all and is quite capable of punching above its weight.The engine spins out willingly right to its redline, just a tick past 6000rpm without getting gaspy.The five-speed box is well sorted for ratios and the shift feel is nice and precise without being especially sporty.Room in the Barina is particularly impressive. There is no feeling of being cramped – for headroom nor shoulder space.Steering adjustment is rake-only but the seating position is enough to make finding a comfortable driving position possible.Rear-seat room is also impressive with enough clearance to the roof and the rear of the front seats to make transporting four adults a no-fuss proposition.Luggage space is not huge but is adequate for a couple of suitcases or a large shopping expedition and if you need that bit extra, the split-fold rear seats can accommodate.

In bang for your buck terms, there isn't much around to match the 1.8-litre Holden Barina SRi for $22,490, plus on roads. Perhaps Suzuki's Ignis Sport comes the closest but it's a 1.5-litre.Spend substantially more and chances are you'll only get marginally more performance and probably the same level of sporty handling.It's been around since 2001 but was tweaked earlier this year to add more godies such as brake assist, revised steering and suspension for improved dynamics.Holden persisits in putting a premium of $1880 on airconditioning for all Barinas.But the SRi has plenty of goodies to complement it's rather wicked turn of speed and sports car handling.These include sporty seats, CD audio, remote central locking, ABS and dual front airbags.Power comes from the same 1.8-litre, twin cam engines as the larger Holden Astra – with predictable results.Small car/bigger engine is a tried and true performance formula. It's good for 92kW/165Nm.The SRi not only goes like the clappers, it has superb torque making it responsive from just about any speed. Whip it into top and you can pretty well stay there most of the time and simply push the accelerator to make things happen.But if you really want to go, a quick flick down a ratio or two and things become even more urgent.The engine doesn't seem this potent in Astra, nor as rorty in engine and exhaust noise. I might just be imagining it but I like it.Only available in the three-door body, Barina SRi will take four people at a pinch and the boot is a reasonable size.Front seat passengers are spoiled for comfort and the array of standard equipment makes travel time better. The CD audio is actually quite good for a car in this class as are the comfortable seats and steering wheel mounted audio controls.There are limits to its handling capabilities dictated by the car's height and suspension setting. It can really hoot through turns but becomes untidy when you push a little too hard. This produces understeer effect with loss of front end grip.But the brakes are powerful and the 15 inch tyres are user friendly.Other controls such as the steering and gearshift have a sporty feel.A slightly flashier exterior treatment would lift the SRi's appearance abouve lesser models.

The success of the Vectra-Astra-Barina family has transformed the company well beyond its big-six success, and things should get even better with the arrival of a fresh baby-boomer.The all-new Holden Barina still starts at $13,990 and still comes with the cute rounded look of the beep-beep car, but it is significantly different from the model it replaces. It is bigger, stronger, sweeter and a much tougher rival for the Hyundai Accent and the Mitsubishi Mirage, which lead the class in sales and engineering.Holden has changed a lot of things, including the way the Barina models are arranged. But it has held on to the hatchback shape, a twin-airbag cabin and even the useful central instrument pod that has readouts for the radio, the time and outside temperature.There are now just two Barina body choices, a two-door or a four-door, with a shared 1.4-litre engine and either a manual or an automatic gearbox. Air-con is $1870 extra, though there must eventually be a bonus pack that makes it a no-cost part of a deal.The XC Barina looks larger, helped by windows that are bigger, but when you park it beside the old model, you see there is not a lot of difference. Even so, there is noticeably more space inside, especially front shoulder and head room.The body has some nice styling touches, including high tail lights that could have been taken from a compact four-wheel-drive, and bigger 14-inch wheels under slightly flared guards.The mechanical package is centred on the latest twin-cam 1.4-litre motor, with output boosted from 60 to 66 kW and 114 to 120 Nm, a neat half-dozen pickup in each case. The torque peak is relatively high at 4000 revs and the engine has to be pushed to 6000 revs for maximum power.It has the regulation front-wheel drive but picks up four-wheel disc brakes, sadly without any anti-skid system on the options list, in a class where rear drums are most common.The Barina deal includes a classy Blaupunkt sound system with single CD, but the windows are wind-up models and even the mirrors have manual adjustment. There is power steering and remote central locking, but no remote release for the boot - a common European choice for improved security. There is only one cupholder, so small it's nearly useless, though the cabin has plenty of storage space, including big bins on the doors.DRIVINGThe new Barina feels rock-solid and a lot more substantial than its baby-car rivals. It's not as big inside as Hyundai's bigger new Accent or as trendy as Ford's tiny Ka, but that barely matters for a good-looking, well-designed and developed package.The Barina gets along fairly well, has twin airbags for safety, and its starting price is still $13,990 when even Hyundai's hero opens the batting at $14,990.So what's not to like? The back seat, for a start. It puts the bench back into bench seat and is no place for anyone a little taller than average. It's hard and angular, with no real support, and it doesn't have any headrests. The dashboard is also a bit raw, with crinkled plastic finishes that look rough and cheap.Most worrying is an engine that does its own thing for too much of the time. It's probably the engine management system, and the need to get rid of unburned fuel, but the car surges and hunts with revs that rise and fall without any input from the throttle. It's a bit scary at first, lifting off the accelerator and having the engine keep pushing the car, but then it just gets annoying and confusing. It would be good to get an explanation from Holden because the symptoms are likely to migrate to other models - and other brands - as we get deeper and deeper into the clean-tailpipe era.The Barina test car was a two-door automatic with air-con, a package that moves it out of bargain-basement land to $17,810, a price that includes electric assists in some rivals. But the baby Holden has a body that feels almost Mercedes-Benz tough, and that means it should last and last. It has also allowed Holden's engineers to provide a really sporty suspension set-up that is more than adequate for the urge from the 1.4, allowing it to be hustled surprisingly swiftly.As well, it has a firm-yet-compliant ride that soaks up the worst Aussie roads. It's definitely the best in class, just like the bigger Astra, and will take some beating. The steering is firm and direct and the brakes are good, with first-class grip from the Michelin rubber. The Barina can get a little noisy on coarse bitumen, but it's nothing to worry about.The auto test car was a bit dozy from the lights, but compensated with solid mid-range torque and an eager top end. It would be a lot better with a manual to keep it spinning in the power range, making it a really sporty little drive.The fuel economy was still very good at 7.9 litres/100km and it has an impressive touring range. The car is comfortable and easy to drive, with a nice meaty steering wheel and firm but supportive seats.The Barina has good headlights, a surprisingly annoying tinkle for the turn indicators, and a big horn for a small car. The boot is reasonably big, with a fold-down back seat, but it has a high lip to load over. It's reassuring to have the twin airbags, but Holden's commitment to safety - which it trumpets every time it rolls out an updated Commodore - should have included anti-skid brakes somewhere in the deal.Perhaps, like Honda has done with the latest Civic, they will come later. The bargain basement has never been as crowded or competitive as it is today but, on balance and despite the back seat, the Barina is the new benchmark. It loses a little ground to the Accent in some areas, but takes a solid points decision over the Hyundai hero and the ageing Mitsubishi Mirage, making it the car to drive first when you're shopping for a compact companion.HOLDEN BARINAPrice: $17,810 as tested (two-door auto with air-con)Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder with twin-overhead camshafts and fuel injectionPower: 66kW/6000revsTorque: 120Nm/4000revsTransmission: Five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, front-wheel driveBody: Two-door hatchDimensions: Length 3816mm, width 1642mm, height 1443, wheelbase 2491mm, tracks 1417/1408mm front/rearWeight: 970kgFuel tank: 44 litresFuel consumption: Average on test 7.9litres/100kmSteering: Power-assisted rack-and-pinionSuspension: Front MacPherson struts and semi-trailing rear arms with torsion beamBrakes: Four-wheel discsWheels: 5.5x14 steelTyres: 175x65R14 MichelinWarranty: 3 years/100,000kmRIVALSHolden Barina from $13,990Hyundai Accent from $14,990Toyota Echo from $15,940Mitsubishi Mirage from $15,490