Holden Barina vs Lexus LX

What's the difference?

Would I recommend you buy a 2018 Holden Barina? In a word, no. There are better light cars out there for close to the money - cars that are more modern, more sophisticated, more refined, more efficient and better equipped.

At this point in time the Barina still has its place - if you just need a cheap set of wheels, I guarantee you will be able to score a good deal. But if it were me, and it was my money - but I had to buy a Holden - I’d be checking out the slightly smaller Spark (and saving a few bucks in the meantime) or trying to stretch the budget to the larger Astra.

The Lexus LX500d is a luxury seven-seat 4WD wagon with a big price-tag to match its full-to-bursting standard features list.

The interior is now more cool than cheesy and as a daily driver and long-distance tourer the LX500d offers very impressive levels of comfort and refinement – and it’s no posh pretender off-road either.

Sure, it’s much more of a city conveyance than a country wagon, but the LX500d is spot-on for those who have a premium SUV on their mind.

The Barina isn’t the most intriguing or attractive offering in the segment - that mostly has to do with the fact cars it competes against have changed quite a bit in the six years since the current-gen Holden launched.

There are more attractive rivals, but I think the update in late 2016 was definitely worthwhile. And in high-spec LT guise as you see here - with those stylish 17-inch alloy wheels standing out against the boxy silhouette of the Barina - it’s quite handsome. In fact, the LT for me is an 8/10, and the LS is a 6/10, so I’ve taken the average here.

The changes included new enclosed headlights with LED daytime running lights (DRLs) rather than the old ring-type headlights, a new grille, new front and rear bumpers, and revised tail-lights.

The interior isn’t quite as nice too look at, with loads of hard plastics of varying textures and qualities, while the ‘leather’ on the seats is unconvincing. It is pretty spacious, though..

The LX500d, in keeping with its positioning in the luxury slice of the market, is an imposing, premium-looking vehicle. 

Lexus puts the LX500d’s dimensions at 5100mm long (with a 2850mm wheelbase), 1990mm wide, and 1885mm high (1895mm in the Enhancement Pack-equipped LX500d). This is a big, classy SUV, inside and out, and it’s more than just a 300 Series LandCruiser in a shiny suit.

The optional 22-inch alloy wheels (part of the $5500 Enhancement Pack) add to the overall polished look. 

The interior is a classy mix of woodgrain trim, Hazel leather accents, soft-touch surfaces, Shimamoku ornamentation, plush but supportive seating, and even comfortable arm-rests.

The Barina has one of the larger interiors of the segment, thanks in large part to its high roofline. It measures a close-to-its-peers 4039mm long and 1735mm wide, but at 1517mm tall, it isn’t far off compact SUVs.

There is really good headroom front and rear, and the driver’s seat has height adjustment - meaning taller drivers can lower themselves in pretty nicely, but the passenger front seat doesn’t have height adjust, and it sits quite high.

The media system is a 7.0-inch touchscreen with two USB ports (one to connect, one to charge - both located in the top glovebox) and Bluetooth phone and audio streaming - and you get that system in both variants. The screen is supposed to have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but when I connected my iPhone it wouldn’t show up the mirroring screen… which was annoying, because there’s no sat nav.

The driver-info display may be a monochrome thing, but it is super handy to have a digital speed readout, and you can keep an eye on other key bits of info, like fuel use.

Back-seat legroom is adequate, but not exceptional - behind my own driving position (I’m 183cm tall) my knees were hard-up against the seat. You could fit two adults in the back pretty comfortably, but three would be hard work. If you tend to transport younger passengers, the dual ISOFIX and three top-tether child-seat anchors will come in handy.

Storage in the back is poor - there is no rear door storage at all, only one map pocket and no fold-down armrest. There’s just a single cup holder in front of the middle seat.

Up front there are two cupholders between the seats, and there are large pockets in the doors but they aren’t formed to hold bottles, so your fizzy might go flat from shifting around. The dashboard console is quite small, and there’s no covered armrest between the seats - but the driver gets a van-style armrest.

The biggest issue I have with the cabin is that the steering wheel is huge - like, it’s the same one used in the old Commodore, and it’s way too large for the Barina’s cabin - and the gear-shifter is oversized, too. Smaller features would make for a more spacious cockpit, and it’s a bit too easy to accidentally put it all the way down into M for manual mode, rather than D.

The boot of the Barina is fairly good for its size at 290 litres (VDA), and that expands to 653L with the back seats folded down in 60/40 formation - it’s a good cargo hold, albeit with a large, deep load lip, and there’s a space-saver spare under the floor.

There are some other little things that are good: the fact the electric windows have auto-down (and auto-up on the fronts). And some things that aren’t: the masses of hard, cheap-feeling plastics; the knobs and dials that don’t feel great to turn; and the seats are pretty uncomfortable.

The cabin is a cavernous, plush space and driver and passengers are all generally well served in terms of practicality and comfort.

The tech is simple enough to locate and operate – it was easy enough to get Apple CarPlay working – and the screens are big: the horizontal 12.3-inch multimedia unit upfront, an 8.0-inch screen (to monitor air-con, adaptive air-suspension height, the 4WD system, and other vehicle information), a head-up display, plus a 7.0-inch touchscreen for rear passengers.

Heating and cooling are managed via the climate concierge and everyone can keep themselves as comfortably hot or cold as they like with separate controls.

Storage is only reasonable for such a voluminous interior with a variety of door pockets, cupholders (eight in total), glove box, a deep centre console (with multiple ways to open the lids) as well as map pockets for the second row, cup-holders in the centre fold-down armrest and cupholders for the third row.

The Lexus has a Qi wireless charger and front and rear USB-C charging ports – one up front, two in the second row, and two in the third row. 

There’s a 12V DC socket (front and rear) and a 220V socket in the rear cargo area.

Power-adjustable seats up front mean the driver and front passenger can dial-in their favourite seating position and these seats are very comfortable. Even the second row is plush, but the third row is not quite at that comfort level.

Second-row passengers have air con and entertainment controls, and an HDMI port.

The sunroof – an Enhancement Pack inclusion – is power-adjustable and allows plenty of natural light in through the top.

The Lexus LX500d has a claimed 174L (VDA) of cargo space when seven seats are in use; 982L when five seats are being used (that’s with each half of the power-folding third row stowed flat at the push of a button); and 1871L when all seats are stowed away (the 60:40 folding second-row seats tumble-fold forward), except for the driver and front passenger, of course. 

The tailgate has a foot-swipe-to-open sensor (part of the $5500 Enhancement Pack).

The seven-seat LX500d is the base-spec in the three-variant diesel LX line-up – below the F Sport and Sports Luxury – but you wouldn’t know it from its price-tag.

The LX500d retails for $157,061 (excluding on-road costs), but our test vehicle has an optional Enhancement Pack (which includes 22-inch alloy wheels, sunroof, hands-free power tailgate with kick sensor, $5500) and has been fitted with a towing set-up (towbar etc, $1545 fitted) pushing its price up to $164,106 (excluding on-road costs).

As standard the LX500d features list includes a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Bluetooth), a 25-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, heated and ventilated power-adjustable seats, woodgrain steering wheel trim, 8.0-inch multi-information driver display, four-zone climate control, 7.0-inch touchscreen and separate control panel for rear passengers, multi-terrain monitor with panoramic view, and 20-inch alloy wheels (but, as mentioned, our test vehicle has the Enhancement Pack with 22-inch alloy wheels).

It has a digital rear-view mirror, adaptive variable suspension with low, normal and two high settings, as well as full-time four-wheel drive, a low-range transfer case, locking centre differential, and a variety of driving modes (including off-road modes) and driver assistants.

Exterior paint choices include the no-extra-cost Onyx, or options such as Liquid Metal, White Nova (F Sport models only), Sonic Quartz (not available on F Sport models), Titanium, Graphite Black, and Khaki Metal (on our test vehicle), all of which incur an extra cost.

Powering the Barina is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which produces 85kW of power and 155Nm of torque. There’s the choice of a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic, and the Barina is front-wheel drive.

The outputs of the engine are decent for the class, but the weight of the Barina - a porky 1248kg - means it doesn’t feel as sprightly as some competitors, many of which are below 1100kg.

There is no high-performance model - the Barina RS that came out in 2013 lasted a few years, but was axed in 2016.

The Lexus LX500d has a 3.3-litre V6 twin turbo-diesel engine, producing 227kW at 4000rpm and 700Nm between 1600-2600rpm.

It has a 10-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode, a permanent all-wheel-drive system, low-range transfer case and a lockable centre diff. 

It also has six on-road drive modes – including Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport S, Sport S+ and Custom – and off-road drive modes.

The V6 is an impressive fit in this behemoth, but even though this is a smooth-shifting SUV, there’s a leisurely, rather than lively, overall feel to how the engine and auto work together.

Because it is so hefty – with a listed 2690kg kerb weight – the Lexus does need a bit of heavy right boot to get going off the mark and during overtaking moves.

Because the Barina doesn’t have a downsized turbo engine like some rivals, it is claimed to use a relatively high 7.2 litres per 100 kilometres for the manual model (LS only), while the auto version (in LS and LT guise) is said use even more, at 7.5L/100km.

Over our time with the car, we saw 8.8L/100km, which isn’t terrific for such a small car. A Mazda 2 has claimed fuel use as low as 4.9L/100km, and it doesn’t use a downsized turbo engine, either.

At the very least the fact the Barina can run on regular unleaded (91RON) means filling up will be a little cheaper.

The Lexus LX500d seven-seater has a listed fuel consumption of 8.9L/100km on a combined cycle.

Our actual fuel consumption on this test, from pump to pump, was 12.2L/100km. Note: our test included a lot of low-range 4WDing. 

The LX500d has an 80-litre fuel tank – so, going by that on-test fuel consumption figure, you should be able to get a driving range of almost 656km from a full tank.

There are elements of the drive experience in the Barina that are fine, but not one part of it sets a benchmark for the segment. And in a class where almost every car is at least a little bit fun to drive - think the Mazda 2, Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta, Kia Rio, Peugeot 208, Suzuki Swift... I could keep going, but I'd prefer to drive any of those every day. Heck, even a Toyota Yaris or Hyundai Accent excites me more than this.

If all you do is potter from home to work, or home to the train station, there’s a good chance this will be fine as your means of conveyance. But if you’re the sort of person who wants a car they can enjoy, the Barina mightn’t be for you.

The LT model with its larger wheels may look pretty good, but the ride is fouled by those rims. And while the grip from the Continental ContiPremiumContact 2 tyres is genuinely good, the steering can be slow and heavy at times, and there’s a lot of road noise on coarse-chip surfaces.

Those wheels are nice and might be acceptable in a sporty hatch, but the performance doesn’t match up - the 1.6-litre engine is a little bit gutless at times, with its lack of torque meaning the six-speed automatic transmission is quite busy shuffling through the gears. That’s not unusual in this class, but the engine isn’t very refined, and can get trashy at high revs.

The transmission is not only busy, but it can be clunky when shifting, too - I noticed a few times when it was going between second and third gears.

This Lexus feels tighter and better controlled than previous iterations on sealed surfaces, but it’s still a big rig so it’s no surprise when body roll continually creeps in, with this hefty SUV revealing wallowing tendencies even at optimal ride height. 

The suspension set-up – adjustable dampers, double wishbones at the front, a four-linkage rigid axle at the rear, stabiliser bars front and rear – irons out any major issues, but, even with consistent support from the adaptive variable suspension, it’s not perfect.

Steering is light and precise and adds to this posh 2690kg beast’s overall feeling of low-key composure.

This is a very nice cabin in which to spend time as NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels are kept to a minimum.

As mentioned earlier, the drive modes include normal, eco, sport and each adjusts throttle response, engine outputs, and gearshifts to suit the driver and the driving conditions.

Now for a few on-road niggles…

The brake pedals feel too spongy in their action – from stomp to stop – but the ventilated disc brakes front and rear do manage to wrench the Lexus to a controlled halt when needed.

The V6 and auto work well together, and though that transmission remains a smooth shifter, 10 gear ratios still seem like too many to me but, alas, that’s the way of the world.

To the off-road portion of this test…

The LX500d is a great open-road tourer but it does reveal some flaws when it comes to 4WDing – but more about those later.

As well as its robust mechanicals, the Lexus has off-road-capable Cruiser underpinnings with dirt-biased tech thrown into the mix as well. 

There’s plenty of glass around so driver-to-track visibility is fine, steering feels light but takes on a clinical precision during low-speed, low-range 4WDing.

And ‘clinical’ is exactly how the Lexus continues to feel off-road – with multi-terrain select driving modes offering auto, dirt, sand, mud, deep snow, and rock options; with a multi-terrain monitor and panoramic view helping you ‘see’ everywhere on the track; with active height control helping you to lift the vehicle’s body in order to improve off-road angles at the push of a button; and don’t forget about downhill assist control, hill-start assist, crawl control, and off-road traction control.

The danger is that – with so much tech working away at making everything so easy and safe – the driver feels completely removed from the off-road experience. The LX500d isn’t the only culprit, not by a long shot; most of the current crop of off-road vehicles are increasingly offering a sanitised, hyper-controlled version of 4WDing rather than the visceral experience many of us know and love. I’m old and grumpy, sue me.

Our test vehicle has all-season Dunlop Grandtrek 265/50R22 112V tyres, which are fine for sealed surfaces, but they’re not at all suited to the demands of low-range 4WDing in tough conditions, even more so on these 22-inch rims.

Unbraked towing capacity is 750kg, braked towing capacity is 3500kg. The LX500d has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 3280kg and a gross combination mass (GCM) of 6780kg.

It has a full-size spare tyre and that’s mounted under the rear cargo area.

The Lexus does not have an ANCAP safety rating as it has not been tested.

Safety features include 10 airbags (driver and front passenger: front, knee, side; rear: side), AEB with pedestrian detection and daytime cyclist detection, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera with rear camera washer, adaptive cruise control, road sign assist, blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert, tyre pressure warning system, and more.

Holden has rolled back that limited-time seven-year warranty, with the standard old three-year/100,000km plan in place once more. There is the option of extended warranty, with up to six years/175,000km available.

Holden requires the Barina to be serviced every nine months or 15,000km, which is reasonably lenient - some competitors require maintenance visits every six months/10,000km.

The costs are covered by Holden’s 'Know Your Cost Servicing' plan, with the first and second services priced at $249, the third and fourth at $349, while the fifth drops back to $249. No matter which way you look at it, it’s more affordable than a lot of competitors.

The Lexus LX500d has a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Capped-price servicing applies for three years or 60,000km, whichever occurs the soonest. 

Service intervals are scheduled for every six months or 10,000km intervals with each appointment costing $495 a pop over that period.

Lexus Encore benefits – including a loan vehicle during services, service pick-up and return, as well as valet parking offers and fuel discounts – are standard for new Lexus owners.