Holden Tigra Reviews

Back then a Holden sportscar was a snorting, fire-breathing beast – the Monaro GTS 350 or a Torana A9X were examples of the breed in its prime.How the world changes. In 2006 it's goodbye Holden Monaro, hello Holden Tigra.Not even Holden dares suggest the Tigra is any sort of replacement for the Monaro. A customer too late for the last of those muscular and macho V8 coupes is not going to be contented with a 1.8-litre folding metal roof runabout. But to many buyers a convertible with the convenience and security of a metal roof is irresistible, no matter what sort of car lies beneath it.Folding metal roof convertibles are not our favourite type of car here at The Australian. Like many technologies that promise the best of all possible worlds, the reality can fall a little short of the dream. The complex roof folding and storage mechanism takes space out of the boot but adds weight to the car and rain sealing is not always the great leap forward over a well-sorted cloth roof you might expect. Nor is body rigidity, despite a solid roof. They're not cheap either, making for expensive little cars that can be slower, clumsier and more cramped than they should be.So the Tigra did not find a warm welcome in our office. But it was so eager to please that after a week we had to admit it's one of the better examples of its type.Underneath the Tigra's coupe-convertible bodywork is the engine and running gear of the former Barina SRi, before Holden replaced the nameplate with a rebadged Daewoo Kalos. The SRi meant a 1.8-litre engine and a five-speed manual gearbox. The Tigra's folding metal roof brings its weight up to 1248kg – about 160kg heavier than a Barina – so it was never going to be as lively as the SRi was. And at a recorded 8.4 litres per 100km on test it uses a little more fuel than you'd expect from a car of this size. But we appreciate Holden's Opel Ecotec engines more than ever, having driven their crude Korean-made replacements. The Ecotec L850 is refined, sweet revving and torquey although its 92kW is not enough to make the Tigra hugely fast.From experience in the Holden Astra we know the Ecotec also works quite well with an automatic transmission but due to a quirk of Euro-centric product planning none is available in the Tigra. It seems a strange omission from a car that Holden says will sell overwhelmingly to women but it adds to the Tigra's modest dynamic credentials as a sportscar rather than just another flaccid old boulevard cruiser.The interior is familiar old-model Barina – not an environment we praised highly at the time but since its replacement by a measurably worse model, we've recently grown fonder. Fit and finish are praiseworthy, although you might argue it's a bit dull for a sportscar interior. There are few differences from the old Barina except a large hood over the centrally mounted trip computer (an odd inclusion in a sportscar) and silver trim on the centre console. A less welcome note from the past is the awkward stalk-type cruise control that used to be in the Commodore.Settling into the Tigra was not easy. Generally, car seats are a set-and-forget exercise but the Tigra's combination of high cushion, low roof and non-reach-adjustable steering wheel didn't allow that luxury. When my top half was comfortable my knees were splayed like a giraffe on a go-kart and when my legs were lined up my neck was cricked. The wheel was either too close or too far away. This was as puzzling as it was annoying because I am – in biometric terms at least – a regular guy. Buyers, be sure you fit your Tigra before you sign anything. The seat itself seems comfortable and supportive.The Tigra's dynamics are pleasing with a fast turn-in and adjustable, nicely balanced feel in corners and an abundance of modulation in the brakes. Being front-drive it seems free from nasty habits although like any semi-fast short wheelbase car it can get lively when braking hard on bumpy roads. The steering feels dull but the gearbox has an appealing snickety feel even if a purist might say its throws are a fraction long. Ride is comfortable, usually fairly soft with only the occasional shimmy going through the body when the top is down. Top-down it's surprisingly calm behind the wheel, even with the optional wind blocker folded down. With the roof up the Tigra becomes a quiet if cosy little coupe. To its credit there are no dashboard squeaks. Raising or lowering the two-piece metal top takes 18 seconds. The procedure is to undo two clips above the windscreen before using a switch mounted in the driver's door. Perversely you pull up on this switch to put the roof down – this backward logic fooled me more than once. With the roof up there's a generous 378 litres of storage space by Holden's figures – quite a substantial boot in lay terms. Pull back an internal divider to let the roof nestle into its storage space and there's still 147 litres of cargo space, enough for a weekend away so long as you're not into outdoor pursuits. There is also a shelf behind the seats with 70 litres of storage space. It takes the place of the rear seats. The Tigra's major gimmick is its power-operated bootlid. This might be good for impressing your friends but in everyday use having to wait several seconds to open or close the boot soon becomes tedious.With the extinction of the Monaro the Tigra is Holden's only sportscar for the time being. While it won't excite Monaro fans, and doesn't particularly excite us, it's good at what it was designed to do. The Tigra is well-sorted and well-built by the standards of folding metal roof convertibles but its manual transmission means it will automatically be crossed off many shopping lists. That's almost a pity.Verdict:

But this little beauty looks a lot better with its top off, so I was not about to cover up when I took her cruising to the beach, the pizza place, the shops, the gym ... I wanted to show her off everywhere.Roof on and the Tigra – Holden's latest two-seater and sporty convertible – is just another plain-Jane-looking car on the road.And roof on makes negotiating lanes a bit tricky, thanks to some very awkward blind spots, when the over-the-shoulder view is blocked by the side roof panels.Luckily, other drivers seem to be wary of being suddenly cut off from what obviously looks like a "girl's" car and make way.A push of a button and the hydraulically-operated fold-back hardtop roof – which brought back childhood memories of playing with Transformers toys – takes the Tigra from corny to cool.No man-handling required.Blocked vision and reversing are no longer problems when there are no bits of car to get in the way.But be prepared to repeatedly conduct the "top goes up, top goes down" routine, as all your friends will want to see it fold itself magically away.Pity it only has two seats, so just one at a time can join you for a ride.With one of these friends itching to feel the wind in her hair, a daytrip to Brighton was a must to find out how the car shapes up for attention against the other convertible and cruising cars.The Tigra held its own in receiving curious glances and words of admiration from passers-by.It was the perfect way to enjoy the spring sunshine – lathered in sunscreen, of course – and get some fresh air.However, a cruise down Hindley St in the early hours of a Sunday morning drew a few crude comments and, for the record, my dad wishes he drives a car like this.The boys outside the Woolshed were impressed it was a Holden.You get used to arriving at your destination without a hair in place because she is just so fun to drive.The Tigra has just enough grunt to be zippy off the line without fear of retribution from police and, as a front-wheel-drive, it whips around tight corners.The sports exhaust gives the engine some oomph without distracting from the tunes.Its racing seats seem custom made and racing pedals complement the sporty look.The Tigra comes only with a manual transmission – which adds further to its "cool" factor – and the shortened stick shift easily slips through the five gears to 110km/h on the open road.Three-point parking is a bit harder when you have to lift up the stick's collar to knock it into reverse.It is not very practical, with little boot space and for most of the year the weather's cold and/or wet, so the roof should stay on.But where is the fun in that?

"What is it?" inquires one man with his young granddaughter. "It looked pretty smart when you drove in.""Is that the new Holden," asks another inquisitive motorist at a set of traffic lights. "Jeez, it looks pretty neat."Although many of these positive comments were coming from men, Holden expects 95 per cent of Tigra customers to be female.It's a real looker with the top up or down, but looks better with it down. Lowering the roof is done electronically, albeit with the manual release of two latches and the push of a button on the side-door handle. The handbrake must be on and it takes 18 seconds.The Tigra is powered by a 1.8-litre DOHC 16-valve Ecotec four-cylinder engine, producing 92kW of power and 165Nm of torque on premium unleaded. Start-off acceleration is good around the city as is overtaking power when needed on the open road.It runs the same underpinnings as the sporty Barina SRi, sitting on a specially- tuned chassis with sports-tuned dampers, reinforced front stabiliser bars, complex front suspension mounts and a hydroformed rear axle. While the Tigra has a sporty feel, the suspension does well to iron out all but the worst bumps.It is happy to tackle the twisties, holding its own with only a minor hint of bump steer on the rougher roads.It is just as comfortable and easy to manoeuvre in the city, especially with its tiny 3.9m length. With the roof up, the cargo space measures a reasonable 308 litres; this is reduced to 147 litres when the roof is down.The Tigra also features a quirky electro-hydraulically controlled boot that opens and closes automatically at the touch of a button.It closes in two directions. It tilts backwards when opening or closing the roof, and forwards when accessing the boot. Sensors ensure one function cannot be activated until the other is complete. A beep sounds whenever the boot has been closed.During testing, the Tigra's on-board trip computer hovered between 8.0 litres per 100km and 8.4 litres per 100km for average fuel consumption.The interior is funky, but practical. You sit in, not on, the two-tone sports seats which are six-way adjustable for recline, slide and height. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is tilt-adjustable and features controls for the audio. The on-board computer is controlled by a central dial on the dashboard (or the steering wheel).The Tigra has no shortage of safety, with driver, passenger and side airbags and breakaway brake and clutch pedals to protect against lower limb injury.It also has seat belts with belt-force limiters and pyrotechnic pre-tensioners and anti-submarining ramps to reduce the risk of sliding under the seat belt in a crash.Perhaps the only drawback of this funky car is the lack of an auto transmission.Holden admits its closest rival, the Peugeot 206CC has quite a high take-up rate on the automatic version. But Opel — Holden's sister company in Germany — simply cannot supply one for the 1.8-litre engine. The short of it is, if you want a fun drive, learn to use the left leg.

The five speed manual Tigra holds plenty of appeal thanks in part to the folding metal roof and out-there sytyling. It's one funkadelic little drop top that scrams "Here I am."The strong visual is backed by pretty good performance from a 1.8-litre, 92kW engine lifted from the previous Barina SR.Tigra offers sports car styling with tin-top safety and security - all at the touch of a button once the roof latches are released.And it's sharply priced at a tick under $35,000.That puts is well under the Peugeot 206CC 2.0-litre and a couple up on the 206CC 1.6.But it's a newer model than that and is fully decked out inside, well nearly. Has strong performance from twin cam 1.8-litre engine, definitely on the sporty side of the ledger and economical too with 7.0-litres/ 100km within easy reach. Handling is tidy, not too firm, supple enough on rough roads and presice in the steering. The brakes match Tigra's pace and becaiuse its such a compact device, driving feel is exhilarating. Capable cruiser on the freeway, doesn't peg back on long uphilkls, has plenty in reserve and benefits from slich shifting close ratio 'box. Two seater only but the boot is adequate even with roof folded, much larger with roof up. Adequate adjustment to driving position accommodates larger people. Attractive interior, groovy upholstery, techno looking dash and console, great sound. Comes with airconditioning, power ancillaries, remote central locking but annoying boot lock (needs to be held in while power boot closer works). Body feels fairly tight with only a couple of rattles on really rough roads. No creaks or groans over the driveway. Looks sensational with Astra style front but more aggressive and high rear haunches, A real wedgey thing. But aerodynamics only rate 0.34Cd which explains some of the wind noise at high speed. Passes Euro 4 emissions regs - extremely clean but requires premium to give its best. Made in France at a specialist manufac- turer. The French connection. Love the electric power steering and ABS brakes. Has four airbags and pedal release system to limit injury in collision. Fairly weighty at 1248 kg.,Imagine if it had the 2.0-litre or 2.2 litre engine.