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By
EWAN KENNEDY
12 December 2005
Holden is very serious about its new range of
small-medium cars. Cars sold under the Viva nameplate. Unlike many other
makers in this hotly contested market segment, the new Holden Viva is
sold in the full range of body styles, coming to us as a four-door
sedan, five-door hatchback and four-door station wagon. We’ve just
come off a full week’s test of a Viva wagon and are generally
impressed with the way it works.
The number one priority with most station wagon
buyers is practicality, and the new Holden Viva wagon does it all
pretty well. There's seating for four full-sized adults as well as
a good-sized load area. All four adults have plenty of headroom
and enough space to stretch their legs to a comfortable area. A
clever feature is the soft design of the lower-rear area of the
front seats which means those in the back aren't in danger of
hurting their feet should they extend them all the way under the
seats. It’s surprising how few designers get this important area
right so full marks to GM-Daewoo for doing so.
The neat rear-end shape of the Viva wagon looks
good but perhaps has too much slope in the tailgate, thus taking
away some of the load carrying ability. This is always a difficult
area to decide which compromises to make, but Australians
generally favour a more upright rear-end even if that does take
away some of the visual sportiness.
Under the floor of the Viva wagon there are
several out-of-sight spots to store valuable items, yet there's
also space for a full-size spare tyre.
Refinement and comfort are surprisingly good for
a car of this size and price and are almost up with Japanese cars
of similar size but carrying a significantly higher price tag.
Handling is also good, with decent feel through
the steering and a willingness to respond to driver input. Viva
has good balance for a front-wheel drive and road grip is strong
throughout the range. There's no way it can be described as a
sports sedan, and Holden is willing to admit the car could be
better.
Holden's engineers have working hard at
combinations of springs, dampers and bushes but say the basic
structure of the car lets it down. You can sense that the guys are
just itching to get stuck into the next model and will really lift
it from its present format.
While the Viva's designers have still to learn
something about vehicle dynamics, their ability to pen a
well-built car is most impressive. The body panels are fitted to
the sort of tight margins only seen in upmarket Japanese cars of a
decade or so back and the paint finish is near flawless.
The quality carries through to the interior with
well-selected colours and materials. The exception to our eyes
(our backsides!) are that the seats are slightly on the plastiky
side and get rather hot when the car’s been standing in the sun.
All versions of the Viva are powered by a
1.8-litre four-cylinder engine that uses a twin-cam cylinder head
and four valves per cylinder. Maximum power is 89 kW and torque
peaks at 169 Nm. Both figures are about average for this class,
but in the automatic station wagon we tested performance can best
be described as adequate.
The engine is further hampered by an automatic
that doesn’t seem to pay a lot of attention to throttle position
or engine revs. Its biggest problem is that it often holds onto
high gears when lower ones are needed for decent acceleration.
The wiggly-gate automatic shift pattern is as
frustrating in the Viva as in any car and is particularly awkward
if you want to use the semi-manual Hold feature.
At only $19,490 this new Viva station wagon
provides excellent value. It has standard air conditioning, audio
that can handle an MP3 player, remote central locking and
four-wheel disc brakes. As it’s supported by the strong Holden
dealer network it’s hard to see Viva being anything other than a
success on the Australian market.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Viva 1.8-litre four-door sedan - $17,990
Viva 1.8-litre five-door hatch - $17,990
Viva 1.8-litre five-door wagon - $19,490
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Package option on all models
Air Conditioning: Standard on all models
Automatic Transmission: $2000 option on all models
CD Player: Standard on all models
Central Locking: Standard on all models
Cruise Control: Not offered
Driver Airbag: Standard on all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard on all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard on all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Holden Viva 1.8-litre
five-door wagon)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.796 litres
Configuration: Transverse, four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 9.7:1
Bore/Stroke: 80.5 x 88.2mm
Maximum Power: 89kW @ 5800rpm
Maximum Torque: 169Nm @ 3600rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 3.72:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4580mm
Wheelbase: 2600mm
Width: 1725mm
Height: 1500mm
Turning Circle: 10.4 metres
Kerb Mass: NA
Fuel Tank Capacity: 60 litres
Towing Ability: 610kg (1200kg with braked trailer)
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, offset coils springs,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Dual link, independent coil springs, anti-roll
bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PEERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 11.3 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 17.8 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
City Cycle: 9.1 L/100km
Highway Cycle: 6.5 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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