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By
EWAN KENNEDY
8 May 2006
Nowhere is life tougher for those selling new cars
than at the bottom end of the Australian market. The introduction of the
low-priced Barina in December 2005 really set the cat amongst the sub
$15,000 crowd, and the addition of the Barina sedan in February 2006 has
further caused consternation amongst competitors.
Barina sedan’s price of just $14,490
introduced a new level of affordability in Australian cars. Taking
inflation into account there has never been a cheaper four-door
passenger car in this country. That price is for a five-speed manual,
the four-speed automatic transmission adds $2000, making it
substantially more expensive from a percentage point of view than the
manual. On-road costs have to be added to these prices.
Though the Barina is built down to a
price it comes with a good range of standard equipment. This included
air conditioning, an MP3 compatible CD stereo, remote central locking,
as well as power windows and door mirrors.
The secret to the little Holden's value
for money isn’t complicated, it comes from Korea rather than from
Europe as was the case with the previous Barina. Holden has pushed
through an exceptionally tough deal with the GM-Daewoo factory to
further bring down the price. Add that to the fact that Holden holds an
almost iconic status amongst Australians and it’s not hard to
understand why the Barina is selling up a storm.
Our road test car for the past week has
been a Barina manual sedan and we’ve come away pretty impressed with
it. It probably goes without saying that a car at this price is no
sports sedan but for the average driver it should prove more than
adequate in the way it acts.
Ride comfort is generally good, but
handling is on the soft side and there's not a great deal of feedback
through the steering wheel. Road grip is fine and the Barina should be
safe enough if not pushed to its not-particularly-high limits. There was
a strong cross wind at times during our initial test drive earlier this
year and this knocked the Barina around a fair bit. Not to the extent of
being dangerous but you should be aware of the possible hassle.
Interestingly, the Barina sedan isn’t
identical to the hatchbacks, it’s virtually a generation in front of
them and is likely to form the basis of the new hatchback range within
the next couple of years. Though there are styling similarities between
the two bodies, the interior of the sedan is completely different from
that of the hatches. Much of the interior design was done by
Australians, usually working in Korea, though some work was done in
Australia. There is also a fair bit of engineering input by Aussies so
there's a good degree of local flavour in the car.
Barina sedan is significantly longer and
wider and slightly taller than the five-door hatchback. This gives it
good interior space for four adults if they are willing to compromise
slightly on legroom. There are lap-sash safety belts for five occupants.
This little Holden has a huge boot with a
good opening that allows you to load plenty of luggage. The rear
seatbacks can be folded down in a 60/40 manner to further improve
carrying capacity.
Power comes from a 1.6-litre
four-cylinder engine that works well enough without being really
outstanding in any areas. It is willing to rev but feels slightly
strained if you push it to the top end of its range.
During our test period the manual sedan
typically used about seven to eight litres per hundred kilometres in
country driving. This increased to nine to ten litres per hundred in
suburban/city driving. These figures are about average for this class.
We would expect the four-speed auto to use about five to ten per cent
more fuel than the manual.
Build quality is good without being
outstanding and we had no problems with squeaks or rattles, even on some
pretty rough roads.
Braking is by front discs and rear drums.
The little Holden is relatively light and this setup is adequate for
normal driving. ABS is an extra cost option at $1190 and comes as part
of a package with four alloy wheels (the spare wheel is steel).
This is a wise move by Holden as few
buyers are willing to pay for ABS if it’s an option. This way if
people want alloy wheels in their Barina they are forced into the extra
safety of the antilock braking system.
This little Holden can be used as a
family car for those with three pre-teen children and with the current
cost of petrol we may see some smart buyers taking this direction. It
will be interesting to watch the car market over the next few months to
see just what happens in this car class as people struggle with rising
fuel bills.
MODEL RANGE
Barina 1.6-litre three-door hatch -
$12,990
Barina 1.6-litre five-door hatch - $14,490
Barina 1.6-litre four-door sedan - $14,490
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: $1190 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: Not offered
SPECIFICATIONS (Holden Barina 1.6-litre
four-door sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.598 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 9.5:1
Bore/Stroke: 79.0 x 81.5mm
Maximum Power: 76kW @ 5800rpm
Maximum Torque: 145Nm @ 3600rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 3.94:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4310mm
Wheelbase: 2480mm
Width: 1710mm
Height: 1505mm
Turning Circle: 10.1 metres
Kerb Mass: 1126kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 45 litres
Towing Ability: NA
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Torsion beam, trailing arms, coil springs
Front Brakes: Ventilated Disc
Rear Brakes: Drum
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 15.9 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 19.7 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 91RON
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 6.9 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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