By EWAN KENNEDY
8 November 1999

Holden Nova is a small-medium, Australian-built car with an excellent reputation for long life and low cost running. But there is one drawback to it, it’s not a Holden. The Nova is what’s known in the auto industry as a badge-engineered car, it is a Toyota Corolla, but it carries Holden badges for marketing reasons (it’s actually a bit more complicated than that, but this isn’t the place to go into the nitty gritty).

Today’s well educated car buyers are often well aware of this fact and tend to treat badge-engineering with some disdain. Sales of the copies are generally far smaller than for the originals, and resale values tend to suffer. You can look at this two ways; thinking positively you get a virtually identical car at a lower price; negatively you may find it harder to sell when it comes time to move on.

Holden did make some changes to suspension settings for the car (changes which were implemented by Toyota on its Melbourne assembly line). These give Nova a slightly sportier feel than the Corolla in keeping with Holden’s policy of building cars for the semi-enthusiast market.

You will also find minor variations in standard equipment when comparing Nova and Corolla. Obviously these will reflect your personal choices and may be enough to swing you one way or another.

The model sharing arrangement between Holden Nova and Toyota Corolla came to an end in 1997 when the Nova was replaced by the Astra, a car originating in the European GM factory operated by Opel.

Nova is a very pleasant car to drive, with surprising refinement for a vehicle of its size and price. Smoothness and quietness improved further with each new model, with the LG series Nova (October 1994-on) being the best of all.

Holden Nova handles well and can cope better than most in this class with bumpy bush roads. A sports sedan it’s not, but most owners will be more than impressed with the way it communicates through the steering and reacts on bends.

Interior room is fine for four adults, though those in the rear will suffer if the front seats are set all the way rearwards. Boot size is good and varies according to body type. Nova is sold in four-door sedan and five-door hatch format. Toyota didn’t offer Holden the option of selling a station wagon.

Engines are all four-cylinder units, with a capacity of 1.6 litres in most cases, although there were also some quicker 1.8-litre engines and a few budget 1.4-litre models. Those with fuel injection are generally better than carburettor models, but if your money won't run to it, don't be overly concerned.

All manual gearboxes follow convention in using five ratios. Gearchanging is generally light and easy but from time to time the changes will baulk through the cable system. Automatics only have three speeds in the lower cost models until 1991, from then all use a conventional four-speed unit. The four-speed really comes into its own during country driving but has advantages around town as well.

Holden operates one of the biggest dealer networks in the country, Toyota another, so servicing, repairs and spare parts will seldom cause hassles. It can be worthwhile shopping around between the two marques for the best prices, but there aren't as many decent savings as between some other shared models from other companies.

Insurance costs are generally favourable in these cars which are low-risk from the point of view of insurers. It usually pays to shop around but be sure you understand the fine print before making a decision.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Rust is not common but sometimes gets into the bottom corners of the doors and mudguards, the door sill panels and in the boot or tailgate. Also look at the fuel filler cap and the hinges of the hatch.

Carburettor engines may take a few seconds cranking before they start, but fuel injected ones should be all but immediate. The carburettor engine may idle a little roughly when cold, but should soon settle down.

Listen for a rattling sound at the front of the engine due to the crankshaft pulley key being loose. Check that the battery-charge light is out, even when the engine is idling. Look for smoke from the exhaust pipe when the engine is accelerated after having been idling for a minute or so. It can indicate serious engine wear.

Automatics should be smooth at all times, with the new four speeds being marginally better than the old three speeders. In either automatic, too long a delay in it going into gear from Neutral or Park is probably a sign of wear.

Manual gearboxes should be smooth and quiet in operation and not crunch on fast downchanges from third to second.

Drying out of the dashboard top or rear shelf probably means the car has seldom been garaged.

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