Holden Barina sedan

Holden's first ever Barina sedan is better than you might expect

Launch Review

Model: 2006 Holden Barina sedan
Road tester: Bruce Newton
Date tested: February 2006

WHAT WE LIKED
Cheap price, decent feature list
Dynamics much improved 
Interior goes upmarket

NOT SO MUCH
Engine uninspiring
Still somewhat noisy
More interior space required 

On the surface there is not much of a story to tell here. Holden has completed its Korean Barina range by adding a sedan to its lineup of Daewoo Kalos-based three and five-door hatchbacks.

But the sedan -- the first ever three-box Barina -- is in fact a generational leap ahead of the hatches, something signified by the T250 codename it was known by until its reveal at last year's Shanghai show as the Chevrolet Aveo. Kalos, one of the last cars designed by the old Daewoo, was T200.

Think of T250 as a transition car between old and new regimes. The all-new exterior was styled by Italdesign, a regular supplier to pre-GM ‘bankrupt' Daewoo. The interior, similarly bespoke, was produced post-takeover when Australian Mike Simcoe pit-stopped in Korea in 2003 on his way through to a top design post with GM in Detroit.

The result is an inoffensive exterior that is at home wearing several different badges (including the Holden Lion) in many different markets. It is significantly wider, higher and longer than the hatchback and adds a substantial 400 litre boot. It makes the 15-inch wheel-tyre combination look skimpy, as opposed to the hatch where they seem almost over-sized.

Inside there's a noticeable uplift in quality of both materials and presentation. There's still some grain mismatching and fitment issues and the way the audio head unit sinks into the dash looks a bit rough. But there is a tactile feel to button operation that pleases, while circular air-con dials, matt silver dressings and surprisingly large front chairs add a quality feel, although you would hardly call it overwhelming.

According to official measurements there is no more interior room in the sedan compared to the hatch and that can be tracked back to T250 and T200 having an identical wheelbase. In fact, underneath the touchy-feely stuff there is a lot of commonality, including the 1.6-litre four-cylinder drivetrain and MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension.

Considering the underwhelming drive experience the T200 hatches deliver, this might signal the end of the positives. But that's not the case. For T250, GM Daewoo has engineered a far stiffer body and Holden's engineers have leapt on that and a wider rear track to deliver a car with benign -- rather than asinine -- driving traits.

Where the hatch's ride degrades once the going gets rough, the sedan remains notably, and impressively, composed. If anything Holden has gone too far in the firmness of its suspension tuning, but around town it deals efficiently with repetitive bumps and refuses to lose body control at the sight of a pothole. Steering is heavier than T200, more evenly weighted and far sturdier in the face of corruptions.

There are still questions over the strength of the body because of a poor Euro NCAP crash test result for the Aveo – something GM Daewoo is disputing. More easily quantifiable is noise intrusion, which is improved from T200, but engine and tyres are still too easily heard.

The Family 1 engine is a noisy bugger and revving to the 6500rpm redline doesn't achieve a real lot. The big drivetrain ace is the four-speed auto, which manages to smooth out progress thanks to some excellent calibration. It's much preferable to the standard five-speed manual.

Vital figures for the DOHC 16-valve engine are 76kW at 5800rpm and 145Nm at 3600rpm. Manual fuel consumption is 6.9lt/100km and 7.7lt/100km for the auto. No official performance claims are made, but there is no problem keeping up with the traffic.

On pricing, however, the Barina sedan is well ahead of average. At $14,490 (add $2000 for the auto) this is typical of the value Holden is gaining from GM Daewoo. It is particularly impressive when you add in standard dual airbags, air-conditioning, six-speaker single CD audio and a full size spare tyre. ABS and alloy wheels are an $1190 option.

Such keen equipment and pricing levels are sure to mean the sedan does its bit to maintain the Korean-sourced Barina's recent record sales run. The good news story is that there are other reasons to buy this car as well.