Holden Barina 2013

28/3/2013

With so many small  cars to choose from these days in Australia the consumer is spoiled for choice.

Mazda 3 and Hyundai i 30 are two of the most popular. But another relative newcomer has the goods to impress even more. Holden's new Barina comes in  hatch and sedan. I drove the top spec CDX sedan which to my eye is one of the better looking and cohesively styled cars in its class.

The ride comfort belies its small size, absorbing road irregularities like a much larger car, and better, dare I say it, than even some of those. The seats help in this area.. nicely shaped and with just the right amount of firmness.

The 1.6 litre four mated to a 6 speed autobox is a bit low on torque but will respond quickly given a bit of stick with the accelerator.However it's a tad vocal when pushed... not unpleasant, you just know when it's working hard.
Holden has launched its new smart phone interface screen which allows numerous apps to be accessed through the system, as well as the usual radio and bluetooth settings.The new interface will soon find its way into the  upgraded Cruze and later Commodore as well.
From the driver's seat the view is panoramic, and airy.
There's no feeling of confinement or claustrophobia.
 However being tall there's very little legroom for a passenger behind me.
Large 17   inch wheels and smart alloys really make the car stand out.
NVH is well taken care of the the Barina  is a relatively quiet cruiser on the highway(depending on the road surface. There's more noise on coarse chip bitumen, but that's the case with many other cars.) Around town it's very civilised.. Auto locking doors,and auto headlights are just a couple of features that help make the Barina one of the most refined in its class.
Boot space on the sedan is enormous.. more than enough for two or three large cases.

The Barina clings to corners with little fuss and the electric steering had good feedback.There are some hard plastics where elbows meet the doors, and there's no lid on the centre cup holding console, but they are minor quibbles.

I liked the Barina when I attended the launch of the car and was impressed with it then.
The latest versions are icing on the cake.
Peter Sellen