Summary:
Great car with good performance
Faults:
The horn buttons didn't work after picking up the car from the dealership. The first 1500 km service fixed it.
Nothing has gone wrong with the car.
General Comments:
The car is great to drive. The steering has a good feel to the road, very direct at times.
First and second gear is a little notchy at times, but gear shift is good most of the time.
The Barina SRI based on the Spanish made OPEL Corsa is a good car, for a small car it has good room. The boot is great when you lay rear seats flat for a 2 tier boot.
Some options:
Traction control, it has a good feel
ABS brakes, with the Dunlop 16" 195/45 tires - it handles very well in the wet and stops just as well
Cruise control, very nice
Electric windows and side mirrors
Sports suspension, handles great
The New 2004 Model SRI has a redesigned front spoiler and grill; it's not as low as the old one
Interior design is good, Air con and dual air bag.
Overall it's a much underrated car, I am very happy with.
If it had around 110-120 kw (20% to 30% more power) it would be a serious Hot Hatch.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th May, 2004
25th Aug 2005, 21:18
Glad to see you are pleased with your Barina. You have got good taste when it comes to cars. Good News is Holden will still be importing the Barina in, The Bad News is instead of it being an Opel Corsa, It now will be Korean and a Daewoo Kalos Badge Enginerred. Cheaper for Potential New Car Buyers out there bad news for you with your SRI. I bet there will be an angry mob outside the Holden Dealers demanding why they changed the source of Barina from Spain to Korea.
21st Nov 2005, 03:54
But wait, it gets better. Holden, in their very finite wisdom, dropped the Opel Astra and it too is a re-badged 5 year old Korean. And they've called it the Viva!
7th May 2006, 06:43
Just have to say guys, I bought the "all new Holden Barina" and I am very pleased with it, it handles well, around town and in the wet, got all the bells and whistles, for not much cash, electric windows, mp3 player, rear spoiler etc... my only gripe, is that it takes a bit to get going, but then it flies quickly, I love it, so give it a chance, hey!!! the brakes are fantastic, nice and firm, it's great, OK it's a botch job, of a Daewoo, but we've gotta give it a chance, don't we.
28th Jul 2007, 04:38
I would be all for giving the "all new" Barina a chance, if it weren't for the fact that a) it's an old car being touted as "all new" (if that isn't false representation, it cuts VERY close IMO), b) it, as you yourself say, is a botch-up of a Daewoo (the fact that it's even possible to botch up a Daewoo amazes me!) and most importantly c) where the Euro model had a 4 star NCAP rating, the Kalos/Barina rates a pathetic 2 stars. If you ever needed proof that cheapness comes at a price, there it is right there.