Light Car mega-test: Holden Barina

This is the third all-new global small car under the ‘new’ General Motors after the Cruze and Barina Spark.

After enduring most of the last decade with reworked and rebadged Daewoos after General Motors bought the Korean maker, one of its most important clean-sheet cars has just arrived in showrooms. And it shows… The new Barina is head and shoulders above its predecessor in every way, but frankly that isn’t much of a feat.

What’s more important is how the new Barina compares to its fellow Korean-made rivals from Kia and Hyundai – and the rest of the pack.

It should be said from the outset you’re going to read mixed reviews of this vehicle. It certainly divided our crew.

Here are the positives. The new Barina is among the best-equipped yet cheapest cars in the class (for now there is only one grade and it starts from $15,990 with manual transmission and $17,990 with auto). It comes with a digital speed display, Bluetooth, 3.5mm and USB connectivity, cruise control and alloy wheels as standard.

It is the biggest vehicle in the class in all but one dimension -- the Hyundai Accent is longer bumper to bumper but the Barina is longer and wider in the middle than each of the other cars here.  And it's one of the safest cars in the category, with six airbags and a (high, 35.43 out of 37) five-star safety rating.

The 1.6-litre engine is powerful and refined (although the comparative ‘power’ graph on Holden’s website conveniently ignores more potent rivals and the Barina’s hefty weight).

The new Barina has among the best road-holding in this class. In our slalom test, it felt like we were driving on Velcro. The grip and stability in emergency lane-change maneouvres was one of the biggest surprises of this test. (Yes, even while wearing Korean tyres. They were Hankooks by the way, which French tyre specialist Michelin had a 9.9 per cent share in – until last month. Wonder if Hankook will get to keep any of Michelin’s secret ingredients?).

The Barina’s styling inside and out is refreshingly original (designed by an Australian-sourced, Czech-born, Holden stylist in Korea, Ondrej Koromhaz). The instrument cluster was inspired by motorcycle displays. ‘Hidden’ rear door handles give it a tidier look on the outside (although some of the black plastics scuffed or became milky on our car).

The new Barina has massive storage cubbies throughout the cabin, with clever nooks for iPod cables and phone chargers.

A full-size spare tyre is a no-cost option.

The new Barina has a well-shaped steering wheel and, subjectively, felt like it had the most amount of steering reach and seat height adjustment among the gathering. It was easy to find the perfect position no matter what your body shape.

So what’s not to like? Well, despite having an above average engine, the Barina feels sluggish (even by small-car standards) and uses a bit more fuel than its peers because it’s between 100-250kg heavier than most other hatchbacks in the category.

What’s overlooked, however, is that the extra weight helped create a body structure designed to excel in the toughest side impact crash tests in the world. In North America, where the Barina is sold as the Chevrolet Sonic, it must withstand the brunt of a full-size, two-tonne-plus pick-up driving into the door at speed, to simulate someone running a red light.

The automatic transmission is all-new and the six-speed ratios help both acceleration and economy. But it’s fair to say the car would benefit from a software update to make the changes smoother and more predictive.

The light grey cabin trim with a technical grain looks good but the dominant, dark grey plastics around it are hard to the touch, feel cheap and detract from the futuristic design.

On the roads we tested, the new Barina also had a bit more road noise than the Fiesta and some others.

And then we came back to the Barina’s aces: its roominess, its equipment, its road-holding and its price. At $17,990 the Barina is the second cheapest car in this test, even though the price jumps $500 once metallic paint is added. (Most other brands charge between $315 and $495 for a coat that glistens.)

In essence, the Barina isn’t the type of car that usually gets journalists excited – but it is a solid, safe, well-equipped vehicle worthy of any small-car shopping list. Especially if $17,990 is your budget.

>> Ford Fiesta