2009 Holden Epica range
July 16, 2008 by George Skentzos
Holden has refreshed its mid-sized Epica sedan line-up which now offers a new diesel engine, along with a raft of added equipment as standard across the range.
The new CDX and CDXi variants are now available with an economical 2.0-litre diesel engine, while the Epica also becomes one of the first to receive a six-speed automatic transmission in its segment.
Producing 110kW of power and 320Nm, the new diesel engine is certainly a refreshing alternative to the current 115kw 2.5-litre six-cylinder petrol engine on offer.
Fuel consumption is also considerably improved for the diesel, using just 7.6L/100km compared to a staggering 9.3L/100km for the petrol model.
“There’s no doubt that when coupled with our sharp pricing strategy, the new Epica ticks all the right boxes. This is a car that demands attention.”
The additional safety of ESP and curtain airbags have also been included as standard across the range to compliment the existing ABS, Traction Control and Electronic Brake Force Distribution.
The new Epica also receives a few other minor tweaks, which include tilt & telescopic steering, a new grille and rear fascia, European-styled dual flip keys and unique alloy wheels on both the CDX and CDXi variants.
Pricing
- Epica CDX 2.5-litre petrol (6 speed auto) from $27,990
- Epica CDX 2.0-litre diesel (6 speed auto) from $29,990
- Epica CDXi 2.5-litre petrol (6 speed auto) from $30,990
- Epica CDXi 2.0-litre diesel (6 speed auto) from $32,990
- Epica CDXi Optional Leather Pack $2,000
Print it: 
I’m not a fan of average Korean made cars, but I can bet 99% of the people making comments about the Epica haven’t driven or owned one.
Would love to hear from someone who actually owns one.
There are plenty of lemon Commodores, Falcons, Territorys, Crewmans out there that don’t get as much of a hard time as a rebadged Daewoo that will probably worth more in 3 years time than a VE of FG…
If i was going to sink this low to buy this crap daewoo i would rather buy the hyundi as its much better than daewoo if i had to get korean car that is
at least hyundai doesnt take its buyers for granted i mean look at the genesis n the USA they are saying that it is a genuie competititor and for 38k for the V8 i would be saying that aswell.The i30 is such a great lkittle car [exceptin base model i have a thing against cars with black door handles].
The problem with the Insignia is that it is even bigger than a Mondeo. Reports say that a cut down Insignia platform will go to GM/Daewoo to form the basis of the replacement.
The petrol is rubbish. Slow, gutless and thirsty.
But, & I dont believe i’m saying this about a Daewoo Tosca the diesel kind of makes sense.
its cheapish, has got enough torque and uses fuel as if its all about to runout.
You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
Pablo what are you on….”ALL” EPICAS are RUBBISH!
You hit the nail right on the head Sitfire!
And you also “can’t make honey with flies.”
Daewoo fails everyone who enjoys driving great vehicles, but will keep the Holden brand lover only satisfied with “NO FRILLS” motoring…
Hey Westy, When did you last drive one?
So we all hate the Epica.LOL.
Between the Camry and Epica the numbers are close on all counts except price. Epica is subtantially cheaper if u opt a Camry up to Epica standard spec.
IMO the Epica styling is better than some.
Reliabilty durability well that remains to be seen.
Plenty of 10 year old Daewoos running around. If they were such unreliable heaps of shit given their new price they would have been scrapped by now.Knew a guy with an Espero and only prob was the regulator on the alternator failing a couple of times over the years(similar to same prob in old magnas were alternator close to exhaust manifold. Neighbour had an early Nubira for about 8 years and covered 140,000klms with only a niggly electrical fault to do with the radio and dash lighting that was resolved eventually due to a wire earthing.
it’s interesting to note after following the caradvice website for a while it tends to be the usual suspects who are against it and the few people on here who actually appear to know what they are talking about are actually saying “hey its not a great car but its also not all thaaat bad”
just an interesting observation
Duck “…Oh! another one also is that you can not bring the centre seat down for a armrest (as I know). And the last one is there is no rear door pockets and no storage area below where the rear air con comes out.
…”
Serious? – My aurion comes with all that as standard except that extra tiny storage below the rear air vents.
Seems the Camry is really a cut down here in Australia.
Richo – Noticed it as well, especially in the Toyota vs Ford debates in various article comments lol, same ol same ol. Oh well this article will die out and people move on to the next…
The best thing is Richo, all these people bag the car without ever driving the thing! How can you bag a car like many do without first driving the thing?? TRDs are another great example. It continues to surprise me how many people chip in with more than “looks bad” or “adding diesel is a good move” without even driving the car…
I agree Richo, its not that bad, but then again, its not that good either. Pablo when was the last time you drove one of these?
WTF !!!!!!!!, are we on the same page here or is there people around the table who genuinely feel sorry for our spiraling sale’s, out of touch company called GM OPEL DAEWOO HOLDEN..
GM Holden means more to Korean slave labour !!!!!!
Note to Holden – give it up. The vitriol being directed towards the Crapica from all qurters in this blog should be enough for even your most thick-headed executives to realise it is a LOST LOST cause. Bring on the AWD and FWD Insignia and all will be forgiven. Please please PLEASE.
Silky, I haven’t driven one, so I don’t feel justified in bagging the shit out of it like most on here.
AGAIN, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM SOMEONE WHO OWNS ONE TO GET AN ACCURATE OPINION…
Pablo i’ve driven one, they’re crap. Gutless, rattles, average handling, and it was an 06 model 2.0 litre 6 with 45000 kms on the clock, sold it for $13000 6 months ago. i worked at a car yard and the only reason we got it was we needed some stock. No VE or FG will depriciate like a korean made car.
You couldnt pay me enough to own it. Camry is a far, far, far better buy.
The accurate Question is Pablo, who would want to own a Korean product that is so hated, even Holden fans hate it, does the Crapica light your fire, lacklustre reviews, and dismal news does put alot of people off…
Don’t forget the type of people buying this car won’t have heard of CarAdvice or Wheels though.
Pablo,
No I haven’t driven one. Don’t want to and don’t care to even look at one. Have you driven a Commodore, a Falcon, a Territory etc which you bagged earlier ? They are light years ahead of this Korean jobbie. Light years!
WESTY :)
i think my point has just been proven!!! :D
IT’S REAL EASY.DIESEL EPICA=REPMOBILE.STATE AND PRIVATE BUYERS.TRYING TO OUT CAMRY A CAMRY(BIG FLEET SELLER).IF YOUR A DRIVER,STAY AWAY.BUY A HONDA EURO,MAZDA 6,COMMODORE SV6…ANYTHING ELSE.IF YOU WANT A QUIET,CHEAP A 2 B CAR,AND DIESEL FITS THE BILL,WELL…..
Glen, Fair point.
Just wanted to hear from someone who has experienced one.
Holden will no doubt drop the Epica if sales figures are crap. Goes the same for Barina, Viva & maybe Captiva.
When will you review one CarAdvice?
If the mere mention of an update causes this many comments I wonder what an actual review would do!
If an owner of one of these pieces of crap parked it in an area full of true red-blooded Holden fans, they’d rip the Holden badges of it as they would consider it sacrilege to put their beloved symbol on such a piece of shit. While my blood runs blue I can see their point.
A review will not change perceptions here, the scar is very deep and sadly be so hard for Gm Daewoo Holden to heal such a big merit deprived blow..
AC COBRA – the scar is only deep on the faces of small minded wankers. Most of the rest of the car buying public look past past badge perceptions and judge a car on what it is. How else do you explain so many hyundai’s and kia’s being sold despite past crimes against the automtive world? You lot just need to open your minds a little, even the motoring experts say the epica isn’t all that bad, its only mindless wankers on these forums who do that. Yes they haven’t sold many, but they have also had supply issues due to the fact they skipped the 2008 model year to go straight from 07 stock to the 09 model as seen here. Most of the toolbags on this forum though just convieniantly ignore this fact (doesn’t support their argument).
I’m not an advocate of the epica, nor am i intending on ever buying one, but they are no where near as bad as you lot are making out, and for the average aussie family buyer they will make a perfectly acceptable alternative to the likes of the hyundai sonata, kia magentis and toyota camry, even if it does have the polish of a mazda 6, honda accord or ford mondeo.
even if it doesN’T have the polish of the mazda 6, honda accord or ford mondeo is what i meant to say
hmmm I’m now kicking myself for getting the TDCi Mondeo if I was not to loose too much on a trade in I would get this fantastic GM product as GM said “The Mondeo Is Overpriced” I should have listened
laurie
Finally the nerve centre has struck a chord, the bottom line is this car is below standard against a relatively much better competition or medium class vehicle, Epica has been out long enough for the majority to grasp some logic not to just buy Daewoo Holden because it has a Holden badge, I have and will convince as many people I know not to buy Epica and all daewoo platform models, as for the dismal sale’s figure, wishing to believe you that supply is down but demand is high, please prove this statement I like to read facts not fiction..
why do i need to prove it AC? who really gives two sh1ts? well you obviously, but besides you? You do realise that all future GM daeweoo products will actually be built off GM platforms, not daewoo platforms. The next epica will be built off the insignia platform, the next viva off the next astra’s platform, and the next barina off the next opel corsa platform. So what are you really proving by running around like a big self appointed hero convincing people not to buy holden? Well besides proving your a wanker with too much time on his hands?
I wonder AC, when your running around pleading with people who don’t really give a sh1t in the first place for them not to buy holden/daewoo’s.. do you have tears in your eyes? are you really that upset by all of this? Holden are a company, trying to make a profit. If YOU don’t like it, then YOU don’t buy it! It’s not like this evil conglomeration are out trying to trick people into buying crap cars, people have freedom of choice in this country to buy whatever they damn well want! Hyundai excels where sold by the ship load despite the horribleness!
Holden even offered a money back guarantee when the epica was first released! NO SH1T! They actually would take the car back and give you your money back in full if after 5,000km’s you where satisfied with your epica! Damn those evil bastards trying to trick people!! Obviously the car suddenly changes it’s stripes and starts being crap just after 5,000km’s then and thats why no one took them back! No wonder your in tears AC…
Richo,
Fortunately all us ‘Toolbags’ can have our own opinion. You have your opinion as condascending as it is and we all have ours. If you don’t agree then so be it. But no need to get in a hissy fit because of it. I don’t like the car and I have said so as have many others. You are in the minority.
WESTY :)
Westy, and all you blokes aren’t having a hissy fit at holden? So all you guys get to have a hissy fit about the fact you don’t like holden but i don’t get to have a hissy fit too? And mate if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen… i’m only calling people “toolbags” when they act like tools and go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on like a broken bloody record about daewoo’s… seriously everyone else on this site are over it!
Right on WESTY,, :-) HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and westy don’t go thinking you in the majority either mate.. if you go back through all of the anti-holden threads on this website you will see that its the same old names popping up over and over again! There is a large number of people who frequent this website pretty much solely to find articles on holden that they can carry on like pork chops about!
couldn’t think of a come back eh AC? oh well, i’ll move on then
ahh fine i’ll appologise for carry on a bit about all of this, i’m just getting a little sick of the continual anti-holden crap that continually circulates these forums. It’s the same old boring and tiresome arguments coming up over and over again and i am absolutely 100% sure i’m not the only person getting sick of it. Thats the only reason i lashed out. If you really where offended AC or westy then i’m sorry but at the end of the day, its just an interent site, and yeah i know i should say that to myself too sometimes!
Richo Says:
July 18th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
ahh fine i’ll appologise for carry on a bit about all of this, i’m just getting a little sick of the continual anti-holden crap that continually circulates these forums.
Personally I feel it has nothing to do with Holden.
If any manufacturer came out with a car like this they would get bagged and their reputation would be shot for a very very long time.
Didn’t Hyundai get bagged with the Excel? Didn’t Mitsubishi get bagged with the early model Magnas?
Hyundai is just getting over that cheap and nasty image and Mitsubishi couldn’t overcome it even though the 380 was a great car. Too many people got stung with early model Magnas. Hell every single one I see puffs smoke and the engine sounds like its ready to blow up. This is for
alot of it is over the top bullsh1t tho Yianni and what is wrong with standing up against that? My parents actually owned an early model magna and found it to be a significantly better car then the 94 model camry they replaced it with! As for them all puffing smoke, well most cars from the ’80’s are puffing smoke these days, even my poor long suffering ‘89 nissan patrol! Geez it’s a bloody good old bitch though that patrol.. if anyone is every thinking about buying a GQ patrol, just do it!
but my point still remains though, if someone wants to buy a certain car, regardless of what you may personally think about it, do they really deserve to be ridiculed over it? Statements like “anyone who buys one of these over a mazda 6 is insane” implies that anyone who buys an epica deserves to be ridiculed and i don’t accept that.
Just think about how you would feel if someone sat you down at a BBQ and started at you about how the car you bought is crap and you must be some kind of an idiot for buying it…
Well said Richo. Remember the money back deal u mention.
And Glen the 2litre is a four cylinder and the 2.5 litre is a six cylinder and is a porsche designed straight six.
Everybody talks resale and how Korean cars depreciate. Hey they are cheaper to start with and besides if u are worried about resale don’t buy a brand new car it’s that simple. If u buy “any” new car and trade it every three or four years you are going to loose a lot of value.
your right realcars, it is a porsche engine, although i will just correct you that the 2.0ltr was also a 6, not a 4, but otherwise your spot on
Richo,
I will keep it simple and my last reply. All I said is I don’t like the Epica! No mention of OTHER holden brands. The Epica mate. It’s that simple. I don’t like it. That’s it, I can say no more! I like to be able to comment in a free for all forum and will continue to do so at Car Advice. I can stand more heat than you have given out as it would take a lot more than that to ruffle my feathers.
The great thing about life is people have their own opinions. I own a Territory AWD. Have had zero issues with it after owning it for 12 months and 27000 kays. I have Holden friends, Toyota friends etc that say oh that is such a piece of shite. I also get people who like it as well. I don’t take it to heart as I love the car. If I choose to say I dislike the Epica or any other car I reserve the right to do so. It’s my opinion.
The engines are built by GM Daewoo, they were only designed by Porsche, all in all not making them ground breaking as it shows with output performance figures indicating below par.
Hyunday Excel? What is wrong with Excel..? This car is extremely reliable. I have owned this car for 10 years and done 250,000 km..Besides routine maintenance, I have had any problem !!!!
to be fair though Westy, i wasn’t talking to you was i? I was talking to AC, you just chose to stick your nose in. But anyway i take your point, and i wasn’t really refering to you when i was talking about the people on here who just trawl for holden threads to go on and on about. As a regular visiter to this site which i know you to be, i’m sure you too would have seen this problem before. I have seen sites about the commodore being overtaken by daewoo bashing! I’ve never seen the commodore being made by daewoo before…
on this site you can be guaranteed of one thing, and thats that if there is a holden thread it will be spammed up with daewoo bashing. Well that and the guarantee that any ford write up on this site will be massively glowing… but the constant holden bashing bit does get very tiring westy, i’m sure you can agree
Richo I believe it was 1500kms or a month and you had to have purchased a vehicle of the same or greater value. Now in all fairness, that means you would have to have financed TWO cars to get rid of the Epica, don’t see most people being able to do that mate.
I have driven one, the rattles were there(ok, in good company there) the dash was loose, yes, actually loose. On the flats it was okay, motor was quite, not much power but then it wasnt built for that,. However, on the hills the tranny just didnt know wtf was happening, up, down, up baaaa.
Also importantly, if its a family car, go plump ya butt in the back, that tunnel running through really makes this a four seater only. Fuel economy wasn’t bad, tho with this sorta performance its never gonna be an issue.
Each to their own though.