2008 Holden Barina hatchback details
August 20, 2008 by Karl Peskett
Update: New Holden Barina Review
You may remember a little while ago, we had a sneak preview of Holden’s updated Barina. Well today, Holden has released specs and pics of the latest incarnation of its budget battler.
Sporting a refreshed exterior and interior, the Barina now comes with the added benefit of side airbags to bolster its oft criticised safety rating.
From the inside, the Barina now has a revised instrument panel, console and new fabric trim. Exterior-wise, a more Euro look has been adopted, and it reminds us a little of the Skoda Roomster. Powering the car is a 1.6-litre, 76kw, 145Nm engine, which returns a 7-litre/100km fuel consumption when mated to a manual gearbox, and 7.6L/100km in automatic form.
The 2009 Barina hatch begins at $14,490, with a choice of five new colours in the range. ABS is still an option however, but is now bundled with alloy wheels in a $1,190 package.
“With three body styles, striking exterior and interior design improvements, Barina will appeal to a broad range of customer groups. Add side impact airbags and the package becomes even more attractive,” said Philip Brook, GM Holden Director of Marketing.
“Barina represents great value for money in a growing segment of the market that appreciates fuel economy and the convenience of a small vehicle.”
Holden Barina recommended retail pricing
• 3-Door Hatch starting from $14,490
• 4–Door Sedan starting from $15,990
• 5-Door Hatch starting from $15,990
• Optional ABS and alloy wheels (4) pack $1,190
Print it: 
REALCARS, How do you explain cars like the Yaris, Mazda 2, Peugeot 207, Fiat Punto and 500 all getting 5 star safety records? You can also get a 1.5L engine in the yaris and varuous other uprated engines in all the others. For example 130kw in the 207gti, or any of the diesels available in this class.
Your a tool mate, if you had a clue or gave constructive critisism I would respect you but you don’t.
Realcars is a nob Jimbo, easier to just ignore him I think.
Jimbo if u honestly believe that a car the size of a Yaris can achieve a five star safety rating in real world situations then u possibly believe in the tooth fairy too.LOL.
Just skip this class altogether it’s just not worth it.
I’ll go as far to say that these micro cars should be banned from our roads.
1.5 Yaris. Well, I could buy an i30 with change!
Mark,
I would suggest that “Mike” does care. Probably more sales the better. (Well what Holden salesman/PR wouldn’t)
Please would some people stop offering uninformed, misguided opinions. Boggy and Bret, you’re made to sound like Tweedledum and Tweedledumber… Holden Captiva, NOT “Captive”, is Holden’s first totally new Australian designed but offshore built (GM Daewoo, NOT Kia) car. Quote -
“Extensively tested by Australian engineers, Captiva was also designed by two Australians – Michael Simcoe and Max Wolff – in Korea.”
Find the truth here: http://www.designawards.com.au.....tionID=678
REALCARS, if you in a Falcon or a Yaris and you get hit by a truck, either way your toast.
But to get 5 stars the car needs to crumple in the right places and hold its shape in the right places. And the cars I mentioned do that. Commodores still do not!
I would rather be in my 207 in a crash than a Commodore.
An i30 is a great car but it starts at $19990 and a Yaris 1.5 starts at $16990. Whats you change then champ -$3000.
Don’t you mean “chump” Jimbo :)
The VE can never get a 5 star safety rating as it cant meet the minimum frontal offset test requirements. They designed for looks not core engineering. Now they need to spend another billion :)
LOL..Mark, agreed
Jimbo…….the i30 is a 5 door and a Yaris yrs 1.5 5 door costs around 21 grand drive away if you’re lucky, not 17 like you said!
Your right Carl but the original comparison was a 3 door Yaris and a 3 door Barina, then REALCARS started talking up the i30 as an alternative.
My apologies to you both i stand corrected
Fair enough Jimbo just thought i’d mention that the i30 and Yaris are very similarly priced of course in my opinion the i30 diesel will leave the Yaris for dead!
I love a good debate … and have been enjoying reading some of the comments here … must say anyone who says that the Barina is a Merc is prolly high on pills – duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudeee!
WTF- Barina is a Daewoo Kalos!
The Smart car is safer than the Barina, so well that should put to rest the arguments about bigger cars being safer.
I appreciate that the Smart car is a lot more expensive too, but when you compare size its smaller.
Commodore is a 4 star rated car…. fiat 500, mazda 2 etc are 5 star rated cars.
Holden went for the big woop about spending a billion bucks on the commodore, pity they couldnt spend ten bucks on the barina to get a better car.
Anyone knows whats the 0-60mph for this Barina?
Si1982……you make some valid points BUT just like a good heavy weight will always beat a good feather weight you must compare a large 5 star car with a small 5 star car and in front end accident with a semi trailer you can guess what i’d rather be in………….yes you guessed it the semi!!!!!
Chump/champ very good.LOL
Yes I would prefer to be in the semi too but failing that would prefer to be in a Commodore than a micro car despite the laboratory crash ratings.
I doubt that a five star Yaris or Pug would result in less injury than a four star Commodore/Aurion in an actual crash.
—and that look of resignation.LOL.
Realcars…….my point to all the believers that a micro car with a 5 star rating is just as safe as a large car with the same rating is that if the semi is safer than all of them THEN “size” does matter!!!!!
REALCARS, just food for thought: If a car does not perform under controlled laboratory conditions what makes you think it will perform under uncontrolled real world conditions?
Just think about that for a while. Consider the logic it may save your life one day.
I’ll take my chances in my Pug that “DID” perform in controlled Lab conditions.
And I would also prefer to be in the Semi!
Also I think my Pug is pretty cool, no look of resignation from me. I could have got a slightly used Commie or an Aurion for the money I paid.
I did not because I didn’t need a car that big and I did not want an anonymous yawn making bore of bores of a car.
Your right Carl size does matter but this is not always the case. For example my 1.3t Pug vs a 1.7 Commie. I think I would be better off in the Pug in a crash. A semi on the other hand……..
The larger the car the greater the room for error in a real life crash i.e I am sure the micro would deteriorate at a greater rate once the laboratory thresholds are exceeded in a real accident for the same reason that it is a lot easier to make a Large car safe.
Anyway, the Pug isn’t really a micro in the Jap sense as it is actually half a class above as most of the Euros are despite similar engine displacement.
Do ANCAP do any testing for rear end collision and would any of the micro hatches pass any criteria in this regard? I doubt it.
Roger,
Please get a clue and stop offering uninformed, misguided opinions.
Captiva IS Designed and Built by Daewoo in Korea.
OK so a couple of Aussies helped out with the styling (referd to as “designed” in the article that you linked to), but you would note that even that was done within the Daewoo offices.
OK so it was “tested by Australian engineers”. How does that change it’s origins?
Sorry, but I’m in engineering and when we talk “design” we don’t mean “style” we mean “engineering design”.
To suggest that Captiva is a Holden design is just plain ludicrous. Please stop regurgitating carefully selected advertising propaganda, and trying to pass it off as some kind of truth.
Now I’m not saying wether it’s a good or bad thing (you may be aluding to something there) but:
Captiva IS Designed, Engineered and Built by Daewoo in Korea.
crash ratings are only really comparible amongst other vehicles in its class.
you are silly to think that you are just as safe in a 5 star micro as you would be in a 5 star large car (family class)
sure its about the crumple happening the right way, but if you have 1/2 the space for the crumple thingy to happen, somethings gotta give.
and whilst on comparing cars within their class,
has anyone really compared the barina fairly within its class for quality???
everything in this class for around the same money is just as bad.
if the barina had better safety credentials, it would easily be a better car than the Getz.
compare a few in their class guys and you will be surprised like i was.
Carl,
dont you own a Yaris??
dont you too complain about the fuel economy??
dont you say its actually like 7.5L/100k which would but it no better than the barina economy.
small cars arent really as good for economy as majority think (apart from the diesels)
The Captiva is one stylish SUV IMO. Given that GM have owned Daewoo for a while and before that lent their old designs to Daewoo and that the Epica,Barina etc are marketed soley as GM products it follows that GM would have to have substantial design input in much the same way and similar extent HYUNDAI influences Kia. In both cases wholly owned subs of the other.
Same deal with Ford and Jaguar during their master/ slave arrangement.
Andrew,
100% correct on being unable to compare across vehicle classes.
Crumple zones and airbags are all about dissipating energy.
Smaller cars have less mass and therefore less energy to dissipate in a crash. They therefore need lighter crumple zone elements to dissipate that energy.
Larger cars, with more mass must have larger, stronger crumple zone elements.
Unfortunately for the ocupants of smaller cars, what that means is the energy is dissapated from the large car into the small car before it’s own crumple zones begin to work.
Effectively then, a 4 star large car will usually win out in an argument with a 5 star small car. Trees however usually win all arguments.
I agree with you Andrew about Daewoo vs Hyundai in terms of Quality.. I mean there are a number of areas where the Captiva is better than the Tucson.
It;s just that nearly everyone on this topic is assuming because its from Korea its an inferior quality product.. Yet look at simialr products from Japan.. Daihatsu for example even though its owned by the worlds wealthiest car company Toyota some of its cars are as unsafe as unreliable as ugly and poorly built as Daewoo is believed to be
I also nted that you compared The barina with a car within the same class which proves that you aren’t a Toyota fan
Hi Andrew M…….Yes i did own a Yaris but got rid of it earlier this year after regretting the day i bought it!!!!!
Realcars,
I’m not casting aspersions one way or another, I was just answereing a question from Boggy, and correcting the mistaken belief by Roger that the CaptivA (Roger it was just a bludy typo earlier) was an Australian designed car.
Holden is GM, so is Daewoo.
Holden took the lead design on VE in Australia, Daewoo designed CaptivA in Korea – both are 100% GM.
GM head office dictated the VE’s key dimensions (so that it would meet their global requirements) does that mean that the VE Commodore was designed in America?
Lest we forget, Daewoo went bankrupt selling some of this stuff, and now GM is in – its still a rose by any other name guys. Dont get carried away by the engineering input apparently put in by Holden, its mostly BS. For example, did you know that the Captiva is one of pooer vehicles in its class when braking on dirt..lot of good old aussie engineering there, right, wrong!
But then to be frank, I dont know if GM are partic good at engineering and design anyway, maybee Daewoo is a step up?
First the colarado article and now this! I know CA do not except kick backs from manufacturers but its certainly seems like you were having a very good day when you were writing these two. What happened to your more critical view? If i wanted to read this bs i would head over to the Holden website. Im sorry guys but very dissapointing….
why do they bother writing up on this POS?
One of the Head designers at GM is Mike Simcoe who designed the VT Commodore and the Monaro before being promoted to Head of design of the Asia Pacific region; which includes Korea and therefore spent time at Daewoo helping with the Design of the Captiva – trying to give them a more Edgy somewhat European look.
Now at GM HO in the US Mike has alot of influence as well as the final say as to how both current and future GM products throughout the world will look..
On a recent visit to Oz with other GM CEOs including Bob Lutz; whilst he cooled down any speculation as to a next gen monaro Mike did like the idea of a compact hatch/coupe [of which there are a couple of CGIs around the place]possibly the same size as the soon to be released Torana…. A9-X anyone?
Hey guys, just picked up a brand spanking new Barina yesterday and I couldn’t be happier, I love it.
My girlfriend has owned her new Barina for 15 months and said it’s the most reliable and economical car she has owned as well.
Both of us would recommend a Barina to anyone.
As for some of the guys on here who think they know it all, go screw yourselves fellas…..see ya :)
Bret,
you just explained the pyhsics of it.
i dont see how some cant see that even before having to go into that.
i still reckon a 4 star large car would easily out do a 5 star smallie though.
you cant tell me a small car door skin is that good.
when you sit in a small car you sit a lot closer to the outer side of the vehicle, and the panels are much much thinner.
its like packing a coffee mug in a box with scrunched newspaper in it versus one with out scrunched newspaper in it,
and dropping them both.
with out the news paper, there is nothing to absorb any of the impact and the force will go straight on to the mug/passenger
small cars have their place, sure,
but dont for one minute try and tell me it is an uncompromised substitute for a large car
Jo, just because you bought one because your friend has been happy with hers doesn’t make the Barina the best car in its class. If your friend had been smart enough to buy a Yaris, Mazda2 or even a Fiesta, they would probably have made the same claims. ie most reliable, economical ect and then been happy to recommend one of those.
You all need to stop bagging the Barina, seriously. If you don’t like it then don’t buy one no one is forcing you. I am about to pick one up and I am absolutely thrilled. So how about you all stop being so negative and realise that just because it’s not to your taste doesn’t mean it is a useless car. I worked at a Holden dealership and there was never any problems with Barina’s they are extremely popular! So how about you all get off your high horse and stop being unnecessarily nasty. The day that half the people on this forum design and mass produce an equally popular small car is the day that I will really take on any of these pathetic comments. In the mean time how about you all get over it!
SEAT Ibiza copy much? at the front anyways.
Jane, I would say they are popular because being cheap n nasty and particular these buyers are not driving enthusiast, otherwise they would test drive other makes and models, not just supporting one badge recommended by advertising, boyfriend’s and one eyed dad’s…
AC Cobra, thank you kindly for your typical excuse. I will have you know that I did shop around and I chose the Barina….did I at any point state that everyone should buy one?? No I did not. Do you think that maybe I am not an driving ‘enthusiast’, that I am simply a young woman looking for a stylish small car that will get me to work each day? Do you think that most people who are looking to buy the Barina are in the same boat as me? I dont want a fuel guzzling 4WD and this is a reliable small car from a reliable company. . I think you need to ask yourself these questions then get back to me. I would also have you know that I know what to look for in a car and the assumption that my boyfriend or father made this decision for me is offensive and unnecessary.
i like the new barina. It’s cheap, stylish, easy to park, comfortable seat, nice steror which connect to my mp3 player straight way and heated mirrors. that’s all i want^^