The Real Barina
26 May, 2006
6 Comments 
About a week ago I posted a blog about the new Korean made Holden Barina and its awesome 2/5 Star safety rating. It turns out that Holden did actually have a choice of bringing the European - Opel made Corsa as the new replacement for the Barina, but instead chose to bring the re-badged Daewoo instead. Why is that?
Well Holden needed to compete with the likes of Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz, and the cute little Suzuki Swift! Given the Opel solution would have cost more for obvious reasons (e.g. it is better built, and the wheels won’t fall off) Holden decided to go ahead, re-badge a Daewoo and sell it under its ever more deceiving umbrella of Australian Cars. So what did we miss out on? Just look at that picture! Heck, when Opel’s Performance division brings out the hot turbo version, that would be a car I’d consider buying, it would be a nice replacement for the non existing Toyota Starlet GT.
“My motto is, small car, great fun. And that’s what we all had as we developed the new Corsa on some of the world’s most demanding test tracks. Excellent driving dynamics, perfect handling and powerful brakes are all characteristics I expect from an Opel today.” Opel managing director Hans Demant
However, if you are a GM share holder, well for a start, you would be well aware that they are losing money in the millions over in the states, but at least here in Australia, Holden has improved sales with the Korean car, lifting Barina sales around 69% from last year. Nevertheless, some of that is due to the new model arriving here, one could speculate that the better, prettier and undoubtedly more reliable Opel Corsa would have done similar numbers, but as Holden likes to point out, the dealers make more money selling the Korean car. So with a 2/5 star rating, thank your Holden dealer for doing you a great deal and ask if the car comes with Life Insurance.
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September 10th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
It just proves that Holden doesn mean a great deal to Australia!!! TIC :-)
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April 15th, 2007 at 12:10 am
This is what Barina could have been.Now Owners of the Last Ever European Series of Barina have to go to Mazda,Nissan.Fiat,Volkswagen,Renault and Peugeot to trade into something similar that has good safety,excellent build quality,stylish looks and the solid feel of what they are used to.Mark I have to agree with You that The Switch from Opel to Daewoo for the Barina is living proof that Holden does not mean a great deal to Australia
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June 9th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
If you cared so much about safety you wouldn’t bother with a small car. You’d buy an armor-plated Landcruiser. This is what VIPs in Iraq use for transportation. Even the 5-star Toyota Yaris is no match for an armor-plated Landcruiser.
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November 16th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I think I preferred it back when Holden were rebadging the Suzuki Swift.
Anyways, I’d rather take my chances driving a ten-year-old Swift than a “brand new” (*cough* *cough* *splutter* *splutter*) TK Barina.
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January 16th, 2008 at 11:06 am
When was the last good european model of the Barina made?
What is the safety rating of that model?
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June 27th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
^XC Barina. 4 stars I think.
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