Holden Barina Spark

Holden Barina Spark

OVERVIEW

The Barina Spark is the second truly global car developed by "the new GM" after the Cruze sedan launched last year. As with the Cruze, it comes to Holden courtesy of General Motors' Daewoo division and has been designed and engineered with the rest of the world in mind. Well, most of the rest of the world.

The Barina Spark is not available with an automatic transmission for about 18 months, wiping it off the shopping list for at least half of all Light Car buyers in Australia. According to a Carsales Network straw poll (we asked Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki for auto versus manual figures on Yaris, Mazda2 and Swift hatchbacks), up to 65 per cent of all Light Cars sold locally are automatics. Holden disputes this figure and says that, in its experience, only 30 per cent of buyers in this class prefer autos.

Regardless of whose figures you believe, a lack of an automatic transmission is a glaring omission on such a vehicle... Especially so, when you consider that all of the Barina Spark's rivals (not some, ALL) are available with auto gearboxes.

Holden, of course, pleaded its case for an automatic version of the Barina Spark. But when the project was being put together, General Motors was caught in the grip of the Global Financial Crisis and the development of an auto was delayed. Because the rest of the world doesn't share our appetite for automatic transmissions, the manual version was developed first.

And so, finally, the Barina Spark is here, ready or not, wearing a unique name.

It is simply called the 'Spark' everywhere else in the GM world, but because the Barina nameplate has built such strong brand awareness over the past 25 years, Holden decided to rename it ‘Barina Spark' so buyers instantly know where the tiny tot fits in its line-up.

Indeed, the smallest car to ever wear the Holden badge shifts Holden into a brave new world. The iconic Australian brand is swapping the King Gees for a cocktail dress. Never before has Holden so specifically targeted women with a new model.

The lion brand expects 90 per cent of Barina Spark customers will be female, and has eight female brand ambassadors, including Charlotte Dawson from Australia's Top Model, and Music Maxx presenter Yumi Stynes. The advertising is also aimed at women, who are invited to design their own graphics on Holden's website. The best looking design will win a real car.

And in case you needed any further convincing about the target market, the Barina Spark is available in such colours as Cocktail Green and Luscious Kiss Pink. The only one missing from the palette is ‘Gorgeous Darling'.

Both are available as five-door hatchbacks only -- the rear door handle is hidden near the window to make it look like a three-door. Every Spark comes with six airbags, stability control, alloy wheels (but a steel spare), front fog lights, air-conditioning, power front windows, a remote key fob, and a CD player with an auxiliary audio socket.

The CDX gains 15-inch alloy wheels (instead of 14s on the CD model), a painted rear spoiler, rear power windows, phone pockets in the front passenger seat side bolster and a storage cubby under the front passenger's seat.

The most controversial aspect of the CDX upgrade, however, is the vinyl seat material that Holden dares to call 'Sportec'. Apart from being a tough sell to an already cynical (and highly perceptive) Generation Y, if we are to believe the marketing hype, young upwardly mobile women in miniskirts will likely burn the backs of their legs in summer. Indeed, the dotted pattern could be scolded into their skin. Has Holden taken 'branding' a step too far?

At least it may save some customers a trip to the solarium.

Unfortunately, the (nice) cloth seats that come standard on the CD model are not available as an option on the CDX. We reckon Holden might change their mind after the first week of summer, so stay tuned on that one.

Meanwhile, wireless Bluetooth phone connection is still a dealer accessory (even though it is becoming standard on many rivals). And watch the fine print: Holden charges $495 for 'premium' paint colours... Most of the pallet is premium it seems...

MECHANICAL

The engine is small, even by small-car standards -- but it's not the smallest around. The Spark's heart sits in the middle of the new generation of small-car engines. The Suzuki Alto is powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder, while the Toyota, Mazda and Suzuki hatchbacks have 1.3 to 1.5-litre fours.

The bigger the number, the bigger the power, and the fuel consumption varies accordingly, too. The official fuel consumption figure for the Barina Spark is an average of 5.6L/100km -- predictably between the Suzuki Alto (4.8L/100km) and Toyota Yaris 1.3 (6.0L/100km).

What all this means is -- to paraphrase a certain cereal maker -- the Barina Spark is not too heavy and not too light when it comes to the vital statistics under the bonnet. And, as it is often put, it's not the size that counts, it's what you do with it.

The engineers have been clever here. They've tuned the engine so that the torque (an engine's pulling power, or ability to overcome resistance, like hills) arrives at cruising revs. So, while you do need to shuffle through and drop back to a lower gear or two on steep hills, when you're rolling with the traffic on a relatively flat road (say, at 40km/h to 70km/h in fourth gear), it has sufficient urge to drive confidently.

You soon find yourself adjusting your driving style to suit the relatively narrow band of power from the engine. It may seem lacklustre compared to its bigger engined competition, but in reality the Barina Spark sits a class size below the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Suzuki Swift.

Compared to its real competition -- the Suzuki Alto -- the Barina Spark has more power and torque, and is more refined than the Suzuki's often raucous 1.0-litre three-cylinder. Oh, and one more thing: the Barina Spark can run on regular unleaded whereas the Suzuki Alto insists on premium unleaded.

PACKAGING

Indeed, the next smallest car in Holden's history shares the Barina badge.

The original, box-shaped, Suzuki-sourced Barina introduced in 1985 was almost 3.7 metres long; the Spark is a tad under 3.6m. (For comparison, a Toyota Yaris is 3.8 and the Suzuki Alto is 3.5).

It's amazing how space efficient the new Barina Spark is, and what 25 years of car design has taught us. The stylists of the Barina Spark pushed the wheels to the corners of the car's body so they could create as much cabin room as possible. Even the way the Barina Spark's roof has a quiff-like hairdo (big bulge up front, tapering to the rear) is deliberately done to create more headroom for the driver and front passenger.

Interestingly, it's not as cramped in the back as the tapering window lines suggest. According to the Carsales Network tape-measure, the Barina Spark has more head-room and leg-room than the Suzuki Alto. Indeed, after parking the cars side by side, and with the driver's seat set in the same position (ie: for me), in the Barina Spark I could fit my fist between my knees and the front seat -- and between my head and the roof. In the Alto, there was only a finger-width gap to both.

The boot in the Barina Spark is bigger than the Alto's too -- both with seats up or down (the figures in the brochures confirm this). And the Holden can seat five occupants (all with lap-sash belts and adjustable headrests) whereas the littlest Suzuki can only seat four.

Both small cars have clever storage cubbies, but the Holden has more of them, and they are wider and deeper. The only area the Barina Spark misses out is rear door pockets. It gets nothing here, whereas the Alto gets a door pull pocket and a cup holder in each rear door.

The Barina Spark's cabin looks like a more modern design -- with less grey plastic than the Alto's -- and the perception of quality was another step forward for Holden. Indeed, though hard the plastics, materials and fit and finish are close to or shadowing Kia's and Hyundai's latest; the same can't be said for older Korean-sourced Holdens.

To help brighten your day the Barina Spark gets silver or red painted highlights in the doors and dash (depending on exterior colour). And the cool "motorcycle-inspired" digital instrument cluster and blue backlighting also give it a premium look.

A small but important detail, the Barina Spark has an external door handle on the rear hatch; on the Suzuki Alto you can only open the boot by putting the key in the door or pulling the tab near the driver's seat.

SAFETY

The car has already scored four stars out of five in European testing but the fifth star was withheld because the models sold there do not come standard with stability control.

Holden, wisely, has ensured that every Barina Spark sold locally comes with six airbags and stability control -- finally safety is no longer an option on the cheapest ticket in the Holden catalogue.

This is a welcome change from a company that has continued to offer the previous generation Barina hatch without such basics as antilock brakes -- technology that has been widely in use on passenger cars since 1979. That's a tutt-tutt you can hear.

All five seating positions come with a lap-sash seatbelt and an adjustable headrest. Not even the Holden Commodore, Australia's biggest-selling car, comes with five adjustable headrests on all models. That's another tutt-tutt you can hear (for the Commodore).

COMPETITORS

There is no doubt the power of the Holden badge will lure interested parties to Holden showrooms for a closer look at a Barina Spark, but we expect many customers will walk out again disappointed that an automatic is still some time away.

Be warned: Holden dealers will try to shift Spark buyers looking for an automatic into the run-out model three-door Barina. But, as attractive as it seems, this is a tired old model whose architecture dates back more than 12 years. It is due to be replaced mid-way through next year.

And we are going to see more and more of them on our roads as we continue to embrace smaller, more fuel efficient cars that help us cope with rising petrol prices (they will go back up) and parking congestion.

As this type of car is still so new to us, our expectations are high. Australian buyers will be keen to compare the Barina Spark with cars in the class above (Yaris, Mazda2, Swift, et al). But the reality is that the Barina Spark has only one true rival on our roads: the Suzuki Alto. The other reality is that General Motors (one of the biggest makers of gas-guzzlers on the planet) has done an admirable job with its first effort in this sub-segment.

The Barina Spark has acceptable road holding for the type of car that it is, aided by quality Goodyear (15-inch) and Continental tyres (14-inch). Finally, a car from Korea that's not on Kumho Solus tyres (great in the dry, very slippery in the wet)!

It is safe to say that the Barina Spark is better suited to city and suburban traffic than a winding mountain pass. And if you've only recently learned how to drive a manual, you'll get plenty of practice changing gears as you find the engine's sweet spot on hills.

Even on the flat, the engine won't get hearts racing in a straight line. But it's not meant to. It's meant to make you smile when you're filling up -- not when you're moving.

So the Barina Spark is a fresh face in a new and growing part of the Australian car market. And, provided the Yaris, Mazda2, Swift et al don't limbo too much closer on price, the smallest Holden will have a slim (but important) $1000 to $2000 price advantage on the (slightly) bigger competition.

Will all this be enough to actually make someone want to learn how to drive a manual, just so they can get behind the wheel of a Barina Spark? Only time will tell. If you do, be sure to burn out an instructor's clutch. Don't do it to your new car.

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