Holden Barina Spark Car Review
02-November-2010
- Vital Stats
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$12,490 - $13,990
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Unleaded
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Average for a small car
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3
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Review by Georgia Dawes.
3 words to describe the Holden Barina Spark:
Zippy, compact, girly.
What was your first impression of the new Barina Spark?
This one’s for the girls! Extremely stylish on the outside, the Barina Spark was made with design and fashion in mind. It can be personalised to the individual’s desires with a wide range of colours and added decal stickers to choose from.
The Barina Spark is also deceivingly compact. From afar it looks like a small 2-door car, but close up, you can see it’s a roomy 4 door (back doors have a sneaky hidden handle).
What about the interior?
Like the exterior of the Barina Spark, the interior has fashion and females in mind.
The interior includes a motorcycle-inspired instrument and steering column. Ice-blue lights illuminate the instrument column, which includes an analogue speedometer and trip computer functions which include ‘distance to empty’ and an outside temperature gauge.
The interior design of the Barina Spark allows you to colour-code door trim appliqués, seat trims and textured inserts. It’s a car that’s fashionable and can be personalised on the outside as well as on the inside.
How’s the drive?
The compact nature of the Barina Spark means that it can take on sharp corners with ease, it can handle windy roads like a pro and can squeeze into any tight inner city car space effortlessly.
The Barina Spark is the kind of car that feels like you’ve driven it a million times even though it was your first time.
Comfortable and extremely easy to drive, the Barina Spark can tackle bumper-to-bumper inner city driving and highway driving. Hills, however, are perhaps the Barina Spark’s worst enemy. The lack of power and oomph in the engine means the Barina struggles up hills! If you meet a hill while driving the Barina Spark, you’ll have to put your foot down to get up the hill!
What are the funkiest features of the new Barina Spark?
What you see is what you get! With the best and most important features as standard in the Barina Spark, you won’t walk away paying hundreds of dollars extra for features you thought were included.
Features in the Barina Spark include:
- Sports body kit, front fog lamps, rear spoiler
- Body-coloured, heated, power adjustable exterior mirrors
- Air conditioning
- Power steering
- Front power windows
- 4-way adjustable driver and front passenger seats
- Vanity mirror on driver and front passenger sun visors with cover
- 4-speaker AM/FM audio system, with CD player, iPod/iPhone® AUX input and a
- USB input for MP3 players
- Steering wheel-mounted audio controls
- Motorcycle-inspired Instrument cluster
- Trip computer – includes ‘distance to empty’, outside temperature
- Sunglasses holder
- Remote keyless entry operates doors and rear tailgate; remote central locking
- Security immobiliser.
It’s gorgeous & stylish but is it safe?
The Barina Spark possesses a high level of safety features… however we hope you never have to put them to use!
- Electronic Stability Control (ESC), incorporating an anti-lock braking system, brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution and traction control. Occupants are protected by a total of 6 airbags – dual front, front side impact and full-length curtain airbags.
- Body Frame Integral (BFI) design, extensive use of high-strength steel (60 per cent) in key areas such as engine compartment rails, engine cradle and safety cage deliver robust structural integrity.
Will your wallet love this car as much as you do?
- Barina Spark CD – $12,490
- Barina Spark CDX – $13,990.
And it only uses 5.6 litres of fuel per 100km, which is fantastic! It’s also got a 5-star Green Vehicle Guide eco rating.
Styles & colours?
Styles:
There are 2 styles: the standard CD Barina Spark (which has all the features mentioned above); and there’s the Barina Spark CDX, which has additional feature highlights including:
- 15-inch alloy wheels
- Larger rear body coloured spoiler
- Front and rear power windows
- Sportec perforated seat trim
- Sportec wrap multifunction steering.
Exterior colour selection
Olympic White; Chilli Red; Carbon Flash Black; Nitrate Silver;
Cocktail Green; Luscious Kiss Pink; Moroccan Blue.
Space & storage?
For a small car, the Barina Spark has space that will surprise including:
- Centre console with front and rear cup holders, small item storage bin
- Front door pockets with integrated bottle storage; front passenger seat side pocket
- Front passenger seatback pocket;
- Sunglasses holder
- 60/40 spilt folding rear seat; 170L cargo volume rear seat up; 580L seat folded
What would you warn your girlfriends about?
For a small car the Barina is a pleasure to drive and it has all the features you would want and need, however hills are not this car’s friend. To get up a hill you really need to pump the gas and put the pedal to the metal otherwise... eeek!
If personified, who would the Barina Spark be?
Mary-Kate Olsen, because like the Barina Spark, she’s extremely fashionable, compact and zippy (always busy, busy, busy).