Facelifted Barina prices steady

Holden Barina New-look: Revised Barina features new sheetmetal from its A-pillar forward.

New-look: Revised Barina features new sheetmetal from its A-pillar forward.

Added safety and a fresh look aim to keep Holden’s light-car contender competitive

By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS 25 August 2008

GM Holden has revealed pricing and specification details of its facelifted Barina.

This follows the release of images of the MY09 TK model on the Holden public website earlier this month.

The recommended retail price remains at $14,490 for the three-door MY09 TK Barina, and $15,990 for the four and five-door versions.

These prices now include front-occupant side airbags offering head/thorax protection on all three variants, augmenting the dual front airbags that the series has had as standard since the Opel-built SB Barina introduced them during 1995.

However, ABS anti-lock brakes cost more, as part of an $1190 safety pack option that also includes alloy wheels instead of the standard steel items.

It also appears that there have been some minor changes to the Barina’s 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve unit, although these may have been implemented prior to the facelift.

At the current model’s 2005 launch it delivered 77kW of power at 6000rpm and 145Nm of torque at 3000rpm; the MY09 TK produces 76kW at 5800rpm and 145Nm at a higher 3600rpm.

Fuel consumption figures for the new model have also altered – from 6.9L/100km for the five-speed manual to 7L/100km, while the four-speed automatic’s result actually drops 0.2L/100km to 7.6L/100km.

Furthermore, while Holden has not stated if there have been mechanical alterations, the European specification MY09 model – which is called the Chevrolet Aveo – has seen several, including changes to the manual gearbox.

However, Holden stated at the TK’s launch almost three years ago that it did extensively modify the Daewoo T200 Kalos underpinnings to make the Barina version more suitable to Australian conditions as well as tastes.

As we reported last week, the Barina facelift is not minor, resulting in new sheetmetal forward of the A-pillar for the hatch models.

This takes in a redesign for the bonnet, front guards, grille, bumper and headlights, with the latter incorporating a jewelled effect.

Rear changes include a revised tail-light and bumper design.

The Barina sedan also boasts a different grille and bumper, but its sheetmetal –fresh in 2006 – is newer than the 2002-vintage five-door and 2003-vintage three-door hatch designs.

The sedan also lends its newer dashboard panel to the hatch, bringing to it restyled instrumentation dials, a different centre console and trim modifications.

Eight colours are now available, with five of them being new.