Холден Барина: История и Проблемы Австралийского Субкомпакта

the "Holden Barina Spark" sold in Australia and New Zealand

The Holden Barina is a subcompact automobile sold between 1985 and 2018 by Holden in Oceania. Each of the six generations have been badge engineered versions of various General Motors vehicles, namely Suzuki Cultus, Opel Corsa, and Daewoo Kalos. Barina is an Australian aboriginal word meaning "summit".

In December 2005, Holden dropped the Opel sourced Barina and rebadged the Daewoo Kalos hatchback as the fifth generation TK Barina. In February 2006, a four door sedan went on sale, the first sedan type for the Barina nameplate. It is also equipped with a 1.6 litre twin cam 16 valve F16D3 Daewoo inline four engine. The decision to use the Daewoo Kalos as a basis for the car was made to ensure Holden remained highly competitive in the fast growing small car market in Australia, facing fierce competition from other South Korean sourced models like the Hyundai Getz. The Opel sourced model sold at a large loss and was sold to build up a presence in the entry level new car market in Australia. The Holden Barina was sold in single specification, starting at A$12,990 for the 3 door, which was later changed to A$13,490. The Daewoo sourced Holden Barina scored a lower two out of five star ANCAP rating than its European built, Opel based predecessor. Criticism was focused on the 2006 Barina TK sedan because of these crash test results, one of the worst in recorded history. As a result, Denny Mooney, the managing director of Holden, was forced to publicly defend the perceived poor reputation of the TK Barina.

The updated TK Barina hatchback was released in August 2008. It has been facelifted with a bolder grille, new headlamps and tail lamps, along with the same interior seen on the sedan model introduced in 2006. Power windows and electric mirrors were standardised in the updated Barina's specification. Safety wise, side impact air bags have been included as standard fitment. As a result of this, and structural improvements including a high strength steel reinforced B pillar, ANCAP rated the car four out of five stars, up from two. Common issues with the TK throughout the model run were Holden's use of an unusual all plastic thermostat housing design on the engine, which could fail and split apart due to repeated stress and heat cycles. The ABS system is known for electrical faults and failure of the ABS system to operate if the warning light illuminates. Front tire wear was high in the early 2006 models due to factory suspension camber settings, which were revised by 2008. Automatic transmission TK cars were also the subject of a recall due to internal shift solenoids not allowing the car to shift higher than 3rd gear.