Barina SRi in latest Motor Magazine

[GreyRex]

For those of you who don't already know, there's a three page review on the Barina SRi in the newest issue of Motor. It's either November's or December's issue; the one with a yellow FPV and red HSV on the cover. Pretty good used review on it, saying it still dynamically is a competitor to the very latest stuff under 30K. Go the SRi!!

[mr_sikma]

the old XC barina?

if so i will get it ;)

[GreyRex]

Yeah it's the XC SRi

[ultim8DTM5]

Maybe host a scan :)

[mr_sikma]

went to check it out today but it was sealed :(

gotta buy it!

[Binary]

Yeah, I read it too. Was a good write up actually, they really liked it. Power, handling, finish quality. Sounds like an excellent little car.

[sri05]

Here is another excellent review.
It is from when the car was first released.
http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1428/article.html

And by my model air con and electric windows was standard, steering wheel height adjustable, firmer rear shocks and 16" wheels with Goodyear F1 greatly reduces understeer, steering tweaked for better feel and the exhaust resonance easily cured by straight through rear muffler.

[sri05]

For those of you too cheap to buy the mag or frightened to read the article at the news agent :D , here is a transcript of the Motor article:

Motor Magazine December 2006
Fifth gear
Past Blast
Story – David Moorley

Baby boomer

Holden’s nippy SRi was the little hatch that could




So, big cars are on the nose, are they? Well, if the stats showing a slide in large-car volumes are anything to go by, they must be. And while it’s tempting to blame the price of petrol, there’s another factor in this shift away from five seats, six litres and 1.8 tonnes. Basically, small cars have never been so damn good.
The even better news is that small performance cars have really come of age too. Strap into a Golf GTI, Focus XR5 or HSV VXR (the tricked up Astra) and you’ll see what we mean.
And that’s before we even get to gadgets like the WRX and EVO IX. Yep, you sure as hell don’t have to drive a full-size Aussie sedan to get around quickly these days.
Look at last month’s Bang For Your Bucks spiel and it seems that even really small cars have also acquired some serious attitude. VW’s Polo GTI and Mitsubishi’s Colt Ralliart are two of the toughest littlies you’d ever want to pick for a traffic-light GP, and they’re great little cars by any standards.
But it pays to remember that they weren’t the first of the hot-micros. There’s the Frenchies; Renault Sport Clio and Peugeot 206 GTi, and many years before either of those, the iconic Peugeot 205 GTi was forcing us to search for superlatives.
However, there’s a stove-hot little ‘un that was released a few years back that has kind of slipped under the radar. Why that should be is anybody’s guess, but if you’re shopping for a cheap hot-hatch, you’d have to do the smart thing and short-list the Holden Barina SRi.
Why? Mainly because the SRi version of the littlest Holden was an absolute pearler – a tight handler in a compact-but-sensible hatchback body that just happened to have an engine about two sizes too big for it. And we all know what that means, don’t we…Yep, fun. In big doses.
Released here along with the rest of the new XC Barina line-up in 2001, the SRi was instantly on the money. When you took a good look at what it offered and what it could do, it soon became obvious that the thing was the work of Europe, rather than Japan. That’s important because it was the Euros who invented the hot-hatch and they’re still the ones doing it the best (although the Mazda3 MPS would probably beg to differ).
There’s no doubt that the XC Barina certainly looked more European than it did Japanese (or anything else), too. The front is more or less corporate Opel (scaled down to match the car’s overall proportions), but the rear really makes a statement with those high, integrated tail-lights. Makes it easy to spot in traffic, too, which was probably the idea all along.
I suppose the only catch with all this is that the SRi doesn’t actually look all that racy. Despite the Irmscher spoiler and side skirts, it’s a bit too understated for some, though that might mean it’s less likely to attract the attention of you-know-who.
It’s interior is a bit more of the same. Forget about bright red carpets or carbonfibre dash trims – the Barina SRi is more about good-quality plastics and decent fit and finish. The leather wheel is corporate GM and, while the seats are comfy enough, there’s only height adjustment for the steering column. You wouldn’t be buying the bugger for it’s rear-seat space, but it remains that things are pretty compact back there, even though the SRi is roomier than most of its three-door rivals. Access isn’t exactly brilliant, either, but then who cares about that stuff anyway?
Not us. Not when there’s a great big engine in a tiny little car.
The SRi ditches the mainstream Barina’s weeny little 1.4 with its 66 rippling kilowatts and in goes a 92 kW 1.8 litre unit pinched from big-brother Astra.
We’ve said it before, but while there remains nothing inherently clever about the big-engine-small-car formula, it’s a devastatingly effective way to build a performance car. The SRi is no exception. Even more telling than the kW count is the torque that maxes out at 165Nm – more than enough to give the lightweight Barina a pumped kind of feel. Even pootling about the ‘burbs where you’re only using part-throttle and relying on punch rather than revs, the SRi feels gym fit and more than up for it. It’s best to use all that torque, too, because the engine gets a bit boomy at big revs.
Ratios in the five-speed manual (no auto for the SRi…thankfully) are on the money and only a slightly dead (and too-light) clutch action spoils any of the fun. Well, that and the slightly stilted gearshift action that’s at it’s worst on the one-two shift, where it can feel a bit clunky and slow.
The Barina wouldn’t be the first European hatch to suffer from that, but it makes you realise that the Japanese do some things better than everyone else.
Get really serious and you’ll discover that while the SRi will never challenge an SS Commodore over the standing quarter, there’s enough urge for it to be utterly convincing, and more than a match for plenty of wannabes at the traffic lights.
The other thing you’ll soon work out for yourself is that the engine never threatens to overpower the chassis. True, the front-drive platform will eventually wash out wide if you shove it into a turn too hot, but it’s progressive and never threatens to scare you. On the other hand, if you get your entry speed right, it’s amazing how much corner speed you can carry, using the engine’s torque to slingshot you out the other side and bound for glory. In the final wash-up, the Barina SRi isn’t what you’d call a truly balls-out performance car, but it’s quick enough to be entertaining. And yet it still retains the compact size great for parking in spots nobody else can fit into) and hatchback versatility that made the Euro-built Barina such a good thing in its own right.
Things to watch out for these days mainly revolve around the previously owner. Because it was more expensive than the more proletariat models in the Barina line-up, the SRi thankfully didn’t attract the sort of people who buy brand-new small hatches instead of conventional second-hand cars, plaster them with ‘Bad Girl’ stickers and forget to ever service them. But that’s not to say there aren’t any neglected ones out there. A bigger worry is the possibility the previous owner has redlined the engine in every gear for the life of the car.
It’s got a couple of quirks that a worth keeping an eye on; it’s quite sensitive to the quality of oil it receives, and if you’re cheap, you’ll pay with a noisy top end.
As well, front-end geometry is easy to knock askew, and the Michelin tyres are homologated for a reason; like, it’s easy to upset the sweet balance that Holden has imbued the car with.
Beyond that, you want to know that the engine hasn’t had its radiator filled with tap water instead of the coolant that alloy-head engines like the Barina’s require to avoid turning to molten scrap a couple of years down the road.
Find the right one and not only will you potentially bag a bargain, you’ll also be driving a car that is a worthy competitor dynamically to the very latest stuff, including the Polo GTi and anything else sub-$30K that Europe or Japan can throw up.




WE SAID IT
“Quite stiffly sprung and fairly neutral for a front-drive car, with a little bit of understeer on turn-in. would prefer to have been able to get the tail out a tiny bit, but a good little package. Goes quite well - fairly linear in its delivery, pulls all the way. Gearbox and brakes are fine.” - [ Rick Bates October 2003 (BFYB)]

[sri05]

The credit should have been
by David Morley
- I tried to edit but it was taking forever

[GreyRex]

That was weird. The very first copy of this edition i saw was wrapped too, with what i thought was some additional booklet as well as the Mazda little driving book. But for some reason i didn't buy it because i couldn't see what was in it. Then i went to every single newsagency in Melbourne... none of them are sealed and dont have that extra part. Odd. But yeah... for those of us who already have one of these cars... we knew they were pretty good already... just good when they get more praise, especially comparing them to more expensive stuff that is available today!!

[mr_sikma]

many pics in it?

[GreyRex]

Umm... not sure what you mean :p

[Charlatan]

Funny how these cars were/are under-rated. I had no brand loyalty when I looked for a new car, and frankly there was nothing close to the SRi. Pug Gti6 was a pretty close competitor (probably better) but it was also 5 years older and most were 60k+. I guess people just think Barina ... must be rubbish.

I quite like the understeer of it. It is very progressive, so its never going to catch you out and allows you to stay at the traction limit a bit easier.

Resale has maintained well on these. I bought mine for $17.5 over 2 years ago with 8k. Its got 22k now and I think $14/15 would be achievable. 15% over 2 years, not bad.

PS - thanks for posting the transcript