Holden Barina Spark CD 2013 Review

Holden’s launch of an automatic version of the Barina Spark CD city car has been a long time coming… but we won’t be clichéd here and say it’s been worth the wait.

It’s hard to imagine too many people anticipating with bated breath the January arrival of the four-speed auto version of the Spark, given it’s very much the definition of a petrol-powered shopping trolley.

Nevertheless the people at Holden are pretty happy about its arrival, because these days it estimates autos account for around 68 per cent of all sales in the category.

The Barina Spark CD manual went on-sale back in October 2010 priced at $12,490 plus on-road costs. It’s still sitting on that price, the auto adding $2000. The upper-spec Barina Spark CDX has been chopped.

As well as the transmission, the CD auto also picks up a slightly more powerful (63kW/113Nm versus 59kW/107Nm) 1.2-litre four-cylinder ‘Gen II’ petrol engine and electronic power steering which Holden says has been tuned for Australian conditions. The manual, meanwhile, stays with hydraulic steering but swaps from cable to hydraulic clutch actuation.
Both Spark versions gain exterior and interior design updates including new look front grille, side skirts, headlamps, tail-lamps, 14-inch alloy wheels and body colour rear spoiler with integrated LED stop lamp.

Equipment updates for the auto include Bluetooth connectivity, a motorcycle-style instrument cluster and a flip key. Standard equipment for both Spark CD models includes six airbags [for a four-star ANCAP safety rating], electronic stability control, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, single-CD/tuner with AUX and USB inputs, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, trip computer and remote keyless entry.

The Spark auto’s 1.2-litre petrol engine, which adds variable valve timing and a slight bump in capacity over the manual 1.2 (1249cc vs. 1206cc), proves to be an engaging little engine on the open road. It revs quickly and sounds quite nice – not thrashy – when revved. However, it dumps those revs very quickly when the throttle is lifted, so you are exercising the right foot a lot.

The engine also relates quite well to its Aisin-supplied automatic transmission, the combination providing prompt responses when pressed.
Holden claims a 5.8L/00km fuel consumption average for the Barina Spark auto (manual 5.2L/100km), something aided by the auto’s ‘neutral-idle’ function. But our stint on country roads made it impossible to judge that number fairly. We’ll wait for a week-long road test to do that.

The Barina Spark doesn’t feel too far out of its comfort zone on the open road, even with three adults and their luggage onboard. However, it has little wheels and not a lot of suspension travel, so it does tend to bang through significant road corruptions.

Direct steering and its small size make it very zippy on tight roads. It will certainly work well around town.

Predictably, the interior reflects the South Korean-built Barina Spark’s very appealing price. It has hard surfaces and basic trim materials. But the motorcycle-style binnacle is young and funky. There’s nothing too sexy about rear-seat and boot space, both of which are predictably limited.

Which is probably the right way to describe the Barina Spark as an overall package. It has obvious limitations in terms of size and performance, both of which dictate it works best in-town. That’s not news, but the fact that the auto transmission provides some added convenience to the package definitely is.

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