While the Barina has been a fun car it’s always been lacking a bit of grunt straight off the showroom floor but now that’s all changed … now we have the Holden Barina RS and if you were looking for something in the light car segment with a lot of get up and go then the Barina RS hatch is for you.
While not a whole lot has changed on the outside if you look under the bonnet you’ll see that this is a Barina on steroids … turbo-charged, fuel-injected steroids … and at the same time you’re going to get great fuel economy too.
The engine
The Holden Barina RS is powered by the same 1.4-litre turbo-charged fuel injected engine that you will find in the Holden Cruze. Holden have coupled that fiery little engine to a six-speed manual transmission (a six-speed auto with Active Select is available as an option).
On the outside
The ride height of the Holden Barina RS is 10mm lower than the others in the Barina range and there are new 17-inch alloy wheels that are only available on the RS along with unique front and rear fascias fog lamps and a new exterior body colour called ‘Orange Rock’.
The suspension on the RS has also been tweaked with stiffer shocks absorbers and performance-tuned dampers with increased spring rates.
On the inside
The Holden Barina RS has a piano black finish to the interior, heated leather trimmed front seats with RS branding, leather gear shift knob and sports pedals.
The bottom line
The Barina RS is only available as a hatch and the starting price for the manual version is $20,990 plus dealer and government charges. If you want the auto you’re going to be looking at a price that starts at $23,190.
The Holden Barina RS went on sale this week.
