CarBrandLogos archive · Holden · 1985
One badge attached to four unrelated superminis from three different continents.
Discover the storyPhoto: EurovisionNim · CC BY-SA 4.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Holden Barina, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
The Barina was never a car so much as a slot in Holden's price list, filled by whatever small hatchback General Motors could source at the time. From 1985 it was a Suzuki Cultus, badge-engineered and briefly assembled in New Zealand as well as Japan. In 1994 it became an Opel Corsa built in Zaragoza, which was a noticeably more grown-up car and is the generation Australians tend to remember fondly.
1985-1986 Holden MB Barina hatchback 01 · OSX · Public domain
02
From 2005 the supply switched again, this time to GM Daewoo in South Korea with the Kalos and then the Aveo, sold as hatchback and sedan. That change was not received well: the Korean cars were cheaper to buy and cheaper to build, and reviews were consistently harsher than for the Spanish ones.
1989-1991 Holden Barina Limited Edition 5-door hatchback 01 · Bidgee · GFDL 1.2
03
The line ended in 2018 as Holden wound down. As a piece of engineering there is little to say, but as a record of how a small market keeps a small car on sale, the badge's four unrelated lives are unusually clear evidence.
1989-1991 Holden Barina Limited Edition 5-door hatchback · Bidgee · GFDL 1.2
At a glance
Produced
1985–2018Body
3/5-door hatchbackTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the Barina's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →From the journal
Contemporaries from the 1980s
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