Holden’s 2017 Barina Lifts The Bar For Tech In Cheap Cars

$14,990 is not a great deal of money to spend on a brand new car. But these days, it gets you a lot. And in the 2017 refresh of Holden’s Barina — designed by Aussies — you get the two most important pieces of technology that any new car needs.

Those two things are Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. They’re both great — plug your phone into your car to charge, and you also get a familiar interface on the 7-inch touchscreen that runs the in-car entertainment system.

We really don’t think there’s any reason for any new car not to include both of these, and Holden and local rival Ford are leading the way in rolling out the tech to new cars that will be on sale in 2017. We’d even go so far as to say that if you love your phone, you shouldn’t buy a new car that doesn’t have CarPlay and Android Auto built in.

Apparently the new Barina’s styling is “inspired by the Camaro“, and although its 1.6-litre four-cylinder isn’t quite as gutsy as a Camaro’s V8, it is a hair more fuel efficient — it’s the same engine as the 2016 car already has. You’ll pay $14,990 for the base LS five-speed manual or $17,190 for the six-speed auto.

The 2017 Holden Barina also gets a rear-view camera with parking assist, automatic headlights and daytime running LEDs. On the $20,390 up-spec LT, you also get heated front seats along with passive entry and a push-button start rather than that archaic turn-the-key-in-the-ignition nonsense. [Holden]



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