NAMEPLATE loyalty has hardly been a Holden priority in recent years, and even when it has with the likes of the three-decade-old Barina badge, it has not resulted in a sales success story.

The Barina was once synonymous with the light-car class, but has now fallen into the doldrums. Now in its sixth generation, after the Suzuki-based and Japanese-built 1985 MB and 1989 MF, the Opel-sourced and Spanish-produced 1994 SB and 2001 XC, and Daewoo-derived and South Korean-made 2005 TK, a facelift has now landed for the 2011 TM still taken from the latter factory.

There have been no major mechanical changes, while a new Australian-penned front facade teams with fresh infotainment and new LS and LT model grades replacing CD, CDX and RS. But can this ageing Holden get away without under-the-skin surgery to match its mid-life burst of botox?

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