HOLDEN’S rebadged Daewoo, dubbed Epica, consolidates the company’s dependence on Korea as the source of much of its current product range. If you can forget about the fact that the Epica is essentially a Daewoo model first introduced in Korea seven years ago, it is actually a good-looking, very competitively-priced rival for Toyota Camry, Mazda6, Subaru Liberty and Honda Accord. As a legacy of the Europeanising of Daewoo by chairman Ulrich Bez in the late 1990s, the Epica may not be as adventurously stylish as the Opel-based Vectra that it replaces, but is well balanced and good-looking enough to compete in what is proving to be an interesting segment of the Australian new-car market. And the mechanicals are interesting, too, with a transverse, inline six-cylinder developed by Porsche during the Bez reign, as well as a competent, all-independent suspension. The only problem is that, while the new engine – particularly in 2.0-litre form – is impressively frugal, it is also unimpressively reluctant to accelerate with any vigour.