Road TestCar reviews - Holden - Viva - sedanHolden modelsResearch Holden OverviewHolden's Korean-built Viva sedan picks up where Germany's Astra Classic left off26 May 2006 By CHRIS HARRIS A profusion of small Holdens is hitting Australia, arrowing in from various parts of the globe including France (Tigra convertible), Germany (AH Astra), Korea (Barina) - and the Astra-size, but not Astra-priced, Korean-built Viva. Previously a Daewoo Lacetti in Australia, the Viva promotes value for money in a big way, with a sticker price that's $2000 or so less than what you'd normally expect to pay for a Corolla-size small car. With four airbags, air-conditioning, and an interior of surprising generosity, the Holden Viva sounds pretty aggressive. But is it aggressive enough? Toyota, Honda and Nissan are equally as sales-hungry small-car marketeers with hard-to-ignore pricing - and equipment - on their similar-size, and much more modern cars. Model release date: 1 October 2005 to 1 May 2009 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelONE of the small-car legends of recent years, the TS Astra was a quality item. Underneath its very German styling lay the foundations of modern small-car value: a peppy 90kW 1.8-litre twin-cam four tied to a five-speed manual or four-speed auto, a comfortable and quality cabin, high refinement and specification levels, and a quality persona to match those of premium rivals like the VW Golf. Three bodystyles (three and five-door hatch four-door sedan) also offered plenty of variety, with the TS five-door arriving here in September 1998, the four-door in April 2000 and the three-door in June 2001. Holden's TS Astra contined (in base guise dubbed Classic) alongside its all-new AH Astra replacement, which was launched in November 2004. Now out of production, it's replaced by the Korean-sourced Viva, which has very big shoes to fill in indeed. |
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