Epica - slowest Holden currently on sale?

[Marco]

Just flicking through the new issue of Wheels that turned up at my place today, and they have a good review of the Epica. I haven't read it fully yet but going by the conclusions they thought it wasn't too bad, except...

0-100km/h in 12.0 seconds.

You'd hope the gearing was such that the in-gear times weren't too bad, because that is ridiculously slow. Maybe the sort of people who buy these sorts of Camry-esque cars don't care about that, but I don't think they'll be tempting too many people out of the 6 and the Accord.

[Ghia351]

Just flicking through the new issue of Wheels that turned up at my place today, and they have a good review of the Epica. I haven't read it fully yet but going by the conclusions they thought it wasn't too bad, except...

0-100km/h in 12.0 seconds.

You'd hope the gearing was such that the in-gear times weren't too bad, because that is ridiculously slow. Maybe the sort of people who buy these sorts of Camry-esque cars don't care about that, but I don't think they'll be tempting too many people out of the 6 and the Accord.You mean my yet to leave the German docks new VW Transporter T5 2.5Tdi A6 will be just as fast....or slow....lol.

[Mikhael]

Just flicking through the new issue of Wheels that turned up at my place today, and they have a good review of the Epica. I haven't read it fully yet but going by the conclusions they thought it wasn't too bad, except...

0-100km/h in 12.0 seconds.

You'd hope the gearing was such that the in-gear times weren't too bad, because that is ridiculously slow. Maybe the sort of people who buy these sorts of Camry-esque cars don't care about that, but I don't think they'll be tempting too many people out of the 6 and the Accord.

Yep, but that would still blow off a Camry at the lights.

These sorts of cars would put you to sleep.
The last Camry I rented was such a slug to drive it made the trip boring.

But, I guess that's why they are loved by bowlers in their white hats at retirement villages all over Australia. :sleep:

[wagnman]

These cars are aimed someone that wants a "sensible" (spelling, sorry) car but still wants to say they own a holden.

the Epica brings back memories of the adds for the "Holden" Apollo.:rofl:

i can see it now, mum pushing trolly, saying to dad in very old faded t-shirt, "its got, rah rah rah" and dad saying, "yeh and its a Holden!":smilesandbanana:

[VESSWA]

I just drove a LHD chrysler badged epica hire car around europe as well as a opel astra. Both were manual and I didn't mind either car for something different. No doubt I'll be impressed when I get back in the 6L and wonder where the rockets have been fitted! But, if you're travelling and don't wanta miss the scenery (and when fuel is AUD$2.60/l !!) you don't mind taking it easy. They serve a purpose and get you from A ta B.

[HSVJPL]

I can't beleive Holden dropped the European Vectra for this ugly POS

[lowriding]

You mean my yet to leave the German docks new VW Transporter T5 2.5Tdi A6 will be just as fast....or slow....lol.

the Epica will probably be more reliable though:stick:

[SV346]

I can't beleive Holden dropped the European Vectra for this ugly POS
Yeah that makes two of us :p, in the ad its not half bad looking, but then in real it is way out of proportion to start, it is like a camry, weenie wheels with an out of it barge body.

[Crispy]

at least the fuel consuption would be down maybe alright for a wife that dosnt give a shite bout wat they drive

[Marco]

Yep, but that would still blow off a Camry at the lights.


That's the thing, though - it wouldn't. Wheels clocks the current model Camry as 0-100 in 9.5 seconds. The Epica is 2.5 seconds behind that...


I can't beleive Holden dropped the European Vectra for this ugly POS

I can. The Vectra, while a reasonably good (but not excellent) car, was getting slaughtered simply because it sat between $34,990 and $50k. Epica starts at $25k-ish and tops out at $31k, so on those numbers alone, this is a much better deal for Holden.

I suppose there would still have been room for the Vectra to sit above the Epica in the range, but sales were so slow there was probably no point.

[EfiJy]

In our laden 0-100kmh dash it was the slowest of the group with a time of 16.4 seconds http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=39718&vf=7&comparisonID=1029

[Mikhael]

In our laden 0-100kmh dash it was the slowest of the group with a time of 16.4 seconds http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=39718&vf=7&comparisonID=1029

Do you really think the market these types of cars are aimed at, really care how quick they go ?

Me thinks not. :sleep:

[Pickles]

Yeah, not in the same class ar the rcently superceded Vectra, that's for sure.
BUT, Holden is after SALES, & people don't seem to be that interested in engineering & "european" quality, etc etc.
Lots of people just want a car that looks nice, "does the job", & will get them from A to B. These are the people who are buying Hyundais, Kias, etc, & these are the people who will buy the new Epica.
I'm not one of them--I'd have the 3.2v6 Vectra, over an Epica any day.
Cheers, Pickles.

[VYSV8]

Yet another Daewoo masquerading as a Holden!! I guess it doesn't matter how Holden make sales, as long as they make them.

[Marco]

True, the sort of people who are likely to wander into the showroom interested in the Epica might take it for a drive, think 'yeah, goes allright' and buy it anyway. We'll see how the sales figures go.

In fact, it might even be the sort of car I'd look at getting for my wife if we needed a second car - $25k for something that size is very good, and I'd probably prefer she was in a bigger car than a small one for that money.

[llucie]

You mean my yet to leave the German docks new VW Transporter T5 2.5Tdi A6 will be just as fast....or slow....lol.I bought one of these in February - brilliant vehicle average of 300km daily city and hwy driving mostly 60% fully loaded and returns 7.8 litres per 100km - has surprised many other motorists with its acceleration from a standing start and the 6 speed auto has sport and full manual operation with traction control (on /off switch) 4 wheel discs with ABS , better to drive than a car and miles better than a 4x4.:)

[Ghia351]

I bought one of these in February - brilliant vehicle average of 300km daily city and hwy driving mostly 60% fully loaded and returns 7.8 litres per 100km - has surprised many other motorists with its acceleration from a standing start and the 6 speed auto has sport and full manual operation with traction control (on /off switch) 4 wheel discs with ABS , better to drive than a car and miles better than a 4x4.:)....I've been waiting 12 weeks already...you lucky bugger...I'm even more excited now...:)


the Epica will probably be more reliable though:stick:285,755km, upto 2 tonnes payload with trailer, just 1 clutch, cv joints, elec. water pump..they should be so lucky...:stick:

[HSVGTS215i]

Isnt the Epica just a rebadged Kia like the Barina?

[Marco]

Not exactly - it's a Daewoo, but a reworking of an existing model rather than a totally new design like the Captiva is.

[CharlieDontSurf]

I still dont understand why Holden cant chase volume with the korean stuff and have the Euro Vectra, barina (or rename it corsa)to pick up some of the premium stuff. The do it with the VIVA and Astra. Why not either have a barina"euro" a la Honda who sell two completely different versions of the same named car. They coiuld sell the Vectra and reposition it conecntraing on deisel and the 3.2 V6 and bring in the hatch and wagon only as the epica is sedan only. They could even get the Hot Vectra VXR .

I guess it all comes back to profit and they said on go auto that the vectra wasnt just profitable. But The astra is profitable so surely if they got the product mix and price right they would get more sales

[someblackguy]

i lost all faith in holden when they released this korean krap

im sorry but thats all i can refer to it as, its effing horrible. daewoo died for a reason, because it was the worlds worst car manufacturer. SHOCKING build quality, ATROCIOUS safety standards, and now GM are taking theyre shit designs on and mass producing it. god i feel like im going to be sick, i mean thats about as bad as hiring a stripper and finding out its your mother.

dont even start with the korean barina, it got a 2 star safety rating which is not only one of the worst ratings in auto industry history but holden still continue to sell and promote these death traps.

i hate to whinge and whine but what GM has done is ludicrous, its little wonder why peoples first preference these days is jap or german.

[Black AH CDX]

^^^


Yet another person commenting about their personal feelings, yet has probably never taken the time to go and look at, let alone drive the car.

[llucie]

....I've been waiting 12 weeks already...you lucky bugger...I'm even more excited now...:)

285,755km, upto 2 tonnes payload with trailer, just 1 clutch, cv joints, elec. water pump..they should be so lucky...:stick: If you decied to have the "cargo barrier" have it dealer installed as unless you have attempted it before it's a day of total frustation including about 2 hours of re-reading the pages of installation instructions - Alloy wheels (stock size) with the standard tyres would also be a good buy as the steel wheels are a pain to clean and weigh a tonne --- the only downside to the vehicle that I have noticed is the placing of the spare wheel slung under the vehicle , a pain to get out and impossible to replace (I practiced in my garage not on the side of the road) , otherwise a great choice .

[XLR8 V8]

I have taken one for a test drive now. I found it to be quite well built, spacious with a "convenient" interior (lots of storage spots). It was smooth and quiet
However, it was completely gutless, and the transmission, while smooth, was constantly searching between gears even at common speeds (60,70,80). I didn't like the seats at all - I just couldn't get comfortable. The CDXi model looks a lot better than the CDX with it's slightly larger wheels and bodykit, but the bodykit can't hide the slab sided rear quarter

[VYBerlinaV8]

i lost all faith in holden when they released this korean krap

im sorry but thats all i can refer to it as, its effing horrible. daewoo died for a reason, because it was the worlds worst car manufacturer. SHOCKING build quality, ATROCIOUS safety standards, and now GM are taking theyre shit designs on and mass producing it. god i feel like im going to be sick, i mean thats about as bad as hiring a stripper and finding out its your mother.

dont even start with the korean barina, it got a 2 star safety rating which is not only one of the worst ratings in auto industry history but holden still continue to sell and promote these death traps.

i hate to whinge and whine but what GM has done is ludicrous, its little wonder why peoples first preference these days is jap or german.


A few years ago my garage held a Daewoo Matiz (3 cyl beastie) bought new in 2000, and my VY Berlina V8 bought new in 2003. During the full life of the Matiz (5.5 years and 107,000km) it had fewer issues and warranty claims than my Berlina had in the first 8 months and 20,000km of ownership.

Daewoo are not exciting cars - trust me on that! But they probably have better build quality than most Aussie made Holdens of the same build year.

[V-Car]

Not exactly - it's a Daewoo, but a reworking of an existing model rather than a totally new design like the Captiva is.

Thats not exactly true either.
The Captiva is no more a totally new design than the Epica is.
The Captiva is a new body on the 'Theta' platform that was previously seen as the Chevrolet Equinox, Pontiac Torrent and Saturn VUE, just as the Epica is a re-body of the V200 Daewoo Magnus/Chevrolet Epica/Evanda and Suzuki Verona, and before that the V100 Leganza.

[Danv8]

Well with only 105 kw on the 2.0 litre inline 6 and an extra 10kw on the 2.5 litre version it isn't going to set the world on fire with its performance.

Of course its a slug. :-)

[someblackguy]

A few years ago my garage held a Daewoo Matiz (3 cyl beastie) bought new in 2000, and my VY Berlina V8 bought new in 2003. During the full life of the Matiz (5.5 years and 107,000km) it had fewer issues and warranty claims than my Berlina had in the first 8 months and 20,000km of ownership.

Daewoo are not exciting cars - trust me on that! But they probably have better build quality than most Aussie made Holdens of the same build year.

yeah my mate has a KIA sorento, 4wd. the thing gets a good caining at least 10 times and day, has had it for 4 years and nothing wrong, gets regularly serviced. However my cousin had a daewoo cielo, had a car run into the side of it, wasnt going very fast and the doors and b-pillar were almost touching the centre console. if that was a passenger they would have been killed. towtruck bloke said he hadnt seen that much damage done to a car at only that speed. i wouldnt knock daewoo (despite everyone saying, and almost common venacular that theyre terrible) if i didnt have succifient first hand evidence. some of the safety ratings speak for themselves as well.



^^^


Yet another person commenting about their personal feelings, yet has probably never taken the time to go and look at, let alone drive the car.

refer to above

[Ghia351]

I thought I'd send you a pm.


If you decied to have the "cargo barrier" have it dealer installed as unless you have attempted it before it's a day of total frustation including about 2 hours of re-reading the pages of installation instructions - Alloy wheels (stock size) with the standard tyres would also be a good buy as the steel wheels are a pain to clean and weigh a tonne --- the only downside to the vehicle that I have noticed is the placing of the spare wheel slung under the vehicle , a pain to get out and impossible to replace (I practiced in my garage not on the side of the road) , otherwise a great choice .
I'll send you a pm.

[mac06]

yeah my mate has a KIA sorento, 4wd. the thing gets a good caining at least 10 times and day, has had it for 4 years and nothing wrong, gets regularly serviced. However my cousin had a daewoo cielo, had a car run into the side of it, wasnt going very fast and the doors and b-pillar were almost touching the centre console. if that was a passenger they would have been killed. towtruck bloke said he hadnt seen that much damage done to a car at only that speed. i wouldnt knock daewoo (despite everyone saying, and almost common venacular that theyre terrible) if i didnt have succifient first hand evidence. some of the safety ratings speak for themselves as well.


One accident doesn't constitute sufficient evidence. For example, I heard some years ago about a Barina (old style) T-boning a Falcon at fairly high speed on an open road. Worst injuries in the Barina was a few scratches, while the Falcon driver was killed. What does that mean? That side impacts are the most dangerous, not that the car is weak.

The issue here is that the buying public don't want to pay more for European build quality. Save them money and they'll buy in droves. Holden are supplying what the public want, more affordable cars. Don't like it, don't buy it. Simple.

[Danv8]

One accident doesn't constitute sufficient evidence. For example, I heard some years ago about a Barina (old style) T-boning a Falcon at fairly high speed on an open road. Worst injuries in the Barina was a few scratches, while the Falcon driver was killed. What does that mean? That side impacts are the most dangerous, not that the car is weak.

The issue here is that the buying public don't want to pay more for European build quality. Save them money and they'll buy in droves. Holden are supplying what the public want, more affordable cars. Don't like it, don't buy it. Simple.

Agreed although some wouldn't buy one at all but endlessly bitch about them.
:-)