Forget about bright red carpets or carbonfibre dash trims вЂ“ the Barina SRi is more about good-quality plastics and decent fit and finish. Despite the Irmscher spoiler and side skirts, itвЂ™s a bit too understated for some, though that might mean itвЂ™s less likely to attract the attention of you-know-who. I suppose the only catch with all this is that the SRi doesnвЂ™t actually look that racy. Why that should be is anybodyвЂ™s guess, but if youвЂ™re shopping for a cheap hot-hatch, youвЂ™d have to do the smart thing and short-list the Holden Barina SRi. However, thereвЂ™s a stove-hot little `un that was released a few years back that has kind of slipped under the radar. ThereвЂ™s the Frenchies, Renault Sport Clio and Peugeot 206 GTi, and, many years before either of those, the iconic Peugeot 205 GTi was forcing us to search for superlatives. VWвЂ™s Polo GTI and MitsubishiвЂ™s Colt Ralliart are two of the toughest littlies youвЂ™d ever want to pick for a traffic-light GP, and theyвЂ™re great little cars by any standards.Д«ut it pays to remember that they werenвЂ™t the first of the hot-micros. Look at last monthвЂ™s Bang For Your Bucks spiel, and it seems that even really small cars have also acquired some serious attitude. Yep, you sure as hell donвЂ™t have to drive a full-size Aussie sedan to get around quickly on a budget these days. And thatвЂ™s before we even get to gadgets like the WRX and Evo IX. Strap into a Golf GTI, Focus XR5, or HSV VXR (the tricked-up Astra) and youвЂ™ll see what we mean.

The even better news is that small performance cars have really come of age, too.

Basically, small cars have never beenВ so damn good. This review was originally published in MOTORвЂ™s December 2006 issueДЄnd while itвЂ™s tempting to blame the price of petrol, thereвЂ™s another factor in this shift away from five seats, six litres and 1.8 tonnes. So, big cars are on the nose, are they? Well, if the stats showing a big slide in large-car volumes are anything to go by, they must be.

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