KEY POINTS:
Korean carmakers have certainly come a long way. The likes of Hyundai and Kia are now producing beautifully built, dynamically competent and thoroughly modern cars that bear comparison with anything from Japan or Europe. They're on the A-list, no question.
But there's a new Korean carmaker in town. It's a second-tier brand, using a fair bit of recycled technology but hoping to develop some decent product in the years to come.
You might have heard of it - the name's Holden.
Holden's controlling stake in South Korean company General Motors-Daewoo Automotive Technologies (GM-DAT) has already brought us two sub-standard small cars, the Barina and Viva (both mildly revamped Daewoos from years gone by) and an impressive new crossover called Captiva - the maker's first clean-sheet model.
You might have been thinking the Korean company would continue with its rapidly improving form following Captiva, but that's not quite the case. The Epica mid-size sedan - which replaces the European Vectra in New Zealand - has fresh styling, but it's largely based on the year-2000 Daewoo Magnus, developed from the unloved Leganza of 1997.
Epica is not supposed to be a good car, it's supposed to be a cheap one. It comes exclusively with a six-cylinder engine, but pricing starts at just $32,990. The flagship CDXi we drove comes fully loaded with leather upholstery, climate air and 17-inch alloys, yet costs just $36,990.
It's awkward-looking, with massive front and rear overhangs - a consequence of GM-DAT's desire to make a Camry-sized sedan out of something with a relatively short wheelbase. But roomy it is, with acres of space in the back and a massive 480-litre boot.
Holden claims to have covered 64,000km in tweaking the GM-DAT Epica's chassis for Australasian roads. The chassis is a pleasant surprise.
The steering suffers terrible rack-rattle in bumpy corners, which seems to be the way of all Korean cars, but Epica turns in with assurance, remains stable mid-corner and is largely unaffected by undulating surfaces.
I can also vouch for Holden's claim that the six-pot engine is as economical as a four-cylinder. During a week of hard use, our Epica averaged 10.8 litres per 100km. Slip out of test-drive mode and you'd easily achieve single figures. But the supposed power advantage of the Epica's straight-six over its four-pot rivals is illusory. It sounds uninspiring, has less power than a Mazda6 or Toyota Camry and only a little more torque. The five-speed automatic transmission is set up for maximum economy and seems reluctant to kick down unless you punish the throttle. There's no manual-shift mode.
The cabin is reasonably well finished but utterly conventional, with a massive steering wheel and clumsy instrument graphics. And while leather upholstery sounds appealing, it's of a particularly hard and slippery type that makes you wonder what they feed their cows in Korea.
The Epica is not all bad. But it's certainly not all that good and seems like bargain-basement stuff next to the likes of a Mazda6 or Toyota Camry.
It's a shame that stop-gap models such as the Epica, Viva and Barina are establishing GM-DAT as a fundamentally old-tech brand - they're chipping away at the impressive work achieved with Captiva.
- Extra
