Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Up against the Spark a number of Chinese models, particularly the BYD F0, Chana Benni De Luxe, Chery QQ3, Geely LC, and Haima 1, plus the Honda Brio and Toyota Wigo from Japan, the Hyundai i10 and Eon as well as the Kia Picanto from South Korea, and lastly the only car you’ll likely be familiar with, the same Mitsubishi Mirage sold here, also from Japan. Strangely missing is the Nissan Micra, while Fiat and Smart don’t sell within the Philippines so the 500 and Fortwo aren’t
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
I’ve had the pleasure of driving a few Canadian-spec Sparks throughout the model’s short North American tenure, which while being available in other markets under various names since 1998, only started two years ago in the U.S. and Canada with the mid-2012 launch of the third-generation 2013 model. The first time was on the car’s official launch program where five-speed manual and automatic versions were available to test; the second was a four-speed automatic equipped Spark, and this most recent 2014 version features the all-new continuously variable transmission (CVT), an automatic that delivers more performance while achieving better economy than the outdated slushbox that came before.
Truly,
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
It delivered a better highway ride than I expected too, its relatively long 2,375-millimeter (93.5-inch) wheelbase smoothing out the pavement irregularities, while its
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Despite its diminutive size the little Chevy is a roomy travel companion, capable of stowing 323 litres (11.4 cubic feet) of gear behind the standard 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks or 884 litres (31.2 cubic feet) when they’re both tumbled flat, while it seats two up front with loads of leg, hip, shoulder, and elbowroom, plus lofty
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Don’t expect to be wowed with premium-level soft-touch plastics, but there are plenty of other things to get excited about. First off the overall design of the Spark’s interior is really inviting, with cool available body-colour accents across the dash and doors, mine finished in “Denim Blue”, plus a motorcycle-style instrument pod that sits atop the steering column, a really nice full-colour infotainment touchscreen display on the centre stack, and many other niceties thoughtfully placed throughout. As already inferred, the cabin plastics look and feel bargain basement as do the seats, their fabric looking nice but feeling pretty cheap, but let’s not forget that the Spark sells for a very small sum compared to most rivals, so there’s no reason for beating it up for not passing itself off as a premium car.
There
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
If you look at the photos you’ll see my tester included fog lamps, which might lead you to think that it’s an LT2, but such is not the case. This car was an LT1 Auto, dolled up with the only two options offered on this model, fog lamps at $365 and the Denim Blue interior trim kit I mentioned before, at $155. This car, incidentally, is priced at $19,115 after factoring in $520 in options and $1,550 for freight
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Chevrolet may want to make that price even lower going into 2015, however, as its competition is getting seriously cheap. The aforementioned Mitsubishi Mirage with its industry-best warranty starts at only $12,498 and the more powerful Nissan Micra can be had for a mere $9,998. Then again these competitors don’t come with all of the Spark’s standard features, which include automatic headlights (new this year), a tilt steering wheel, power windows, cloth upholstery, a four-speaker AM/FM audio system, driver information centre, 60/40 split-folding rear
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The LT1 trim I tested added a lot of gear for the minor cost of the upgrade, including power locks with remote keyless entry, body-colour power mirrors, steering wheel-mounted Bluetooth, cruise and audio controls, the latter connecting through to the impressive six-speaker Chevrolet MyLink audio system I mentioned before, complete with a seven-inch colour touchscreen display featuring a reverse camera, satellite radio, plus Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming. The LT1 also adds air conditioning and air filtration to the heating and ventilation system, exterior temperature display, dual vanity mirrors, map
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Fuel economy has improved with the automatic, now rated at 6.4 L/100km in the city, 5.0 on the highway and 5.7 combined for the manual or 6.5 city, 5.0 highway and 5.9 combined for the automatic. As you’ve likely experienced, Transport Canada’s old two-cycle rating system isn’t very realistic and therefore can only be used for comparison purposes, so it was updated for the 2015 model year. On that note the new 2015 fuel economy figures are a great deal more useful, coming in at 7.5 L/100km in the city, 6.0 on the highway and 6.8 combined with the manual or 7.7 city, 6.1 highway and 7.0 combined with the auto.
Chevrolet’s warranty is very good until you compare it to the Mitsubishi Mirage, which
Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
What you get with the Spark is a good little car that’s reasonably fun to drive, fuel-efficient, nicely equipped (especially when it comes to safety features), and fairly well priced in base trim. All said, if I were in Chevy’s product planning department I’d nix some of the fancy features and bring the Spark into the country at under $10k so it could do battle with the new Micra and raise the bowtie brand’s stake in the entry-level car market considerably. That’s how they sell it here in Manila, and the number of them on the road is a clear sign that the Chevrolet is doing something right.
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