Sunday, September 12, 2010

Chevrolet Spark review


The Chevrolet Spark city car is a replacement for the old GM Daewoo and then Chevrolet Matiz which sold purely on price. The smallest engine comes with a choice of "Chevrolet Spark" + and LS levels of specification. The 1.2 unit also has three choices, LS, LS+ and LT.
The entry-level Spark is offered with a 1.0-litre engine developing coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox. Models in Chevrolet Spark + trim, also available with the 1.0-litre engine, come with air conditioning, electric front windows and central locking, along with a USB compatible four-speaker stereo.

‘Full of life’ claims General Motors, when describing the Chevrolet Spark. The Spark is a politically correct automobile, its small size and fuel-efficient motor making perfect sense in our congested, polluted cities. Space utilisation is very good in this car, and the cabin room you get for its tiny road footprint is impressive. We’ve always appreciated the "Chevrolet Spark" ability to seat four comfortably but luggage space is at a premium and, other than a few soft bags, the boot
did not offer much by way of load space.

The light controls made for a fatigue-free drive, even during extended periods in traffic.
The Chevrolet Spark popularity has a lot to do with this easy-to-live-with nature. The only rattle we noticed was the rear parcel shelf, but that’s endemic to most small cars. A narrower centre console might have helped eliminate the knee-meets-dash syndrome, though.

For a small car, the Chevrolet Spark boasts very good ride quality, especially in its segment, although the soft set-up could bottom out on bad surfaces. To be honest, there’s not much to complain about the Spark. In many ways the Chevrolet Spark is the spiritual successor to the cute ‘n’ cuddly Herbie. City cars don’t always have verve or flair but the Chevrolet Spark does, and this is what elevates it from being a dreary runabout to a friendly ally in traffic. The best bit is at the fuel pumps — our Chevrolet Spark rarely dipped below 12kpl, even when driven eagerly, and 13.5kpl was par for the course.

Full of life is just what our long-term Chevrolet Spark was all right.
Automakers like General Motors. Though still feverishly working to make a late-2010 launch date on the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, GM also plans a conventional new high-mpg Chevy that should cost less than half as much as the $40,000 Volt. Called Spark, it's a front-wheel-drive 4-door hatchback even smaller than Chevy's Aveo subcompact car. GM inherited the Matiz when it formed GMDAT back in 2002 from cherry-picked portions of the old Daewoo Motors. In the process, it's helped make Chevrolet a top-selling brand in countries that know nothing of American-market staples like the Malibu and Silverado.

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