Does America do small? Well, it does now with the new Spark. Starting at less than 7k, it's designed to keep costs down.
Summary of the Chevrolet Spark (2009-)
Price Range: No data available
Assets
Good looks, decent interior, surprisingly spacious, lots of kit.
Drawbacks
Only average to drive, coarse 1.2-litre, iffy gearchange.
Verdict
The best car Chevrolet makes is blunted by an average drive.
Overview
Chevrolet is putting a brave face on it. After facing an uncertain future under new management, the American firm can now relax under the protection of a government-backed GM. So what better way to rise from the ashes than launching an all-new model?
The Chevrolet Spark, which replaces the crude and slow Matiz, is an all-new city car designed by the man who penned the chic Fiat 500. It's been created to capture the hearts of a youthful audience and aims to go head-to-head with the Kia Picanto and Hyundai i10.
Inside, the cabin proves that Chevy has turned a creative corner, finely balancing a low-cost approach with a sense of fun.
Prices start from 6,945 and stretch to 9,845, while the options of a low polluting 67bhp 1.0-litre and an 80bhp 1.2-litre should make it among the best in class for running costs.
Chevrolet is confident its tiny city car will be a huge hit this side of the Atlantic. Read on to find out why.
Reliability and Quality
Chevrolet has struggled to satisfy its customers, with the most recent JD Power survey placing the firm a dismal 26th out of 28 manufacturers.
That could be enough to put you off the Spark altogether, but Chevy is confident its new city car follows in the tyre tracks of the recent Cruze, which represents a huge leap forward in both reliability and quality.
Like the Ford Focus, the Spark was partially developed in Europe and even had its handling honed in the UK, a good sign for the Spark's reliability.
The Spark's quality has clearly been pitched for the more demanding European customer. Hard finished plastics prevail, but thankfully they're not the horrible scratchy plastic that would have dominated in the past. Even more promising is the newfound attention to detail. We particularly like the motorcycle inspired instrument binnacle that sits behind the steering wheel.
On the road
Two engines are available to power the Spark: a 67bhp 1.0-litre and a larger 80bhp 1.2. Both have four-cylinders and both need working hard to make good progress and keep up with the traffic.
Curiously, we preferred the less powerful engine. That's because, despite being 3.4s quicker to 62mph (12.1s), the 1.2 is too raucous at high revs.
The 1.0 is no paragon of refinement either, but will be less of a chore to live with. It crawls to 62mph in 15.5s and can only manage 96mph, but doesn't feel that much slower than its more powerful sibling.
In town the Spark feels alert, agile and completely at home, thanks to the light and direct steering plus its compact dimensions. Shame the gearchange on both of our cars was vague and imprecise.
Venture out of town and, unsurprisingly, the Spark begins to struggle. Frequent gearchanges are needed to cope with motorway inclines.
When you do reach a corner the small Chevy doesn't offer the same confidence as some of its rivals. There's little feel of how much grip is available and, when the nose does push wide, coming off the throttle does little to curb the understeer.
For a more enthusiastic driving experience, we would go for the Citroen C1/Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo.
Safety and Security
The Spark lost out on top marks in the Euro NCAP crash test, scoring four out of five stars overall for safety. That said, it's well-equipped with safety equipment with all models coming standard with six airbags.
Unfortunately, life-saving ESP is not standard on any models and costs 350 extra.
Running Costs
The 67bhp 1.0-litre averages 58.9mpg and emits 113g/km of carbon dioxide, while the 80bhp 1.2 averages 55.4mpg and emitting 119g/km of carbon dioxide.
Both fall into VED Band C for road tax, while company car users are liable for the lowest 10% Benefit-in Kind company car tax.
Both are outclassed by the Citroen C1/Peugeot 107/ Toyota Aygo that average 62.8mpg and emit 109g/km of CO2 (VED Band B and 10% BIK company car tax bracket).
Comfort and Equipment
Our cars were fitted with the 14" wheels that seemed supple enough to absorb big bumps, but struggled over sharper ridges and potholes. It also remains to be seen how the Spark will translate to the UK's terrible road surfaces, after testing the Spark on well-maintained Greek roads.
Both wind and tyre noise are well-suppressed, and even on motorways where the engine has to work very hard for its living, it's nowhere near the endurance test you would imagine.
The Spark will be offered in five trims, the basic '1.0', '+', LS, LS+ and the most expensive LT.
Even the cheapest model comes with six airbags as standard. But if you want a few more luxuries in your Spark you will have to fork out a substantial 1,200 extra to upgrade to the '+' models - and even then it's only available with the 67bhp 1.0-litre. What you do get are electric windows, air conditioning and a USB-compatible stereo.
Next step up is the LS trim, expected to be the most popular. Costing an extra 300 over the '+', the LS adds remote central locking, bigger 14" wheels, body coloured mirrors and door handles, a cheeky rear spoiler and front fogs. There's also the option of the more powerful 80bhp 1.2 engine.
For another 500 you get the LS+ that introduces alloys, electric rear windows, a trip computer, steering wheel audio controls and a pair of roof rails.
Finally the range topping LT, available only with the 1.2, comes with the larger 15" alloys, climate control and a more powerful six-speaker stereo.
There are just three options: ESP (350), rear parking sensors (175) and a choice of metallic paint (365).
Used Value
<!-- Previous/Next links at the top of the review copy --><!-- /Previous/Next links at the top of the review copy --> Residual values matter less with city cars since there's simply less money to lose over the average three years/36,000 miles. That said, the Spark's ancestor, the Matiz, returned just 32% of its new value at resale time.
Compare that with the incredible 47-48% returned by Citroen C1/Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo and it's clear the Spark has its work cut out.
[4Car]
