Test Drive: 2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Automatic

Review and photos by Mark Stevenson

PSY, the YouTube phenom famous for his Gangnam Style rap and dance, has a lot in common with the new minicar from the General. Both were born in South Korea: PSY is from the hip city of Seoul and the Spark designed in Incheon, a city whose basketball team is named the Land Elephants (quite fitting considering GM’s size and sluggishness in the paint at times).

If the marketing boffins at Chevrolet were smart, they would have grabbed the Korean superstar to advertise the diminutive motor to the company’s target “millennials”, the same people watching PSY’s YouTube video on repeat and all the spinoffs it has generated.

GM is pushing the Spark as a hip city car – a four-door alternative to the two-door-only Fiat 500, Smart Fortwo, and Scion iQ. Yet, it plays in this automotive sort-of no man’s land, bigger than all the aforementioned city cars but smaller and (sort-of) cheaper than cars in the subcompact class such as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and GM’s own Chevy Sonic.

Either the Spark is one of the smartest moves by GM in a very long time or it’s an automotive exercise in splitting hairs.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Automatic. Click image to enlarge

As far as four-door hatches go, the Spark is the least expensive option on the market – the base model starts at $13,345 including destination with a five-speed manual. In base LS trim, the Korean-built car even offers up some impressive features, like 15-inch aluminum painted wheels, metallic paint, and 10 airbags as standard. This is a vast improvement over the Aveo, Chevy’s former point of entry and the ultimate car to show the world you’ve given up on life.

But, I was not plagued with the stripper LS model; instead, I was given a top-of-the-line 2LT-trimmed Spark equipped with automatic gears and full suite of gadgetry in an effort to sway my judgment in GM’s favour.

When the Spark debuted at the 2007 New York International Auto Show under the Beat name, it set the auto journo chatterboxes atwitter with want, this writer included. The concept had razor sharp lines and, even more surprising, came from a company with nothing if not contempt for the subcompact segment for years.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Automatic. Click image to enlarge

The Beat was such an eye catcher Michael Bay put it in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Unfortunately for GM, it was used for the character Skids, widely criticized for being a rolling racial stereotype and drawing more ire than Jar Jar Binks. Even with that negative blip behind it, the concept still generated enough attention from the general public to push it into production.

And, thankfully, GM stayed fairly true to the concept as it brought the Spark into reality. Put it and the Beat concept side-by-side in pictures and you’ll find very few major differences. Sure, the Spark has added some rear passenger doors and ridded itself of the silly rear valance treatment, but overall it’s a facsimile of the concept. Not a bad thing in my book – I like the massive headlights and huge grille.

Stepping inside the micro machine I was welcomed with a multitude of space. There was never a time I felt shoehorned into the car or cramped behind the wheel. Even the back seat offered a truly impressive amount of leg and headroom, proven by my 6-foot-6-inch Newfie friend fitting himself behind the driver’s seat while it remained in my preferred position (and I am 6’1”). Curiously, I was more comfortable back there than I was in the second row of the Infiniti JX I drove over Christmas – either a testament to the Spark or a massive mark against that luxo-crossover.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Automatic. Click image to enlarge

Interior materials are what you would expect in a car starting in the low teens. Lots of hard, dull plastic treatments with some nicer, shiny bits thrown in to save face. The seat surfaces are made of a material not of this world – a pleatherette-vinyl concoction with a horribly stamped pattern. Colour plastic inserts in the dash and doors do liven up what could have been a bland interior, giving the Spark a funky feel to match its exterior flash.

Back in the driver’s seat, I was presented with a novel instrument cluster designed to resemble that of a motorcycle – except the execution was backwards. In the Spark, the speedometer is an analogue dial with the tachometer playing second fiddle in digital form. On a motorcycle, this would be the other way around, with engine revs being much more important than how fast you’re going. This bugs me – and not just because I am a biker – but because the tachometer isn’t true. Revs are shown in increments in the LCD instead of the natural, smooth sweep of a needle across the dial face. Yes, I know, the Spark isn’t a performance car and your current road speed is probably much more important (I can’t see many Sparks pulling weekend track duty). But, still, argh.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Automatic. Click image to enlarge

In all trim levels, Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system is available (a $1000 option on the LS and standard on other trims), made up of a seven-inch touch screen that garners attention in the small car’s dash. The screen, while not too big, is definitely a focal point in the car, and bright enough to see during glaring sunlight hours. Combined with six speakers, Bluetooth streaming audio, SiriusXM radio, and a USB/iPod/MP3 input jack, you’ll have everything you need to serenade your ears with auditory bliss. Stitcher streaming app compatibility is also available, a feature I personally enjoyed. If you have the Stitcher app on your Android or iOS phone, you can stream newscasts and other unique programming using your phone’s data plan (millennials have fancy phones and lots of data!) into the MyLink system. And it’s free. You can’t beat free.

The suspension isn’t top notch, but totally adequate in city driving, and keeps the Spark easily between the ditches on the highway in windy conditions. Just make sure to avoid bigger bumps and potholes, as the experience is far from pleasant (probably more due to the size of the car than its engineering).

It’s also quite safe. Chevrolet has packed a total of 10 airbags into the pint-sized hatchback, covering occupants from head to knees. OnStar Automatic Crash Response is also provided for times when bad gets really bad and you aren’t coherent enough to hit the emergency button after an accident.

For all the goodness in the Spark, you can’t help but feel spending an extra couple grand on something a bit more refined might be the smarter decision.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Automatic. Click image to enlarge

Consumers shopping for this kind of car want two things: a small car that’s easy to park in the city and fuel economy to match its Matchbox dimensions. Compared to other city cars, it is the longest in the pack, and fuel economy misses the mark with 7.1 L/100 km city, 5.2 L/100 km highway for the automatic (the best is the Scion iQ at 5.5 L/100 km and 4.7 L/100 km respectively, but the real number can be into the 7s as demonstrated in the Autos.ca City Car Comparison).

Why is the mileage so bad? Blame it on the piston pumper under the hood and cog swapper it’s connected to. The 1.25L inline-four makes an underwhelming 84 hp and 83 lb-ft transmitted through a limited selection of four gears in the automatic. Yes, the Spark is a four-speed, ancient by modern automotive standards (the Fiat 500 can be optioned with a six-cog slush-o-matic; the Scion iQ comes with a CVT as standard). Putting a four-speed auto in the Spark leaves it far behind the group, with the little four-banger never feeling in the right gear for any particular job.

If there is one saving grace, I received expected mileage during my one-week test, clocking in at 6.7 L/100 km in mostly town driving.

Also on my list of annoyances was the lack of native navigation. The Spark relies on its owner having a smartphone and buying a mobile app to activate the GPS functionality. BringGo is available in the Google and Apple app stores for $50. Have a BlackBerry? Sorry, you’re boned. Don’t have a smartphone at all? You’re double-boned.

Then there are the steering wheel–mounted cruise and audio controls. During the day, they are perfectly fine. Turn off the sun and you have no idea what’s what. All because GM decided backlighting the buttons would be too expensive. Thanks GM.

It’s obvious GM’s intent of the Spark was to provide a lot of content in a very small package, attempting to outshine competitors with features coveted by the ‘always connected’ youth demographic. But, dig deeper – the Spark doesn’t make sense as a city car, with outdated mechanicals and lacklustre fuel economy (unless you go base model to save your money at the point of purchase). Spending a little extra cash to go up to a Sonic or another subcompact may be your best bet. But, if your focus is on low cost of entry and lots of cabin gadgets, the Spark sure does offer a lot of tech for very little coin.

All that said, I can’t see this being a big seller for GM. It just sits in such an awkward half-niche. But maybe they can get the aforementioned Korean pop star to psyche some young ‘uns into a few sales.

Pricing: 2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT Auto
Base price: $11,845
Base price (2LT Auto): $18,245
Options: None
A/C tax: $100
Freight: $1,500
Price as tested: $19,845

Competitors
2013 Smart Fortwo
2013 Fiat 500
2012 Honda CR-Z
2012 Scion iQ

Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)