LITTLE RUNABOUT
Low cost, high value: Lots to like about Chevy's Spark that's small but mighty fun to drive
This is it. This is the most affordable new car on the Canadian market. The Nissan Micra is no more, and this car can be bought for less money than a three-cylinder Mitsubishi Mirage. This car is the Chevrolet Spark, and there's a lot to like.
With a base MSRP of $10,198, the Spark is the most affordable car in Canada by a healthy margin. It's available in several trims, with the costliest one topping out at $19,298. The base model is the LS Manual and our test car was the mid-range 1LT Manual, priced at $14,898, and $795 in options brought the as-tested total to $15,693.
The (roughly) $10,000 base model is spartan to say the least and it's a big $4,700 jump in price from the LS to the next closest model, the 1LT. If you want the base LS trim with the convenience of a CVT, that single option will cost you $4,300 on the LS trim. (The CVT is a $1,200 option on the 1LT trim and standard on the top 2LT trim.)
To get the $10,198 price you'll have to do without a lot. Compared to the mid-trim 1LT, the base LS has 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps instead of 15-inch aluminum wheels, a four-speaker stereo instead of six speakers, manual door locks, and manual windows.
Compared to the LS, the 1LT boasts such luxuries as heated power mirrors, LED daytime running lights, cruise control, keyless entry, climate control, steering wheel controls and a car alarm.
Regardless of which trim you pick, every Spark is motivated by a humble but peppy 1.4-litre in-line four-cylinder engine that makes 98 horsepower and 94 pound-feet of torque. It boogies up to 100 km/h on an on-ramp without a fuss and the ride quality is pretty good considering the teeny wheelbase. There are some notable vibrations once you pass 120 km/ h, but with enough nerve and open road, the Spark could very well do 160 km/h.
There's a fair bit of highway noise at speed but nothing objectionable, especially when you have the optional six-speaker stereo. The sound quality at this price point is commendable.
The interior looks cheap because it is. But there's a lot to like here. The seats are comfy, the visibility is excellent, the clutch and manual shifter are better sorted than in most Hondas, and the Spark is genuinely fun to drive. You'll also get excellent fuel economy. The Spark is rated for 8.0 L/100 km in the city and 6.2 on the highway.
There are many benefits to its small size besides the fuel economy. No parking spot is too small to wedge the Spark into and it can easily zip through narrow gaps in traffic. It also handles well because it weighs just over 1,000 kilograms (about 2,200 pounds).
Small it may be, but the Spark's interior is roomy for even the lankiest drivers and passengers. The wider among us may not be as happy in the seats, but interior room is generous and the beige headliner helps keep it from feeling claustrophobic.
The rear seats fold down but not flat, and with them up, cargo space is limited to one or two carry-on-size bags. You can fit two people and luggage, or four people, but you cannot fit four people and luggage.
Which Spark trim should you choose? The $10,000 LS is tempting for one obvious reason: cost. I like simple motoring, but even I would find it hard to live without air conditioning, and so for that reason alone I would splurge for the 1LT Manual, like our tester. It's still wonderfully affordable and it includes all the amenities we've come to expect from a modern car. I'd consider buying one myself as an around-town runabout.
It's hard to make complaints about a car that costs so little.
Driving the Spark feels like a cheat code. You're driving the same roads at the same speeds and using the same Apple CarPlay as everyone else but you are doing it for half or even one-third of the price. It makes you wonder why we need tens of thousands of dollars in fluff, gadgets, horsepower, and wheelbase in a car we just use to drive to work.
The Spark is not a punchline, and not a toy. It's a real car and it's one you should consider.