Micro Spark a really big deal
New Zealand is now the only place in the world you can buy the facelifted Holden Spark, writes
Holden Australia quietly discontinued the Spark city car in April this year; after a price drop to the larger Astra, the two were simply too close together in dollar terms for the smaller car to be sustainable.
That left New Zealand as the only place in the world where you could buy a ‘‘Holden Spark’’ and one of only two markets globally where this car is sold in righthand drive, regardless of bonnet badge.
The other is the United Kingdom, where it’s called the Vauxhall Viva. Yes, really.
There’s even an SUV-style version called the Viva Rocks.
Anyway, Spark is still tickling along in New Zealand in the modest context of the Micro segment (that’s what the Motor Industry Association calls this size of car): it’s the top seller and around 30 per cent ahead of the Mitsubishi Mirage year-to-date, followed by the Kia Picanto.
The Korean-built baby Holden Spark was launched back in 2016. A facelifted version has just been introduced... for New Zealand only, of course.
Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?
The changes are fairly minor. You can recognise the new Spark by a revised front grille and bumper, which joins the top and bottom apertures together in a kind of gooey chrome pudding. There are also now projector headlights, daytime running lights and a new design of 15-inch alloy wheel on the top LT.
Inside, the white textured bit of plastic trim on the passenger-side dashboard has gone, replaced by a simple black strip. Holden NZ says this is ‘‘more contemporary’’. We’d say it’s more boring.
Spark is also the first General Motors model in New Zealand to get a new version of MyLink, the touch-screen operating system that also incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
There’s no new functionality save an extra USB port, but the onscreen graphics are much more colourful and mobile-phone-like, and there’s more processing power.
The new setup does look much nicer than the previous incarnation of MyLink, although it took an age to pair with my mobile first time up via CarPlay. Once connected though, it is very impressive. And quick to reconnect.
There are no major mechanical changes: the 1.4-litre engine and continuously variable transmission carry over, and there’s still a manual-gearbox option for the entry LS model – although you could count the number of those sold in a year on one hand and still have some fingers left.
So really, it’s no big deal for South Korea to keep producing Spark in relatively tiny numbers for us: the right-hook work was already done for the previous model and the rest is just cosmetic.
The same facelift applies to Spark models for other left-hook markets.
Where did you drive it?
From Holden NZ’s head office in South Auckland to the Hobbiton movie set in the Waikato, return. Yes, Hobbiton: small car to a place of small things. And yet a really big deal. You can see what they did there.
Anyway, the trip included quite a bit of Spark-friendly driving, by which I mean a massive traffic jam. Plenty of stuff to stretch a micro car as well though, once we got into rolling hills and country roads.
The Spark still has more grunt than your average microcar and it’s a perky performer in town. Nobody really likes CVT (do they?) but the Spark’s is a decent one, keeping a lid on engine speed and stepping down under hard throttle. And it does work well in gentle city driving.
It’s pretty busy on the motorway, mind. There’s no such thing as set ratios in a CVT, but the 1.4-litre engine was spinning along at 3000rpm at 100kmh for a lot of our motorway driving.
It’s still a very grown-up car in terms of its market segment; it looks and feels much larger than it really is. Unless you look inside the 158-litre boot, that is: then you remember it’s a tiddler.
What’s the pick of the range?
The sub-$20k starting price for the entry LS is tempting: it’s an awful $17,490-$20,990. 1.4-litre petrol four (73kW/128Nm, 5.5 litres per 100km). Five-speed manual or continuously variable transmission, FWD. Five-door hatchback. Now.
Holden Spark Price range: Powertrains:
Body style: On sale:
lot of car for that money.
But the value lies in the top LT, which adds urban-appropriate equipment like Passive Entry and Pushbutton Start (PEPS in Holden-speak), rearview camera and rear parking sensors. It’s still an awful lot of car for $21k.
Why would I buy it?
Because it’s a former Stuff Motoring Top Car supreme winner and we still stand by our original assessment: it’s a micro car that pushes the boundaries of its segment and feels substantially larger and more sophisticated than any of its rivals.
Good tech, especially the phone connectivity stuff. Plus a five-star crash rating and six airbags.
Why wouldn’t I buy it?
Because it’s a car with an uncertain future now. Because we put you off with that Vauxhall Viva crack.
Or because you’re waiting for a new buyer incentive from Holden NZ similar to the ‘‘add fuel and go’’ subscription-style offer that came with the Spark when it launched back in 2016. Having committed to the facelifted model, the Kiwi distributor will surely have something coming to keep this car firing.