How small is too small? In the case of cars, is there a minimum size to transport five people in reasonable comfort and safety?
The Chevrolet Spark is certainly not the smallest car being produced, but it does have the smallest footprint in our market. The Spark checks in at a mere 3495 mm long and 1495 mm wide. Everything on this car is tiny, from the 155/65-13 tires and underhood components. Weight is correspondingly light, at 795 kg.
Inside the Spark, everything is within easy reach. Which is good, since the door locks are all manual, as are the side mirrors. You don’t even have to lean far to tap the right-side mirror’s control stick. Front windows are powered; the rears are crank-type. The rear bench is good for two adults. Three can fit in overlapping, sardine-can formation. Whoever penciled in the middle seatbelt (three-point, no less) was an optimistic fellow. Legroom is reasonable for average-height Asians. Up front, you’ll be rubbing elbows (and arms and shoulders) with your front passenger, particularly when you shift gears. Good if it’s your dreamboat sitting there; bad if it’s your mother-in-law.
So the Spark is excellent for blind dates and team-building field trips, then. For runs to the airport, you’re in trouble. Luggage space is at a premium; there’s not enough room for large suitcases. As for groceries, Chevy is hoping that you like your food very fresh. The rear seatback does fold to increase cargo capacity, and commendably, it does so in a 70-30 split.
The Spark does without the tall seating position of Japanese subcompacts. Because your view of the road is limited, that results in you losing that airy feeling. The greenhouse is adequately large, but because you’re sitting low relative to other cars, you always feel boxed in while driving. Having an obnoxious bus’ nose literally two meters from your own rear end doesn’t help much either.
The best way to get rid of that claustrophobia is to punch your way through traffic. The Spark may be a magnet for road bullies but it has just enough power to escape their clutches. The Spark’s SOHC 8V 1.0-liter ekes out 65 hp and 91 Nm.
The four-cylinder does a good impression of a Toyota engine: it’s reasonably smooth and has good low-end torque delivery. It even produces a similar non-descript hum. The gearbox has relatively short gearing to make the most of what’s available. Thus takeoff from second gear is possible and the engine doesn’t feel short of grunt. Once in the ideal rev range, the Spark accelerates willingly, without the wheezing impotence that characterizes its bigger brother, the Aveo. But traveling at 100 km/h in top gear has the engine cranking away at more than 3000 rpm.
Selecting the right gear is essential. Pick the wrong one and frustration starts immediately. Even if you mash the pedal to the carpet, there’s simply no acceleration to be had below 2000 rpm. Thankfully, the five-speed manual shifts easily and smoothly. Clutch take up is also easily modulated. In the correct gear, accelerating five passengers is not a problem. But slopes are the Spark’s natural enemy. Any hint of upward grade and you had better reach for the gearshift. If overtaking other cars safely is a game, think of this as having your PS2 in “hard” mode. More strategy and skill are needed.
Another concern in a car this size is safety. Its European counterpart got two stars out of five in its Euro-NCAP crash test, compared to mostly four and five stars for all-new models. That European version has dual airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners. As for our model’s electronic safety aids, you get a seatbelt reminder, and…that’s all, folks.
On various types of road surfaces, the Spark rides surprisingly well. It absorbs bumps without jarring the cabin and even large potholes don’t seem to bother it. The secret seems to be a very soft suspension setting. It tilts heavily during cornering, and we wouldn’t dare run this car on a high-speed slalom or skid pad.
The major downside to this car is, unfortunately, the place where you will be sitting. Every time you enter, you’ll savor the rich aroma of cheap plastics. Everything is hard and shiny. You can feel the accountants’ pencils when you touch contact points like door handles and switch stalks. Screws, latches and boltheads are exposed. The instrument panel has been wisely moved to the center, as it would have blocked the driver’s view if located directly ahead. However, it’s not canted towards the driver. Green instrument lighting is reminiscent of your circa-1980s IBM monitor. Another nostalgic touch is the FM-AM-cassette player.
If getting respect from other motorists, pedestrians and even children and stray animals is a criterion for choosing a car, the Spark won’t do it for you. My two year-old went for a ride and said that “it’s not a real car.”
A good reward for driving a subcompact car is the correspondingly small bill at the fuel pump. After a weekend of demanding driving, including acceleration tests for Car of the Year and heavy city traffic, the Spark turned in about 16 km/liter of unleaded. That’s sounds like a fair trade over other subcompacts’ efficiency—20% improvement for 20% less carrying capacity—but in absolute peso terms it’s not going to save you a fortune. It seems that having to regularly wind the engine to 4000 rpm exacts a penalty.
Mechanically, the Spark acquits itself quite well. Propulsion, braking, and ride comfort are adequate for this class. Some polishing up of the interior and improvements in safety should do wonders for the smallest of Chevrolets.
By Jason K. Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
