2013 Chevrolet Spark Test Drive

Chevy’s sprightly minicar, the Spark, is a big seller around the globe, but it wasn’t developed with North America in mind. The "old" GM might have shipped the Korean-made tyke over to our shores and hoped for the best. Thankfully for us, the GM of today unleashed a squadron of homeland Detroit engineers onto the Spark to modify and improve the little machine for the U.S.

Under that short hood is an 84-hp, 1.25-liter four-cylinder. That’s .5-liter more than Sparks have in other markets. "The real goal there was to get a flatter, more useable torque curve out of the engine," ride and handling engineer Nathan Sumner says. The team at GM also retuned the intake manifold and the whole exhaust system to give our Spark a sportier sound and optimized the gear ratios in both the five-speed manual and the four-speed automatic with unique gearing for the U.S. market.

The original Spark was a soft rider and not what you’d describe as a fun machine when the road twists. To impart a livelier feel, Sumner’s colleagues lowered the car by 10 mm and retuned the suspension bushings and shocks. Anyone who’s spent time in a Smart ForTwo knows how unsettled that car feels at highway speeds. Sumner didn’t want that to be the Spark’s Achilles’ heel, so he minimized the nervousness on the highway by first adding 15-inch wheels and improved tires, then fine-tuning the suspension. "Just a small tweak will make all the difference in the world," Sumner says. "I made one little change to the rear damper tuning, and it just calmed the whole car down. It’s really kind of a black art sometimes, finding just the right balance."

The American Spark also comes with an electronic power-steering system. It provides variable assist based on speed, so the driver can dial in a lighter feel around town and more heft through the wheel as the Spark piles on speed. "When you increase the effort at highways speeds, it makes the car much more stable and less twitchy," Sumner says.

GM says it improved the door seals, baffles, carpeting, engine acoustics, and wipers to make the Spark a quieter place to spend time. And the U.S. team enhanced the bodywork for aero. Lowering the Spark and making tweaks such as changing the mirrors gained a little by way of mileage. Sparks equipped with a manual transmission return 34 mpg combined—not exactly hybrid-level fuel sipping but not too shabby.

On the inside, the Spark has 10 airbags as well as a rollover sensing system. A gauge pod reminiscent of the Sonic, the Spark’s bigger brother, sits up front with a large LCD screen in the dash for infotainment. The rear seat on global Sparks seats three people. But that middle seat was deemed too narrow for American posteriors, so a handy console resides in its place, making the car a four-seater. There’s 11.4 cubic feet behind that rear seat and a solid 31.2 cubic feet with the rear seat folded.

Bottom Line: The Spark is clearly the most practical minicar in the segment. It conveys a sense of lighthearted fun as you slice though city traffic. Compared with Chevy’s larger Sonic, the Spark is clearly a level down in terms of ride, handling, isolation, and power. But for less than $13,000, the Spark is a solid deal.

 

Courtesy of Popular Mechanics