This is the first time we had a look at the Chevy Spark, we had a ride with it before during Chevy’s introduction event with it back in August when we got to take a ride with it to a few different spots in NYC. But like all of our reviews, to truly see if this car is G Style worthy, we needed to get up close and personal with it. So is this Spark truly on its way to becoming a flame? Read on.
Style
Our loaner car came in Salsa Red (seriously though what is up with car companies and their exotic names for car colors), and the Spark definitely has a unique look. From the front the Chevy has a nice grill which gives a somewhat macho feel even though it is a mini car . The front grill is a nice touch to the car. When you move along to the side, this is when it takes on that unique look which I can’t quite describe. Do I like it though? Yes while I won’t say it is my favorite look it does “spark” my attention and makes part of the reason it is a fun ride. As you continue along the side the Spark has this cool feature with the back doors. Yes I say back doors as if you weren’t looking correctly you might think the Spark only had two doors. The Chevy Spark’s back door have their handle in the top right area of the door next to the windows, but moving this it gives the appearance of no back door. Also another nice touch on the 2LT mode is the rims on the wheel, they have a distinctive look which adds to the coolness of the car.
On the inside the Spark is very cool looking! From the seating to the dashboard and side panels, the color is a nice two-toned red and gray. This looks awesome when you get inside, and instantly adds to the overall experience when you get in and while driving.
Tech
On the tech side, I’ve been very impressed with the Chevy Spark over other mini cars in the class. I love the 7 inch touchscreen console that comes with the 2LT. This is one of the main features I wanted to check out in the vehicle. Before you ask, as with all my reviews, I was able to connect up my phone for streaming music and phone calling with the Spark. The pairing process was actually the easiest with this car. What also impressive is how quickly it reconnected from a disconnection of the car being turned off or out of distance. Normally I have to wait a little, but it picked up fairly quick from my HTC One X. Also present was MyLink, this came me access to programs like Pandora and Stitcher. There was a program I was hoping for was there which I seen at the press event. This was a navigation software called BringGo. This looked really cool at the press event, but wasn’t present in our loaner car.
Once you get pass the awesome touchscreen panel, the rest is what I kind of expect from the class. The 6 speaker sounds system is okay, but it won’t be winning any bass awards. This is similar to most cars in the class, but I’m looking forward to that one mini car that would have some awesome bass pumping sounds in a small car. Maybe it can’t be done, maybe too much bass and awesome sounds might knock such a small car over, but I’m hoping one day.
Experience
The Chevy Spark is indeed a fun car to drive. When driving it I had an awesome time. The automatic model is a little slow on the acceleration, but what it lacked in take off, it made up for with its turning ability! The Spark hugs curves like a long-lost family member. This made take corners fun and exciting.
On the inside, while a small car on the outside, there seemed to be plenty of room on the inside. While I wouldn’t suggest this car for a family of four large people, there was plenty of headroom for some medium-sized people. But overall the space was comfortable and I really did enjoy using the touch screen display while on the go. This is something not really seem in our cars in the class, so it was a welcome addition.
Wrap Up
The 2013 Chevy Spark 2LT models starts off at $15,045 (as taken from their website), and is Chevy’s first mini car for the US market. With that MyLink 7 inch touch screen, it definitely has an edge in the mini car game, but the competition is heavy. I personally had a good time driving this one!
