RPM TV Episode 129 – Chevrolet Spark
Not to be overdramatic or anything but the new spock is going to have a tough time not only is an a segment car which means it competes in one of the most hotly contested segments on the market but it’s also a chevrolet and that means it forms part of a modern lineup that’s responsible for more of general motors south african sales than any of their other brands
So small car big responsibility we’re in front shock for the launch of what all these chevrolet employees like to call the hot new spock although all of the badges on the car just save spark it’s up against the likes of the pono vivo so it has very tough competition and shiv decided that one of the best ways to take on that competition is to as they put it brick
The city car mold and one of the easiest ways to do that is to design something that looks a little different i would imagine that designing a car that has a universal appeal is a pretty tough job and it might be the reason why some asian cars are designed in europe and why gm decided to have this car designed in korea it now has the familiar chevy face and it
Carries off the cute city car persona quite well but i’m not sure it’ll be universally appealing the front is particularly puzzling it’s all a bit oversized with a massive sort of underbite look to it the best bit is the side glass aperture which you can only really appreciate from a distance it has a really nice sweeping line to it although it does impact a
Little on practicality i’ll show you that shortly then we’re back to the oversized bits at the rear with the peer lens taillights which are obviously popular in markets in some parts of the world but they’re not my favourite it’s not quite mold breaking but it is a fresh take on things i’m not likely to be mistaken for anything else so the outside is all young
And funky but the interior is very grown-up but that’s not a bad thing because it means you get a good layout with decent materials and even some shiny plastic bits but there is some oddness and it all sort of concentrates in this area here with the instrument cluster it’s a half analog half digital blue illuminated plastic encrusted thing that will take a lot
Of getting used to i know they wanted to do something different with this car but that funny-looking unit just makes it look like they’re trying too hard where the spark does impress is with its use of space especially in the back it’s more roomy than you think with plenty of headroom a lot of these types of cars claim to be able to fit five adults in comforts
And most of them cut now i didn’t have four other oaks to fit in the spot with me but i would imagine that five up the spark wouldn’t be too uncomfortable remember that sight glass profile i was talking about earlier well here’s the downside a massive slab of plastic on the rear door to help complete the outside look not ideal for those who like a window
Seat and this is what gives the chevy its spock so couldn’t resist that one it’s a 1216 v unit with 60 kilowatts and 180 newton meters hooked up to a 5-speed gearbox now by the time of fooling chevy hasn’t given us exact figures about fuel consumption and emissions but they do say it has excellent fuel consumption and low emissions of course they would say
That wouldn’t they we’ve since got hold of those figures the combined cycle fuel consumption is a measly five point four liters per hundred ks and the co2 emissions amount to an impressive 129 grams per kilometer none of which tells you how this spark drives as far as 1,200 to go this one isn’t a bad one at all i mean you don’t really have to wind it up to get
Any power out of it and the upside of that is that you don’t have to endure the strangled cat noise that most of these smaller engines make as they approach the red line the in-gear acceleration is pretty good as well which means that down shifts for overtaking are a bit of a rarity the little motor obviously has the advantage of being at a lower altitude for
Our test drive but a quick word with one of gm’s senior engineers revealed that the local boys had worked hard on getting the gearing in the spark right about that strangled cat if you run the engine all the way to the red line or the blue line as it is with this car it will start screaming but we found that shifting around the 4000 rpm mark gave a good power
To noise ratio this chevy might be a small car but it takes a lot of big car boxes okay you can adjust the steering wheel at all but the steering wheel itself feels really good and the seats are comfortable as well the gear changes a solid in fact every interaction with this car feels really solid although sometimes maybe a little bit too solid this chef has a
Harder ride setup than you might think for a car in its class overall though the handling is decent with good steering field as far as braking molds go the spark doesn’t quite manage but that’s not to say it won’t attract some attention 525,000 ren may not be enough to buy you a carbon ceramic brakes it for your audio right but it will buy you a comfortable and
Wellspect chevy spark there are some styling and interior bits to get used to but as far as a package is concerned gm have created a real contender within the market the 1200 motor had the advantage of being near the coast but felt strong enough to be able to cope with most day-to-day driving the spark is a good package from a value point of view and although
It is rather unique looking some of the elements will take some getting used to
Transcribed from video
RPM TV Episode 129 – Chevrolet Spark By RPM TV Online
