For a cost-efficient vehicle, Spark has had quite a busy life. It was released in 2003 as a badge-engineered Daewoo Matiz. These two, along with other variations given to other GM marques, came from the Lucciola concept, which Giorgetto Giugiaro designed originally for Fiat. However, as if there weren’t enough of these cars, Chery presented another one “of its own” around the same time: the first QQ resembled those others so much that GM filed a lawsuit against its maker. Chery ended protected by the Chinese laws, but this case still worked to draw people’s attention to the knock-off cars that are usually offered in that country. Spark received a facelift, in order to get some distance of that, and helped to make Chevrolet stronger in its category in emergent countries.
Spark’s story took another twist with the second generation, but in a much better way. The vehicle launched in 2010 looked so eccentric that people found it interesting, rather than weird. This, along with all the perks of entirely new projects, made it attractive enough to get an all-electric version and the tickets to the United States for the first time. Five years later, its reputation grew enough to make it Chevrolet’s main bet when it comes to subcompact models in most countries. Since this implies the responsibility of performing all the aforementioned tasks while pleasing very different customers, the company worked harder than ever to develop its brand new generation. The all-new Spark comes from GM’s Korean design department once again, and will go on sale in a few months.
The vehicle you’ll say it was taken for inspiration will depend on where do you live. The aggressive stance and the external lines will remind Americans of Sonic, which sits just above it on the global lineup. Europeans, in turn, may think of Opel Karl, which has a similar role in that region and was actually derived from the same project as Spark. However, none of them can say the newcomer is just an adapted version of those cars. Elements such as a gorgeous front grille, (much) more proportioned headlights and lower roofline make it a great example of compact hatchback, while the non-aligned side creases, the boomerang-shaped tail lights, and the appropriate amount of chrome inserts contribute to a personality which just can’t be compared to some of its direct competitors.
If the new generation made you put “upscale” some positions higher in your list of adjectives for this car, compared to the previous one, you’ll like its cabin even more. The new dashboard looks much more mature, thanks to a center console simplified by the use of a big touchscreen, an instrument cluster which abandoned the previous motorcycle look, and a combination of black, silver and a customizable third color that would look fancy enough even for more expensive cars. Nevertheless, Spark isn’t bought for being fancy, and Chevrolet knows that. This is why the accents in body color were maintained, and GM’s latest technology items were added: the new MyLink bundles 7” screen, some physical controls, backup camera, and optionals like OnStar and built-in 4G LTE with Wi-Fi.
In order to make the new silhouette look sportier, and distant from tiny minivans such as the ill-fated Peugeot 1007, Chevrolet lowered Spark’s roof by 1.6 inches. However, the five seats were lowered as well, so the internal space should remain just as good – if you don’t take a fifth occupant, of course. But if the idea of taking so many people in such a small car isn’t pleasing you, there are more improvements about which you should know. The safety package now includes ten airbags, an all-new, stiffer structure whose roof can “carry 4.2 times the weight of the vehicle in a rollover”, and the electronic kit composed by blind-spot monitoring, forward-collision and lane-departure warning, and a stability control with rollover detection and mitigation functions.
Concluding such an interesting set of novelties, Spark brings a new engine. The old 1.2 was replaced by GM’s new four-cylinder, 1.4-liter Ecotec unit. Using many components made of aluminum and many fuel-saving technologies, its only figure known so far is the power: 98 hp, a 17% increase. Just like before, a five-speed manual transmission is offered as standard, but can be replaced by a CVT. There’s no information about Spark’s new prices, either, but they shouldn’t go too far from the current model, otherwise it would have customers stolen by Sonic. A new electric version should be released in the next few months.