Chevrolet Spark car: specifications, features and reviews

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Chevrolet Spark is a small, compact, subcompact car for city trips. Produced from 1998 to the present day in many countries around the world. Despite its size and class, it has quite good technical characteristics and an attractive design. Add to that the low fuel consumption, low maintenance and low cost that made the Spark so popular.

Car History

It's worth saying right away that Chevrolet Spark is one of the minor names of the first generation Daewoo Matiz car. Yes, no matter how strange it may sound, but Spark takes its history from Matiz. There is no difference, except for the names of these cars: design, interior, motors and so on - everything is completely the same. Spark of the first generation in the back of the M100 / 150 was produced from 1998 to 2005. and even managed to survive one restyling, which mainly concerned the appearance.

From 2005 to 2009 (and in some individual countries to this day) the second generation (M200 / 250) of Sparks began to be produced. In fact, it was still the same Daewoo Matiz of the second generation, only under a different name. Unlike the previous model, the new one has significantly changed its appearance, which has become more attractive. Also, the transformations affected the interior, chassis and some engines. There have been no major changes.

In general, the new car sold quite well and managed to gain a foothold in the European market with a very good reputation.

Since 2009, a presentation of the third generation Chevrolet Spark (M300) was held at one of the car dealerships, which was based on the 2007 Chevrolet Beat concept. The car has changed dramatically in appearance. It has become a little larger and more modern in appearance. The engines, chassis, interior and much more have been updated. In general, the car received a lot of positive feedback, which allowed it to develop further. By the way, the third generation of Chevrolet Spark is the third generation of Daewoo Matiz, which was not officially sold in Russia.

In 2015, the presentation of the 4th generation of Spark took place in New York. The car was equipped with many interesting innovations, including the Android operating system. In Russia, unfortunately, this model is not yet sold, since GM has stopped deliveries of its cars to our country.

Appearance

Externally, the third generation Chevrolet Spark looks quite attractive. smalldimensions, neat shapes, clearly defined edges - all this together gives a slightly sporty accent to the car.

If you look at the car from the front, you can immediately notice the big "predatory" headlights. Between them is a radiator grill, which is also divided into two parts by a strip from the bumper with the manufacturer's logo. Also along the edges of the grille is highlighted with chrome inserts, which undoubtedly gives a little style to the car. At the bottom of the front bumper, you can see a large air intake in the middle and "alcoves" with fog lights along the edges.

Behind you can see a relatively small trunk lid. On top of it is a small spoiler. It is also worth noting the rear LED lights - they are large and almost identical in shape to the headlights. The rear bumper doesn't really stand out except for the exhaust pipe and a few sharp edges.

On the roof of the car there are roof rails and an antenna. An interesting moment with the doors. On the front handles are located in a standard place, but on the rear they are not visible. It may seem that they do not exist, but they are not. The rear door handles are located at the top, next to the glass.

Features

Now it's worth talking about the characteristics of the Chevrolet Spark. Only 3 parts are of greatest interest here: engines, gearboxes and chassis. Let's consider each of these parameters separately.

Engines

Choice of engines for this modelnot very large, and to be more precise, scanty. In total, models with liter and 1.2 liter engines were available to customers to choose from.

Chevrolet Spark with a 1 liter engine, had a power of 67 hp. With. and accelerated to 100 km / h in 17.5 seconds. The maximum speed at the same time was 143 km / h. By type of construction, this is a conventional, 4-cylinder in-line engine with a transverse arrangement.

The second 1.2 liter engine had a power of 84 hp. s., which allowed the car to accelerate to hundreds in 12.1 seconds. The maximum speed was limited to 164 km / h. The type of structure is exactly the same as that of the previous unit.

Regarding the expense. A liter engine in city mode consumes about 8-8.5 liters and 5 on the highway. For a 1.2 liter engine, these figures are slightly smaller: 6.5 liters in the city and 4.0–4.2 on the highway.

Checkpoint

Now about gearboxes. In total, two types of gearboxes were installed on the Sparky - mechanics and automatic. In the 4th generation, a “robot” was also added, but the car is not for sale with us, as mentioned earlier. The manual has 5 speeds, while the automatic has only 4.

Of the problems, only one can be noted - over time, on the mechanics of 1-2 gears, it becomes slightly difficult to switch, sometimes even with a “crunch”. Everything is treated quite simply. First - you need to change the oil, it is desirable that it be as thin as possible (you can take automatic transmission oil). Second, you should definitely adjust the cables.

Chassis

Well, andcompleting the study of the technical characteristics of the Chevrolet Spark, it is worth saying a few words about the suspension and chassis. In principle, everything is extremely simple here. The front is independent suspension with McPherson struts. Behind - semi-independent with a torsion beam.

In terms of dynamics, the car has no problems: all maneuvers, especially during rush hour, are easy to carry out. Pits and irregularities are “swallowed”, shock absorbers work out very well. In terms of wear resistance - every 40-45 thousand km it is necessary to change the racks and shock absorbers every 65 thousand km.

Reviews

Reviews about the model in most cases are positive. Owners note the small size of the car, good visibility, maneuverability, convenience in the cabin, etc. However, there are still disadvantages. The first drawback of the Chevrolet Spark is spare parts. Despite the fact that most consumables fit here from Matiz, some parts will have to pay well, especially with repairs. The second disadvantage is the low engine power. The owners note that on the highway and especially when driving uphill, the engine has a very difficult time. The third minus is the small volume of the trunk. For example, a folded baby stroller cannot be put in the trunk.

Also, the little things can be noted not too high ground clearance, because of which there is a risk of hooking the bumper curb, and high fuel consumption for a small car.

Cost

As for the cost, finding a new car in car dealerships is quite problematic, but still possible. The minimum cost will be in the region of 350-400 thousand rubles.rubles.

In the secondary market, everything is much simpler. There are a lot of cars for sale. The average price is also not very different - 340-380 thousand rubles for the model of 2011-2013.

In addition, second-generation models, 2005-2009, are also on sale. They are, accordingly, cheaper. The average price varies from 190 thousand to 200 thousand rubles. You can, of course, find options even cheaper, but most likely they will require too much investment.