PREVIEW: 2013 CHEVROLET SPARK

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2012 (5013 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A few weeks back, while driving down a dark highway in South Dakota, a pair of fast-approaching headlights showed up in my rear-view mirror.

They were very close together and very bright and almost looked like a low-flying helicopter. Late-night driving, especially when foggy, is surely when the vast majority of UFO sightings occur, so my Spidey senses started tingling.

The lights became brighter and, before long, this strange-looking vehicle was in the lane next to me. At first, I thought it was a dune buggy, but alas, a fully decked-out Polaris RZR, one of those popular side-by-side UTVs blasted past me.

I sped up enough to get a closer look and saw that it was running on highway tires. Loud music was roaring from the open cockpit. The thing that really caught my eye, however, was the fact this nifty little unit had what appeared to be a valid South Dakota licence plate affixed to the back of it.

“Man, that would be huge fun,” I thought to myself, as the grinning young driver gave me the thumbs-up and roared off into the night.

Ah yes, America, the land of the free. No helmets, no doors, no fenders. If it’s got lights and can keep up to traffic in most states, you can drive it on the highway … legally.

If only we could cruise in something like that on our highways.

The truth about most new cars, for me anyway, is that unless they’re muscle machines like a Corvette, Camaro, Challenger or Mustang, or anything with the name Porsche, they’re usually not much fun to drive.

In recent years, thanks no doubt to the rising cost of fuel and the ever-shrinking number of parking spaces in most urban centres, small cars are making a huge impact. Now, I’m not talking about small cars like the Honda Civic,or even a Nissan Versa or a Ford Fiesta. Those cars are land yachts compared to the micro-machines that are gaining popularity.

As well as being reasonably comfortable and insanely fuel-efficient, cars like the Scion IQ, Smart Fortwo and Fiat 500 are insanely fun to drive. You can push them near their limits without getting a speeding ticket. They’re agile, easy to park and always make me feel enlightened.

The latest player in this micro-war is the Chevy Spark which, along with some funky styling, offers all of the attributes a small car should. Chevrolet describes the Spark as a sporty, fuel-efficient, four-passenger, five-door hatch designed to excite first-time car buyers and city-dwellers. It also comes in some attention-grabbing colours — including Salsa, Jalapeno, Denim, Lemonade and Techno Pink.

At the Spark’s recent media launch, Chevrolet marketing folks led a pack of auto journalists on a spirited tour of Toronto. Normally, a route that includes the slow-moving streets of Hogtown would be frowned upon but my co-driver, Kevin “Crash” Corrigan from Auto123.com. But knowing this was a city car, getting the chance to test it out on the mean streets of Toronto seemed a brilliant way to showcase this little car’s abundant mixture of fun and frugality. When fitted with the optional four-speed automatic transmission, the Spark is certainly not a speed demon, but it scoots around town with ease. Although you’ll need every one of the its 84 horses to keep up with traffic on the highway, it’s quite capable of cruising in the fast lane provided you aren’t bothered by a fair amount of noise emitted by the tiny engine.

That’s not a slight against the Spark. It feels as if it’s been designed to work at or near its limits and, when revved high and hard, it does so with the same kind of confidence typically felt in smaller-displacement motorcycles.

Although most around-town types will likely prefer the automatic, the five-speed manual transmission really wakes the little Spark up. If you try hard enough, you can chirp the front tires while leaving a stoplight. And although it revs hard when pushed through the gears, the Spark managed to make both Corrigan and myself laugh out loud at how rapidly it accelerates.

To further illustrate how much fun small cars are to drive, the Chevy folks took us to a go-kart track and gave us the run of the course for a 30-minute race. As fun as it would have been to race around this tight track behind the wheel of a Spark, they wisely opted to have us race in the provided go-karts. It was total chaos as a flock of auto journos rubbed and raced around the track in tiny cars with less horsepower than the average garden tractor. The thrills were non-stop.

With the gold medal around my neck and a few new enemies, it was easy to make the connection when I climbed back into the Spark. No one can drive a go-kart without grinning from ear to ear, and the new Spark matches that feeling perfectly. It’s nimble, funky and downright fun.

Calling the Spark new isn’t entirely accurate. The original version has been on sale in Europe, Asia, Australia, Mexico and South America for some time. In fact, more than 600,000 of them are already on the road around the world.

Although fun seems to be the mantra for the Spark, there is also a fair bit of function at work. It’s the only car in its segment to offer a seven-inch colour touch-screen radio capable of displaying smartphone-based navigation, media and contacts for hands-free calling. Spark also offers more passenger and cargo room than other mini-cars such as the Fiat 500, Smart Fortwo and Scion IQ.

Chevrolet has also aimed to ease your buying experience with three simple trim choices.

First up is the Spark LS with a sticker price of $13,495. It features a 1.2L Ecotec engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Standard convenience features include power windows, rear window wiper, auxiliary input jack, outside temperature display and trip computer, 15-inch aluminum wheels, 60/40 split flip-and-fold rear seat and a comprehensive safety package that includes 10 airbags, electronic stability control with traction control and brake assist.

The middle-of-the-road model is the Spark 1LT with a starting price of $16,695. It comes with all of the LS standard content, plus air conditioning, a seven-inch colour touch radio with Chevrolet MyLink, Bluetooth connectivity for select phones, steering-wheel audio controls, a USB port and Sirius XM Radio with a three-month trial subscription. Other standard features include power door locks with remote keyless entry, theft-deterrent system, outside power mirrors, floor mats, visor mirrors and cruise control.

The loaded and sportier Spark 2LT starts at $18,495 and includes all 1LT standard features plus 15-inch aluminum two-tone wheels, fog lamps, exterior appearance enhancements (including silver painted roof rails), chrome liftgate handle, exhaust outlet and beltline moulding, body-colour lower rocker moulding and front and rear body-colour sport fascias with unique front upper and lower grille inserts. The interior boasts heated leatherette seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Chevrolet will also offer an all-electric version of the Spark in 2014, but the 2013 Spark is in showrooms now.

If you’re looking for a small vehicle with big features that’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, the Spark is the closest you will be able to come to driving your ATV on the street.

As an added bonus, you won’t have to move to the States.

paul.williamson@freepress.mb.ca