great job on the review. I have a 2015 base model that I bought in October of 2015 and already have 14000 miles on it. I Drive 130 mile commute everyday roundtrip for work and have taken it on various weekend road trips. the car is a lot of fun to drive if you get the manual transmission. my wife has a 2014 with the automatic and it does not have near the performance as the manual transmission has. the Chevy spark is definitely the best bang for the buck in the mini car category.

That 1.2L makes a surprisingly nice growl considering it's size.

Thanks for the great review, and especially for driving the standard transmission.

I own a Techno Pink Chevy Spark LT2 and have to say I love it. Have had it just about a year now and already have 38,000 miles on it (do a lot of driving for work). It is so great on gas, plus it has a surprising amount of room inside, more than anyone believe when they look at how small they are. Great video! Love seeing the sparks out there!

Yaaaay I've been waiting for this review for months! Awesome review! I like how you showed us in real time, the in-depth driving experience.

Thanks for the kind words, Cassandra. Great to hear you love your Spark! :)

Many thanks, Matt! The first time I saw the Spark in person was at the Spark Media Drive in NYC last fall. I took a liking to the little beast after driving in in its intended element ... the drive route wove through lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

I like how you shows what's cool in every single car. Thanks!

Yep! I've signed on to review videos for Autobytel. I'll continue to post here with the new Ain't Fuelin' series, 0-60 clips, occasional reviews, and miscellaneous crazy stuff. Thanks for the support! :)

I actually really like the Spark. I considered one for myself. I just hated the engine. Too weak, loud and coarse. The short wheelbase also gives a rather jouncy, busy ride. I didn't think it'd make a good interstate commuting car for myself. If car tech is more important than a nice driving vehicle, the Spark is great. If you'd rather a better driving vehicle with less tech for similar money, there are better alternatives.

Thanks for the kind words, Ken!

I own the 5 speed manual LS, and I found this review very true to my experience. The one thing that I feel does need to be known is the extremely long clutch travel. Unlike most manuals where full clutch engagement happens somewhere in the low to middle of pedal travel, the spark clutch begins to grab about one inch off the floor and fully engages almost at the top, this means this car is almost impossible to stall by people who are learning to drive manual, but for experienced manual drivers like myself, it means you have to pull off the clutch VERY slowly and all the way to to top, contrary to life long indoctrination of "not burning the clutch." if you let go of the clutch faster than the car likes, you will loose RPMs fast and the car will bog down. Take off from stop, RPMs must be maintained between 1500 and 2000 in normal city driving to avoid bogging down on take off. The clutch is also very light, and has almost no clutch spring engagement feel to it, so take off from full stop you have to rely on ear and tach reading, this really takes some getting used to.

Many thanks, Maxwell! Hawaii is paradise. I was there once, decades back and would love to retire there some day. I am looking forward to testing the 2014 Grand Cherokee diesel as soon as they'll send one my way. Great ideas on covering the sound system and safety features. Best of luck to your mom on the new book!

Many thanks for the kind words and great info on the Spark's background, John! The Microcar segment is heating up. If it continues to grow, the Ford Ka might not be far behind.

Great review. I appreciated that you didn't fixate on the dashboard tech and went into more detail about your driving impressions. The "slow car" movement is refreshing. I will definitely consider this after my Scion xB has hit 200K. Well done! Thank you.

Great video Dan! Love my spark!

Thanks for the kind words, Sw!

Dan, a great follow-up wold be the Scion IQ.

The CVT in the 2014 for the automatic is sourced from Jatco (same as a Nissan's) and the previous 4 speed was a great Aisin unit... old tech, but great tech.

The Rio is one of my current favorites in the class. They pack a lot of value into price and have taken a big leap upwards on the quality scale, compared to earlier models.

Anyway, always thank you for good reviews!

MY 2014 SPARK LS 5-SPEED GETS BETWEEN 42 TO 52MPG AND HAS AVERAGED A HIGH OF 53.6 MPG IN 465 MI. OF VERY MIXED DRIVING. ENOUGH SAID!

I can tell you here in NY I take the thru way once a week for work and often find myself creeping on 75-80mph without even realizing it. I personally think the car rides pretty smooth and unless super windy it rides nice. My average MPG while doing my thruway drive, which is about 1 1/2 hours straight is 35-37MPG

Aerodynamics are key on the highway, but it's tough to get low drag coefficients with four-door cars this small and tall. A tiny two seater like the original Honda Insight can be highly aerodynamic.

Yeees finally a new video:) Seems like it's pretty loud inside even at low speeds... Is there another hangout in near future planned?

I'm getting back to a regular schedule with the videos, Felix. Lots of stuff happening in the background. I need to mic these differently. I've been using the audio off my little Contour cameras. Stay tuned ... I'll have a hangout in the next week or so ...

Excellent commuter car!! Thanks for posting

I've been in the '12 iQ, but had some problems with the footage. Might do the '14 if/when it's available in the media fleet.

GPS is via the Bringo app. I had an older phone when I tested the Spark and couldn't run the app ...

The Spark EV is the one to buy ... if you can live with the range. It's wicked fun to drive.

Yep! Looks like it was a wee bit better, but the '08 Yaris was tested with slightly slower highway speeds, on summer gas, and the ScanGauge was not calibrated. It would be great to do apples-to-apples testing under the exact same conditions.

I know Toyota used one in a Corolla (surprise surprise), absolute base Avengers/200s have a 4 speed (for rental sales), and I'm sure there are others.

Dan are you working with autobytel? I love your reviews

Dan how did the spark cruise on the interstates? Can it cruise 80 pretty easily. I looking for a cheap commuter and I like the sparks features for the price.

I can't test at 80 MPH for an extended period here in NJ, unfortunately. The state speed limit is 65. It would be interesting to see how far the MPGs drop at that speed ...

Good explanation :)

Great video. I actually hated the Spark until I saw one in real life. They're so cute :-) Great video

Thinking off purchasing one this following yea

If I owned a Spark, the shifter would be one of the first things I'd look to replace with a nice aftermarket piece.

Agreed! I can care less about the high end car now. In an economy like this cars like this shine on my book!

I can't recall running it up to 80, Joe. Low seventies, but not 80. Can't recall the RPMs. Sorry about that!

I'd recommend test driving the Yaris back-to-back with the Fiesta on the same day.

EV to EV or gasser vs EV, James? The Spark EV blows the MiEV away in every way. :) It's wicked (fast!) fun to drive. The added weight of Spark's EV's batteries improves the ride over the gasser (which is pretty good to start with, for what it is). The gauntlet's been thrown ... Mits needs to step it up and bring on the next gen.

i kid you not, my friend who has an Evo(myself a WRX), has this as a rental while his fender/doors are being fixed. for some ODD reason...this car in the snow(Chicago) puts our AWD cars to SHAME. haha, i mean, i did all i could on the road to try and fish tail etc... NADA NOTHING. even stopping was like WOW. such a fun little car AND a Chevy. props to American Ingenuity.

great video. Can it be had with cloth trim instead?

Can you do a test on the Mitsubishi mirage?

I wonder if in 5 years it will leak oil into the coolant and one of the headlights and/or daytime running lights will go out because the voltage is slightly too high.

Thanks!

Show me a link, the GAMMA II platform vs the GM-M platform is completely different, and a Metro is just a Suzuki anyway. The Spark's engine is a special stroked version of the Family 0 engine line developed by Opel.

Spark is good car. Actually,It's a Daewoo Matiz which has 15 years of history. In Korea, Chevy added CVT(I don't like CVT personally, but small engine+CVT=Maximized MPG!). If Kia brings Picanto, it would be intriguing to see Microcars moving around the city!

hey did the sound system have much base to it?

They should put the 1.4T in this car lol

How does it handle compared to the Mitsu Miev ?

Close! New Jersey. =)

How can i find out if my spark is a lS or Lt

This car is loosely based on the Geo Metro, if that tells you anything.

so tru what you said. driving a slow car fast vs driving a fast car slow. so true. it does not do me any good to have a car that can top speed 260mph. when the hwy max speed is 70mph. lol

what makes it so fuel efficient?

You're lured in by the jazzy style and features, but you would NOT want to commute in one. It's slow as hell, very noisy, and the ride is jouncy. Bought a Versa sedan instead. Next cheapest to buy. The Spark is so awful to drive it makes the Versa feel like a baby Infiniti. The cabin is larger and quieter, has a smoother ride, stronger engine, and much easier to live with daily. It's also more fuel efficient. You also get Nissan reliability versus this Chevy badged Daewoo.

I rent the Fit whenever I am in Puerto Rico. My favorite car in this class and one of the best cars Honda makes. It is always a compromise. The Fit has an awkward driving position. The Spark with air and power windows is 13k. The Fit is $3000 more and the Rio $1500 more (if you can find a base Rio). Kia is doing a good job in this range. They offer allot more car for not much more money. I would hope they do a better job on the steering than their sister Accent.

Is the five-seater version not available in the US?

Er, I read an article about the Spark, which stated it was based on the architecture of the Geo Metro. So not making that up. Maybe YOU should do a little research.

Did you notice rpms at 80?

What was the highway mpg of that little honey?

no gps function???

Isn't the Yaris hatch about the same price, and with better fuel economy? You tested it at around 50 mpg, which is much better than the numbers you gave for the Spark. This is why I can't see myself buying a micro Chevy, when I can, for the same money, buy a micro Toyota.

Unfortunately, the range of any all-electric car would not work for me. Nor would the price. Any car I would be interested in has to be in the $15K range and must not need a tow truck after 100 kms.

I miss my spark 😢😢 I had to swerve to miss 2 deer in the road & smashed the front fender & they said it was gunna be $9000 & totaled it It was either hit the guardrail or have the deer come through the windshield

I agree with vette dude.. i wouldnt consider a spark but for those who will it doesnt look to be that bad.

Four speed auto!? Who is even making those anymore?

The Integrity was the worst tire we ever sold. They wear weird, get sidewall bubbles, and delaminate.

What are you talking about? Its much more painful to drive a small car when there's a four speed slush box sapping what little power you have. Manuals are not only more engaging but allow you to wring the most out of the small engine. I can't imagine what the 0-60 time would have been with the auto.

I'm surprised you got better gas mileage in both toyota yaris's you tested

The engine is sourced from Daewoo.

In what way? The current spark is on one of GMs small global car platforms. It is loosely based on a Geo Metro (Suzuki) as much as it is anything else with wheels. We get it, you hate it, but don't talk smug when you have no idea what you are talking about.

Are this reliable.

hey you did reach 60 success

For some reason it won't let me reply to Mark S' comment - but this has more leg and head room than a Fiesta any way ...

I used to watch all these guys videos. I wonder what happened to him? Why did he stop?

with those kind of seat don't expect $12k price range. This is obviously the fully loaded model

cool car

The sonic is a much better option than this car for just a few more dollars per month. More power, newer much better design, better fuel numbers

Wake me when it gets to sixty!

Yaris has very fuel efficient VVT-i engine.

Improving the MPG would increase the price. Less weight, Better aerodynamics, A six speed manual.......... Looks like they put the money in the right places. I have not driven the spark yet, The Accent was a fail. Very good quality throughout but the steering was among the worst I have ever experienced on any modern car. Turn to the left and it just sits there (no return and zero feel). Also real world Accents start a 17k. My BRZ is also slightly more efficient. It cost 12,000 more to start.

All around town has saver..

the 5 speed manual transmission in this car feels like it's connected by rubber bands

😎

4spd??? WTF it's 2013 lol a 6 would be fine you'll die trying to merge with 4 people in the car

To buy or not to but that is the question

The chevy spark does not sound like that. Normally sounds like a blower

Driving something this slow manual must be torture just get an automatic

LOL @ 120 mph speedo.

hehehe I wonder if it can handle a turbo...

I have problem in my car...spark

poor car choice that. bad mileage and low space. low power aswell.

FIRST!!!!

It's not a sports car, why would you drive it with both hands on the wheel.

When I drive car I NEVER go above 4,000 rpm's.

The most difficult thing about having a Spark is when you realize you wont be anything in the life :c