2016 Chevrolet Spark First Test Review

One story in the Robin Hood legend depicts the green-cloaked archer doing the impossible: splitting arrows in a contest. One arrow finds the perfect center of the bull’s-eye on the target while the second arrow splits the first perfectly in half. In the automotive realm, and especially in the entry-level segment, the bull’s-eye represents the perfect balance between cheap and cheerful. Chevrolet nailed the mark with the first-generation Spark, but what about this next generation?

Our 2016 Chevrolet Spark tester was swathed in painfully green paint. Chevrolet calls it Lime. Sure, there are a few traditional colors with non-traditional names on the build sheet, but bright colors really complete the look of little cars. Inside the quirkiness continues, with the dashboard bisected by a swath of white plastic with a subtle hexagonal pattern that matches the seat bottoms. It’s different than the typical dull interiors usually found in economy cars. Color me refreshed.

Performance:

 

Performance	2016 Chevrolet Spark	2016 Mitsubishi Mirage*	2016 Nissan Versa Sedan*	2016 Nissan Versa Sedan*
Base MSRP (with destination)	$13,535	$13,805	$17,825	$12,825
Fuel Economy (city/highway)	31/41 mpg	34/42 mpg	24/32 mpg	31/40 mpg
0-60 mph	10.7 sec	12.0 sec	8.2 sec	9.8 sec
Quarter Mile	18.0 sec @ 77.1 mph	18.8 sec @ 73.6 mph	16.3 sec @ 82.9 mph	17.5 sec @ 80.8 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph	120 ft	127 ft	123 ft	127 ft
Lateral Acceleration	0.81 g (avg)	0.71 g (avg)	0.79 g (avg)	0.75 g (avg)
MT Figure Eight	28.3 sec @ 0.56 g (avg)	30.0 sec @ 0.53 g (avg)	28.0 sec @ 0.61 g (avg)	29.5 sec @ 0.54 g (avg)
*2014 Mirage with CVT tested; 2012 Nissan Versa SL with CVT tested

How does the 2016 Chevrolet Spark drive? Surprisingly well, and not just for a tiny car. Handling is stable, and as indicated by the reasonably high lateral acceleration (skidpad) number, the little Spark hangs in there and grips in the corners. It rides on 185/55 series all-season tires, so it’s no Fiesta ST, but it’s better than an economy car has to be. There’s a market for cheap cars with crank windows, manual locks, and a manual transmission: Exhibit A is the Nissan Versa Sedan, the cheapest car in America at the moment. You get exactly what you pay for.

If you opt for all the bells and whistles, like the 2LT trim tester we had, the Spark will ring up for $18,355 (including destination and a package that adds forward collision alert and lane departure warning). That’s right around Fiat 500 money, but with everything from a better sound system (six speakers instead of four) to heated leatherette seats, and forward collision alert. Options aren’t everything, though. Take the Mitsubishi Mirage. Price-wise it’s right in there with the Spark, though performance numbers place the Spark ahead, but not by a massive margin. The Mitsubishi also can be generously optioned like the Spark, so, why are we confident in saying the Spark is a better car? During our First Test of a 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage, we said, “Taking a curvy on-ramp with as much speed as I could muster from the Mirage’s three-cylinder, I was met with ample body roll and tire squeal, along with the distinct feeling that what I was doing wasn’t safe.”

The Chevrolet Spark feels well-built, and even though it’s fairly clear when you look closely that it’s an economy car, it avoids the Mirage’s tin can feel. The bright green Spark rode well during our week driving around SoCal, but got unsettled over bad potholes. Engine and road noise were present, but not oppressive, at highway speeds.

Even though the tiny 1.4-liter I-4 produces merely 98 hp and 94 lb-ft of torque, that was adequate for getting up to speed, though with all four seats filled the Spark struggles a bit. During our instrumented testing we found that 0-60 mph and the quarter mile both increased by about 2 seconds each with a full load. Around town the Spark is right at home, and with a standard hill-start assist it didn’t feel awkward even on steep hills. When still cold, however, the CVT could be a bit rough when trying to figure out how much acceleration to serve up based on throttle position. If we’d been living dangerously without a lid on our coffee, it would have sloshed a bit out.

We particularly appreciated the heated seats on the handful of (relatively) chilly mornings we hopped in the bright green Spark. The seats were supportive, and it was easy for this 6-foot-tall editor to get comfortable. The cabin is most comfortable with two, though if you wanted to fill all four seats it’ll be a squeeze as you make space for the legs of the rear seat passengers.

We’ve got to hand it to Chevrolet. The Spark’s new exterior makes it look bolder without feeling overdone. Character lines that were just hinted at in the previous generation are more pronounced and are really accentuated by the brighter colors. The same flair we loved in the last Spark continues on in the 2016 model, with colors such as Salsa (red), Electric Blue, Splash (blue), Kalamata (purple), Toasted Marshmallow (tan), your basic silver, white, and black, and the Lime (green) of our tester. When you’re shopping for a small car, do yourself a favor and skip the rental car colors. Go for a bright hue.

The Chevrolet MyLink system with a 7-inch color capacitive touchscreen and support for both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is standard on all trim levels. Take note of three things: the capacitive touch screen, the Android Auto/CarPlay capability, and the all trims part. That’s right: Your base five-speed manual, crank-window Spark features an infotainment system that’ll remain as up-to-date as your smartphone of choice. My, how times have changed. How well does it work, though? The MyLink infotainment system pushes out some good sound, and even at higher volume various genres of music were still clear. Even though the Spark is Chevrolet’s cheapest offering, this is in a different league than the cheap paper cone speakers of yesteryear. The six-speaker system that’s standard on all but the base LS trims (a four-speaker system is provided for those) provides more than enough oomph to mask wind and engine noise at highway speeds. On more than one occasion I found myself zipping along having a fine time before remembering I was in an “economy” car.

I have an Android phone so I spend the majority of my time with our loaner Spark using Android Auto as my infotainment system. The primary strength of Android Auto is its incredible voice command. Here’s a sampling of requests the system handled without skipping a beat: “Get me directions home,” “Play Kavinsky,” “Translate, ‘Where do you want to eat?’ into Spanish,” and “Where’s the nearest Chase ATM?” All those years Google spent perfecting its search algorithms in a quest to understand our questions have paid off.

My one complaint about the Spark’s Android Auto implementation was a persistent glitch that prevented MyLink from recognizing when my phone was plugged in. Thinking it was caused by my older smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4) I had a coworker with an LG G4 try Android Auto: same glitch. When it works, the integration is seamless. We could switch back and forth from the MyLink radio to the Google Navigation without any hiccups. Early build troubles? For the record, the Hyundai models we’ve driven that support Android Auto didn’t give us nearly as much trouble.

The bottom line is that the 2016 Chevrolet Spark is more than just a bottom-line car. It’s one of the more efficient cars on the road, and it handles like Chevrolet didn’t forget about performance. When you’re looking first at the footprint, and decide you want more than an automotive appliance with a nice features list, the Spark has quite a bit of appeal. You’ll be getting some great fuel economy, and it’s likely that, before you realize it, you’ll catch yourself having a good time driving it, too.

2016 Chevrolet Spark LT
BASE PRICE	$13,535
PRICE AS TESTED	$18,355
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 4-pass, 4-door hatchback
ENGINE	1.4L/98-hp/94-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	Cont. variable auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	2,282 lb (64/36%)
WHEELBASE	93.9 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	143.1 x 62.8 x 58.4 in
0-60 MPH	10.7 sec
QUARTER MILE	18.0 sec @ 77.1 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	120 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.81 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	28.3 sec @ 0.56 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	31/41/35 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	109/82 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.56 lb/mile

The post 2016 Chevrolet Spark First Test Review appeared first on Motor Trend.

from Motor Trend http://ift.tt/23LvhaW