2016 Spark configurator is live!

[ocnblu]

This is on my list of "most improved vehicles of 2016".  "My" build is $17,060 for a 2LT manual.  So much more mature this time around and a real nice little buggy!  Click to make it bigger!

 

 

Edited December 27, 2015 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

I was really hoping for a bit more engine in this.... something with turbo and DI. I realize these are built to a price... but at least the option would be nice.

[Suaviloquent]

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

 

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

 

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

 

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels. 

[Drew Dowdell]

The Fiesta with either engine is probably a better overall package for a similar price.... less likely to run out of steam when getting on the highway.

 

I've driven the 1.0 Ecoboost and it's fantastic in that car...... that's why I was wishing for some similar option in the Chevy.  The prior Spark was simply a city runabout, not something you'd ever want to take on the highway for a long trip.

 

Things really get complicated if you also consider the Chevy Sonic. It is slightly bigger than the Fiesta, but feels like a more substantial car in the way it drives.   The Sonic 1.4T gets better fuel economy than the Fiesta 1.6, but it also costs more and there is still the Fiesta 1.0T which is even better fuel economy than the Sonic.

 

It's one of those areas where it really comes down to your budget and how you will use the car.  If you're a long distance driver like myself, the Sonic is probably most comfortable on the highway while the Fiesta 1.0T is the most fuel efficient and cheaper to buy.  If you're a city dweller, the Fiesta would probably be my pick for the trim size plus better base engine over the Spark.

 

There's really no situation where I would pick the Spark over the other alternatives I've mentioned... I'd rather go used.

[ocnblu]

Well it has a new design 1.4L Ecotec with 98 hp and 94 ft/lbs torque in a car that weighs 2248 lbs.  Plus it is stuffed with all the features a minicar intender might want.  And instead of space alien style like the first-gen, it has a very buttoned-down, mature appearance inside and out.  Check the feature list against the Fiesta, which is growing long in the tooth with no replacement in sight.  GM should be commended for remaking the car so soon and packing it with so many improvements.  Plus the starting price is still only $12,660.

 

Compare to the 2016 Fiesta S hatch, which has a 1.6L engine with 120 hp and 112 ft/lbs torque in a car that weighs 2537 pounds.  The Fiesta weighs about 300 pounds more than the Spark, because the Fiesta has no added lightness, at a price of $15,265. 

 

Then if you go to the 1.0L Ecoboost Fiesta, the cheapest one is $17,240 after rebate, because you are required to move up to the SE trim.  The $17,240 price after factory discount includes the $995 price of the Ecoboost package. 

 

PLUS the 1.0L Ecoboost requires 93 octane fuel, which has been the bane of the Ecoboost's existence since Ford came out with them in 1971 (the Ecoboost is a VERY OLD engine configuration, and we cannot hold that against it when comparing it to a given GM product.) 

Edited December 28, 2015 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

All of that is true, but for the budget minded consumer, the extra tech doesn't really matter as much.  Both cars will control your phone when you talk to them and play your phone playlists, that is about the extent of buyer's tech demands in this segment.  The one tech advantage the Chevy has is Apple Car Play and Android Auto, meaning they can have NAV in their car's infotainment screen.

 

Still, I'd like for at least the option of more power/torque in the Spark, and I'd sooner go with a CPO Cruze or Sonic than a new Spark.

[ocnblu]

Well perhaps this little beauty might interest you.  Behold the Spark RS Concept... what is stopping Chevy from building it with the new 1.4T with 153 hp?  JUST WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR! 

 

Edited December 27, 2015 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

Not a bad little bug!

[ccap41]

The 1.0 Fiesta does not require 93 octane. One of my best friends bought one a few months ago, fun little car to drive too.

[El Kabong]

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

 

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

 

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

 

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels.

It is an urban pod for those who don't like to drive. In markets where it is a family car it does what a family car does anywhere: delivers people and their stuff from point to point in a competent fashion. I'd like to see an RS but it doesn't appear to have been a priority.

[ocnblu]

The 1.0 Fiesta does not require 93 octane. One of my best friends bought one a few months ago, fun little car to drive too.

To achieve the advertised horsepower figures, 93 octane is required per the Ford website.  No doubt high test is needed to achieve something close to the advertised fuel mileage as well.  And no alloy wheels with the Ecoboost?  Way to kill the party. 

 

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

 

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

 

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

 

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels.

It is an urban pod for those who don't like to drive. In markets where it is a family car it does what a family car does anywhere: delivers people and their stuff from point to point in a competent fashion. I'd like to see an RS but it doesn't appear to have been a priority.

 

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

 

You haven't driven my Toronado....

[ccap41]

The 1.0 Fiesta does not require 93 octane. One of my best friends bought one a few months ago, fun little car to drive too.

To achieve the advertised horsepower figures, 93 octane is required per the Ford website. No doubt high test is needed to achieve something close to the advertised fuel mileage as well. And no alloy wheels with the Ecoboost? Way to kill the party.

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels.

It is an urban pod for those who don't like to drive. In markets where it is a family car it does what a family car does anywhere: delivers people and their stuff from point to point in a competent fashion. I'd like to see an RS but it doesn't appear to have been a priority.

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast.

According to him(granted, sample size of 1) he gets between 37-38mpg in his mixed driving.

I completely agree that's it's a ton of fun driving a slow car fast!

Edited December 28, 2015 by ccap41

[ocnblu]

Haha, they even have a sweet little black alloy wheel with gray spoke inserts as an accessory!

[ocnblu]

 

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

 

You haven't driven my Toronado....

 

Hmmm... let me amend that.  It can be fun to drive a slow nimble car fast.  The front bumper on an '81 Toronado prolly weighs 2200 pounds. 

 

Cappy that's not too bad for fuel mileage there.  I forget what I was getting in my '11 Fiesta SE 1.6 manual.  There is a thread buried in the annals here somewhere about it.

[Drew Dowdell]

 

 

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

 

You haven't driven my Toronado....

 

Hmmm... let me amend that.  It can be fun to drive a slow nimble car fast.  The front bumper on an '81 Toronado prolly weighs 2200 pounds. 

 

Cappy that's not too bad for fuel mileage there.  I forget what I was getting in my '11 Fiesta SE 1.6 manual.  There is a thread buried in the annals here somewhere about it.

 

Hey now... the whole car still weighs less than a new Lacrosse V6 AWD.....

 

 

but lord, would it have hurt them to put on roll bars that weren't made of over-boiled spaghetti!?

[ocnblu]

I admit to having a perverse attraction to tiny, fun, internal combustion automobiles.  I must get it from my mother and my maternal grandfather's brother, Uncle Henry.  He showed up at the farm at various times in an early Porsche 911... and a VW 411.

 

Hmmm... the 1LT is still very decent and it's only $15,500.  I think I could do without heated vinyl seats (I prefer the cloth anyway) and chrome beltline moldings, among other minor trim details, to save $1500.  1LT still comes with my beloved foglamps and alloys.

Edited December 28, 2015 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

I admit to having a perverse attraction to tiny, fun, internal combustion automobiles.  I must get it from my mother and my maternal grandfather's brother, Uncle Henry.  He showed up at the farm at various times in an early Porsche 911... and a VW 411.

 

I got the disdain for small cars, and my love for the big boats much in the same way.  Grew up in my parent's Fiats, Subaru GL Wagon, VW Wagon, and Colt Vista wagon while admiring my Grandmother's Custom Cruiser .... power windows and air conditioning yo!

[ocnblu]

Oh you know I love a 70's B-body... but there is something cool about pocket-size stuff too.

[ccap41]

I admit to having a perverse attraction to tiny, fun, internal combustion automobiles.  I must get it from my mother and my maternal grandfather's brother, Uncle Henry.  He showed up at the farm at various times in an early Porsche 911... and a VW 411.

 

Hmmm... the 1LT is still very decent and it's only $15,500.  I think I could do without heated vinyl seats (I prefer the cloth anyway) and chrome beltline moldings, among other minor trim details, to save $1500.  1LT still comes with my beloved foglamps and alloys.

Man, I'm all about the Fogs and Alloys as well! I won't buy something without fogs and actual wheel(no hubcaps will be owned by me). I also am not a chrome kind of guy so any sort of chrome package I do not want because I'd likely slowly paint it all black anyway.

[regfootball]

The Fiesta with either engine is probably a better overall package for a similar price.... less likely to run out of steam when getting on the highway.

 

I've driven the 1.0 Ecoboost and it's fantastic in that car...... that's why I was wishing for some similar option in the Chevy.  The prior Spark was simply a city runabout, not something you'd ever want to take on the highway for a long trip.

 

Things really get complicated if you also consider the Chevy Sonic. It is slightly bigger than the Fiesta, but feels like a more substantial car in the way it drives.   The Sonic 1.4T gets better fuel economy than the Fiesta 1.6, but it also costs more and there is still the Fiesta 1.0T which is even better fuel economy than the Sonic.

 

It's one of those areas where it really comes down to your budget and how you will use the car.  If you're a long distance driver like myself, the Sonic is probably most comfortable on the highway while the Fiesta 1.0T is the most fuel efficient and cheaper to buy.  If you're a city dweller, the Fiesta would probably be my pick for the trim size plus better base engine over the Spark.

 

There's really no situation where I would pick the Spark over the other alternatives I've mentioned... I'd rather go used.

i drove the Focus with the 1.0.  It was pretty good but in the end it doesn't make sense to me when a Cruze costs the same and has the extra cylinder.  A 3 popper 1.0 would be just about perfect with the Spark.  I would use a CVT in a Spark with the 1.0.

Edited December 28, 2015 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

Before I helped my mom get her latest vehicle end of last winter, a Versa Note SV wit CVT, I took her to test out a current Spark with CVT.  The car wasn't bad, but the CVT was atrocious in that thing.  Nissan has theirs programmed pretty well at this point (and they should, they stick them in just about everything they sell.)

 

If I take out the worst trait of the current Spark, and add grown-up style plus a host of other improvements (Opel?) Der Neu Spark should be a fun little Sprite to maneuver through life in.

[G. David Felt]

Pass on CVTs, have not had any good experience with them. Give me a solid good old fashion gear based Transmission

[ccap41]

 

The Fiesta with either engine is probably a better overall package for a similar price.... less likely to run out of steam when getting on the highway.

 

I've driven the 1.0 Ecoboost and it's fantastic in that car...... that's why I was wishing for some similar option in the Chevy.  The prior Spark was simply a city runabout, not something you'd ever want to take on the highway for a long trip.

 

Things really get complicated if you also consider the Chevy Sonic. It is slightly bigger than the Fiesta, but feels like a more substantial car in the way it drives.   The Sonic 1.4T gets better fuel economy than the Fiesta 1.6, but it also costs more and there is still the Fiesta 1.0T which is even better fuel economy than the Sonic.

 

It's one of those areas where it really comes down to your budget and how you will use the car.  If you're a long distance driver like myself, the Sonic is probably most comfortable on the highway while the Fiesta 1.0T is the most fuel efficient and cheaper to buy.  If you're a city dweller, the Fiesta would probably be my pick for the trim size plus better base engine over the Spark.

 

There's really no situation where I would pick the Spark over the other alternatives I've mentioned... I'd rather go used.

i drove the Focus with the 1.0.  It was pretty good but in the end it doesn't make sense to me when a Cruze costs the same and has the extra cylinder.  A 3 popper 1.0 would be just about perfect with the Spark.  I would use a CVT in a Spark with the 1.0.

 

Yeah I think the extra poundage of the Focus over the Fiesta would be just enough to make it just a tad too weak, imo.

[regfootball]

cVT is good in really small cars with low output motors because the gear ranges can get REALLY high and REALLY low. Typical slush boxes just aren't efficient and flexible enough.

[Suaviloquent]

I'm someone who should hate CVTs, but in lighter, cheaper vehicles...if done right they are not too shabby. Especially if it replaces a gear hunting and clunking 4-5 speed transmission.

[ehaase]

With the slightly larger Spark, a Cruze hatchback coming, and rumors of the next generation Verano (which currently shares its plant) coming from China, I wonder if there will be a next generation Sonic. 

[surreal1272]

 

The 1.0 Fiesta does not require 93 octane. One of my best friends bought one a few months ago, fun little car to drive too.

To achieve the advertised horsepower figures, 93 octane is required per the Ford website.  No doubt high test is needed to achieve something close to the advertised fuel mileage as well.  And no alloy wheels with the Ecoboost?  Way to kill the party. 

 

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

 

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

 

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

 

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels.

It is an urban pod for those who don't like to drive. In markets where it is a family car it does what a family car does anywhere: delivers people and their stuff from point to point in a competent fashion. I'd like to see an RS but it doesn't appear to have been a priority.

 

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

 

You clearly have never driven an '81 Chevette lol!

[regfootball]

 

 

The 1.0 Fiesta does not require 93 octane. One of my best friends bought one a few months ago, fun little car to drive too.

To achieve the advertised horsepower figures, 93 octane is required per the Ford website.  No doubt high test is needed to achieve something close to the advertised fuel mileage as well.  And no alloy wheels with the Ecoboost?  Way to kill the party. 

 

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

 

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

 

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

 

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels.

It is an urban pod for those who don't like to drive. In markets where it is a family car it does what a family car does anywhere: delivers people and their stuff from point to point in a competent fashion. I'd like to see an RS but it doesn't appear to have been a priority.

 

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

 

You clearly have never driven an '81 Chevette lol!

 

I HAVE!!!!! we had an 81 chevette.  4 speed manual, rear drive!  Had an earlier Scooter model as well, 2 seat, rear drive, MT!

[surreal1272]

 

 

 

 

Well add another segment that I just don't get.

 

Alright, it's probably the best sub subcompact out there against stuff like Scion iQ and Smart, both of them deficient in intelligence, if you ask me.

 

But I just hate this segment right now. This is a family car in India or South Africa in terms of segment positioning.

 

Here it's just a very competent set of bargain wheels.

It is an urban pod for those who don't like to drive. In markets where it is a family car it does what a family car does anywhere: delivers people and their stuff from point to point in a competent fashion. I'd like to see an RS but it doesn't appear to have been a priority.

 

I'm an adherent to that old-skool philosophy... it is fun to drive a slow car fast. 

 

You clearly have never driven an '81 Chevette lol!

 

I HAVE!!!!! we had an 81 chevette.  4 speed manual, rear drive!  Had an earlier Scooter model as well, 2 seat, rear drive, MT!

 

That is exactly what I had as my first car. It was a pile of dog dung that couldn't get out of it's own way and had no AC with vinyl seats in humid a** North Carolina! Somehow, I still managed to get a speeding ticket in it though. Still not sure, to this day, how that happened!

[regfootball]

Blu, perhaps you'd prefer a Karl, instead of a spark.

 

I will refrain from saying this is a hot car.

 

http://www.km77.com/fotos/Opel/KARL_2015/Interior.html?photoType=2&limit=99

 

http://www.km77.com/fotos/Opel/KARL_2015/Exterior.html?division=color&photoType=1&limit=99

[ocnblu]

I want to see an enthusiastic test of the Karl or Spark with manual transmission.  Ach du lieber!