Chevrolet Spark
World’s largest passenger car manufacturer, General Motors launched its small car Chevrolet Spark in the Indian market in 2007 to take on the small car market that was dominated by the Maruti Alto, Maruti Zen, Maruti Wagon R, Hyundai Santro and Tata Indica. Chevrolet Spark gained much popularity in the Indian market since its launch because of its stylish look and quality interiors with comparatively lower price tag. Chevrolet Spark is a better car with more space inside with good quality interiors. Even after being a compact sized car, Chevrolet Spark possesses enough space inside. High quality steel of the car gives it a light weight and the required balance. Torsion beam, shock absorbers with trailing arms provide better stability to the vehicle even when it is moving on the roughest of roads.

Chevrolet Spark Description :
Chevrolet Spark is available with a 995cc petrol engine. The 995cc, 8valve engine competes with Maruti Zen Estilo and Hyundai Santro. It gives a maximum power of 63 PS at 5400 rpm and a maximum torque of 90.3Nm at 4200 rpm. The compact car is mated with five speed manual gearbox.

General Motors, the world’s biggest carmaker which rolled out its small car Chevrolet Spark in India as it takes on market leader Maruti Suzuki. Now built on a 5mm longer wheelbase (2345mm) than the old Matiz but measuring an identical 3495mm in length, the new car has sharper styling. In place of the smooth, rounded nose, there’s a well-defined bonnet V, pointy headlights and tiny slit for a bonnet intake. Build quality of Chevrolet Spark is pretty good for a small car and panel gaps are fairly tight. Move inside, and the centrally-mounted instrument console sits proud on the dashboard. It is this design that gives the interiors of Chevrolet Spark its uniqueness. There’s decent storage space in the cabin. A pair of shelves below the dashboard aids to hold small bits while the front door pockets are large enough to hold a water bottle. The car has a completely new pedal box design with durable plastic moulded pedals. Chevrolet Spark has a noise-insulating mat between the engine compartment and the dashboard improves the sound insulating effect. The car offers a mileage of 16.9kpl with a top speed of 156Km/hr.

Chevrolet Spark has a monoform design which maximizes the wheelbase and in turn improves cabin space. Its body is made of high strength steel which makes the car lighter and gives it the required stability. Chevrolet Spark has a completely new torsion beam rear axle which is coupled to angled shock absorbers and semi trailing arms. This results in greater precision wheel control.

Chevrolet Spark Models

• Chevrolet Spark 1.0     It is the base variant of Chevrolet Spark that comes without few standard features like Power Steering, Power Windows, Central Locking, Fog Lamps, Rear Defogger, Rear Wash and Wipe.
• Chevrolet Spark 1.0 PS     Power Steering the additional feature that is available with this variant.
• Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LS     The additional features that are available with this variant of Chevrolet Spark are Body Colored Bumpers, fabric Insert on Door Trims, Front Power Windows, Digital Clock, and Cigarette Lighter.
• Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LT     The additional features that this variant of Chevrolet Spark offers are Body Colored Tail Gate Handle, Body Colored Door Handles, Rear Spoiler, Satin Silver Roof Rails, Front Fog Lamps, Body Side Moulding, Front Windshield Top Band, Mudguards, Metallic Finish on Instrument Panel, Fabric Seat Covers, Rear Power Windows, Rear Defogger, Rear Washer and Wiper and Sun Glass Holder.
• Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LT Option Pack w/ Airbag     It is the top end variant of Chevrolet Spark that offers few additional features that are Alloy Wheels, ABS (Antilock Brake System) and Driver’s Airbag.

Mileage, Average and Fuel Economy
Chevrolet Spark is equipped with 1.0L, 995cc, S-Tec petrol engine with five speed manual gearbox that produces generous power of 63bhp with excellent fuel efficiency. The S-Tec (Smart-Tec) engine of this car is optimized with many technological innovations like Sequential MPFI (Multi Point Fuel Injection), Dual Distributor Less Ignition (DDLI) System, Motorized Throttle Intake System (MTIS) and Advanced Optical Sensors. As a result this engine offers high engine performance, smooth and noiseless driving experience with high fuel efficiency. The 995cc petrol engine of Chevrolet Spark offers mileage around 13kmpl in city while on highway it gives 16.9kmpl.

Power
As we mentioned earlier that Chevrolet Spark is powered by a 1.0L, 995cc, S-Tec (Smart-Tec) petrol engine that is famous for producing high power. Its 995cc power-plant produces 63bhp of maximum power at 5400rpm and maximum torque of 90.3Nm at 4200rpm. This engine delivers high engine performance with better fuel efficiency and also delivers good acceleration so that this car never vibrate even after the crossing the mark of 100kmph.

Colors
Chevrolet Spark is available with six vibrant colors that are Blazing Red, Olympic White, Misty Lake Metallic, Topaz, Caviar Black and Platinum Metallic.

Exterior Appearance
Chevrolet Spark is a stylish hatchback model that offers stylish and dashing exterior features and makes the first exterior appearance of this car very impressive. Its aggressive front grille with large headlamps and fog lamps makes its front appearance very stylish and dynamic. Chevrolet Spark is a cute looking small car model and its 17inch alloy wheels with body colored bumpers and body colored gate handles with body colored tail gate handle bar makes its exterior look eye catching. Some of the exterior features of Chevrolet Spark are Alloy Wheels, Full Wheel Covers for Steel Wheels, Tinted Glasses, both Sides OSRVMs, Rear Spoiler, Satin Silver Roof Rails, Body Side Moulding, Front Windshield with Top Band, Mudguards and Body Side Mouldings.

Exterior Measurements
Chevrolet Spark is a five seater luxurious small car model with a spacious passenger cabin. The exterior dimensions of Chevrolet Spark are – its length is 3,495mm, width is 1,495mm, height 1,518mm and its wheelbase is 2,345mm with the ground clearance of 170mm and minimum turning radius of 4.6 meters.

Interior Appearance
Chevrolet Spark is packed with very dashing and ground breaking interiors with its dual tone instrument panel. Its instrument panel is packed with ergonomically advanced features. Chevrolet Spark comes with the high roofline that offers generous headroom and its rear seats placed slightly high for better front view out. Other features that make Chevrolet Spark interiors more stylish are Fabric Upholstery, Fabric Insert on Door Trims, Metallic Finish on Instrument Panel and Rich Blue Color Fabric Seat Covers.

Interior Measurements
Chevrolet Spark has an ultra spacious interior with spacious passenger cabin that has the seating capacity of five passengers. Chevrolet Spark offers generous headroom of 970mm (Front) and 905mm (Rear) with the legroom of 1130mm (max.) and 995mm (min) with the rear knee room of 850mm (max.) and 670mm (min.) and with the shoulder room of 1254mm that is enough even for a six feet tall person. The boot capacity of this hatchback model is 170 ltrs.

Engine Capacity and Performance
As we already mentioned earlier, that Chevrolet Spark is powered by the high capacity engine that offers high engine performance, power and acceleration. It is equipped with the 1.0L, 995cc, S-TEC (Smart-Tec) petrol engine that is optimized with many advanced technologies like Sequential MPFI (Multi Point Fuel Injection), Dual Distributor Less Ignition (DDLI) System, Motorized Throttle Intake System (MTIS) and Advanced Optical Sensors. Powering by these newer technological innovations results high engine performance with excellent mileage. This engine of Chevrolet Spark is capable to produce 63bhp of maximum power at 5400rpm and offers mileage around 13kmpl in urban roads while on highway it gives 16.9kmpl.

Braking and Handling
The front wheels of Chevrolet Spark are packed with large Ventilated Disc Brakes with Drum Brakes at its rear wheels that de-accelerate this hatchback very quickly. The other advanced safety feature that makes the handling of this small car more comfortable are ABS (Antilock Brake System) that ensures that vehicle will never be skid out of control in case of hard braking at slippery or wet road.

Handling and Safety
Chevrolet Spark is a five door small family car with a low budget. But despite of its low cost it offers lots of advanced safety features that ensure that driver and pedestrians are safe in it. The safety features that are available with Chevrolet Spark are Dual Airbags that ensure the safety of driver, ABS (Antilock Brake System) that offers smooth stop without skidding even at hard braking on slippery or wet road and Ventilated Disc Brakes. Chevrolet Spark offers safety also for the pedestrian as it offers strong passenger cabin which is made of high-strength steel. The front end design of Chevrolet Spark makes it the first hatchback car in its segment that complies with the European regulations on pedestrian safety. For enhancing the side protection Chevrolet Spark uses Tailor-Welded Blanks that are generally used only in the high segment cars.
Highlights             Handsome, sturdy, and solid good looks to give it an edge in the market.
The city-drivability of Spark is extremely comfortable due to its compact size, agility, and easy handling.
Accelerates from 0-100 kph in 14 seconds.

Pros                      Roguishly striking design and easy-to-maneuver compact styling.
Siemens EMS to monitor emissions, which allow it to burn fuel more efficiently thereby giving a better mileage.
Large boot space of 170 litres.

Cons                      Instrument pod is placed in the center of the dashboard, which might make it difficult for the driver.