Chevrolet is making a bid to fire things up in the fastest growing area of the new car market, the mini cars, with the introduction of the Spark.
According to Chevrolet, the Spark has been designed to be edgy, vibrant and fresh, and the car maker has tried to stay away from the cute and cuddly appearance it says other mini manufacturers often go for.
The exterior of the Spark has a ‘wheels-out; body in’ stance, with a single arc roofline and strong, clean body sides free of cladding.
When it comes to the interior, Chevrolet says it also has, what it describes as a motorcycle-style instrument ‘pod’, which sits on top of the steering column and delivers all of the information the driver needs. The analogue speedometer is backed up by a digital tachometer, just like on a sports bike, backlit by blue lighting when the headlights are turned on.
Its handling characteristics, at the heart of which is a very stiff integral body frame structure, have been designed to aid the car’s performance and provide the driver with a heightened sense of stability, solidity and confident road command.
Depending on market and trim level, the Spark is also available with a system known as Vehicle Stability Enhancement System. This is said to provide outstanding safety and control benefits, with electronic brake and traction control capabilities to provide precise anti-lock braking capabilities, as well as yaw stability.
“We’ve styled and engineered the Chevrolet Spark so that it can compete anywhere in the world where there’s a demand for mini cars and the benefits they bring,” said Jack Keaton, vehicle line executive for the new model. “The Spark is, first and foremost, a car that offers great economy and manoeuvrability, yet it is also quite sophisticated. We think it will turn heads with an aggressively stylish design and we think it’s going to make a lot of drivers happy with its dynamic ride and handling abilities.”
Keaton said that while the Spark is certainly affordable, it was not developed to be either the most or least expensive offering in its category.
“We developed the Spark with the idea that buyers would feel they got a lot of vehicle for their currency,” he said. “From a complete package perspective, we think the Spark will be among, if not the best five-door car in its segment. It offers high quality craftsmanship, is well-equipped with safety technologies and, most importantly, is fun to drive.”
“From the beginning, we wanted to have a revolution in size and design,” added Taewan Kim, vice president of GM DAT Design. “We wanted to take a big step forward to deliver a completely new statement, especially in the design of the car.”
The car has earned itself a four-star crash test rating from car safety experts Euro NCAP falling just one point short of a five-star rating. But the good rating is down to almost 60 per cent of the car’s structure consists of advanced steels, with varying levels of stiffness and built-in crush zones to absorb crash impacts. The front engine bay rails and subframe are designed to absorb energy while maintain the highest loads possible as they collapse, while a transition zone around the base of the A-pillars and front bulkhead effectively distributes crash energy around rather than into the passenger compartment.
A similar crush zoe exists at the rear, with the fuel tank and its connections designed in a way to minimise the chance of ruptures. Additional rear impact loads are absorbed by a strong rear cross member, as GM’s internal rear crash measurement standards are greater than industry required standards.
There are also twin front airbags, side curtain airbags and additional seat mounted thorax and abdomen airbags, seatbelt pretensioners and a pedal retraction system, which pulls the pedal box away from the car’s occupants in the event of a frontal collision, reducing the risk of lower leg injury.
Two petrol engines are on offer of 1.0 and 1.2-litres. Both units are closely related and use a cast iron block and alloy head, with a double overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder. They feature multi-port fuel injection and are both Euro V emissions compliant.
The two engines use features such as port de-activation technology to improve exhaust gas recirculation, leading to optimal fuel efficiency and idle stability, along with a timing chain to ensure a lifetime of low maintenance and running costs.
With its doors and five seats, it may not look big on the outside but front seat passengers can enjoy up to 1067mm of available legroom (893mm in the rear), while shoulder space of 1295mm (1255mm rear) and headroom of 1010mm (947mm).
The centre console inside incorporates a bin for carrying smaller items such as a mobile phone, MP3 player or packet of chewing gum, while there’s also a double cup/drinks holder ahead of the gear shifter.
Chevrolet says the car will be available in the UK in the first quarter of this year.
