Chevrolet has Spark to make a difference

Deceptive external looks hide an internal space which is Tardis-like. The exterior plays tricks with the eyes. The Spark looks like a conventional two-door small hatchback, but look closely and you will find the rear section has two hidden door handles, making it a five-door, five-passenger-carrying vehicle.

The upright appearance and the spacious cabin belies the exterior size of only 3,640mm long and 1,597mm wide. The little Spark will be a boon when trying to squeeze into that tight, all-most impossible, parking space. It makes the vehicle ideal for a city run-around.

Two engines are offered, both petrol, a 1-litre and a 1.2-litre. My test car had the larger engine, 1206cc. It, produces just 81ps, but when you consider the Spark is such a light vehicle, it is more than sufficient.

The 0-60mph time is just over 12 seconds and Chevrolet suggest a top speed of 102mph. It also suggests 54mpg is achievable, but we always take these figures with a pinch of salt. High 40s was the best I achieved.

It benefits from a low CO2 emissions of 118g/km meaning low excise duty. Whichever engine you chose, a five-speed gearbox is standard.

The Spark is a very easy companion around town, with adequate performance, and has the benefit of being light and airy. Parking, due to its diminutive size, is a delight. Motoring performance was a surprise in that the vehicle cruised comfortably at the legal limit but inclines did require a few gear changes.

The interior of the vehicle is practical, it is useable and well equipped. I like the motorcycle-like instrument pod which sits on top of the steering column and gives you all the various bits and pieces of information you need, albeit with fiddly buttons to operate it. There are several storage options which include a double cup holder and a dashboard storage tray.

Just because a vehicle is small doesn't mean to say it has to be an unsafe one, and the Spark has been designed with high levels of safety built in it.

It has six-zone airbags to protect occupants from every direction, two front airbags in the dashboard, side curtain airbags to protect the head as well as seat-mounted thorax and abdomen airbags, seatbelt pretensioners and a pedal retraction system, which takes the pedals away from the driver in the event of a front collision. All this has enabled the Spark to get four stars in the Euro NCAP crash testing and puts it among the best in its class.

I think the Spark will change expectations of what a small, modern city car should do. It is not overly expensive, the range starts at £8,695. My derivative was the LTZ vehicle, it came in with metallic paint option and an electronic stability system, which boosted the price to £11,495.

By Bob Hickman