GLEN HILL

General Motors South Africa has announced the addition of the all-new Chevrolet Spark range.

A funky exterior and interior are going to be the new Spark’s major selling points.

The front end of the Spark offers an aggressive appearance with its strong representation of the brand created by the “Bowtie” emblem on the two-tier honeycomb pattern grille.

The lower air intake is defined by an aero-spoiler on its lower edge that flows into the bumper and front fender line.

Most striking are the exceptionally large dramatically styled headlamp clusters.

The headlamp lenses stretch from the front edge of the upper bumper line, right back to the rear of the bonnet. Thei polycarbonate lenses stretch more than halfway back to the base of the “A” pillar.

A side view of the new Spark could lead you wondering if the car is really a five door hatch.

The existence of the rear doors is masked by concealed door handles mounted vertically in the “C” pillar.

This provides the illusion of a sporty three-door hatch with the real life convenience of four-door plus hatch access.

The rear of the Spark is dominated by round taillight clusters that are large in proportion to the rear of the vehicle.

On the inside the new Spark the focal point is the motorcycle-like instrument panel mounted above the steering column.

This combines analogue and digital readouts that are functional but also in keeping with the car’s modern and youthful appeal.

The cloth covered semi-bucket seats are comfortable. Unfortunately there is no adjustment for the steering wheel.

Unfortunately this is the tale of the new Spark. It falls just short all along the way, except perhaps in the highly subjective looks department.

The most important segment is the “R” segment – especially for cars like the Spark. The Spark fall into this segment at R 115 495 for the Spark L, and R 125 495 for the Spark LS.

The benchmark was recently set by Ford in launching the new Figo at R109 900. At this price you get plenty of spec, the most important of which is ABS with EBD.

Apart from the question of whether it should even be permissible to sell a new car without this crucial safety feature, the fact you will need to spend about R15 000 more to get it in the Spark begs the question, why bother?

Both the “L” and “LS” are powered by the same 1,2 litre 4-cylinder, DOHC 16-valve engine.

Maximum power is 60 kW @ 6400 r/min with peak torque of 108 Nm delivered at 4800 r/min. Drive is via a five-speed manual transmission to the front wheels.

The specification of the base L model offers power steering, air conditioner, radio CD player with MP3 compatibility, and driver and passenger airbags.

Unfortunately for the Spark, the Figo offers all this for about R 5 000 less.

The “LS” specification adds remote electric heated side mirrors and power windows at the front. It also has a a four speaker RDS Radio with front loading CD player with MP3 compatibility and Auxiliary USB port, which the base spec Ford already has.

The LS has the ABS and electronic brake force distribution that the “L” should also have, and gets the auto locking doors that all Figos have.

The Spark has good enough ride and handling and reasonable build quality and finishes.

But again the Ford Figo is better in those respects. It is even bigger.

When it comes down to it, only emotion would make the Spark a buyer’s choice ahead of the Figo, for example. But we don’t all want to drive the same car even if it is the better choice, just like we don’t all support the Sharks...

The new Spark is available in a range of eight colours and as with other models in the GMSA range the new Spark is covered by a five year/120 000 kilometre warranty with five year unlimited kilometre anti-corrosion cover.

Roadside assistance is available throughout the warranty period.

Service intervals for the new Spark are one year or 15 000 kilometres. A service plan is available as an added cost option at the time of purchase.

The hot new Spark will be available at all Chevrolet dealerships at the end of this month.

“As we announced early in June, the existing Spark models will remain available in the South African market as the Spark Lite L and Spark Lite LS,” said Malcolm Gauld, GMSA’s vice president for sales and marketing.

“These two models compete in the sub R100 000 market, and offer new vehicle buyers at the entry level an affordable first car.”