History: It is known to a very few about the history of this
GM’s little angel, Chevrolet SPARK. If you think of the small car segment in
the Indian automobile industry in the past one decade, one car that had made
the right impact was the DAEWOO Matiz. This peppy little small-car with a 800cc
engine was a head turner and posed a tough threat to the then small-car leader
MARUTI 800. Call it for their poor marketing strategy, DAEWOO ceased to exist
somewhere around 2005 and that draws the end of an era for the Matiz. Well, not
really, the American automotive giant General Motors took over and revamped the
Matiz to what is today known in the Indian market as the Chevrolet SPARK. The
significant number of Matiz you see on today’s Indian roads, and the satisfied
customers stand as a testimony to the reliability and performance of this
breed. The Matiz was looking all good for what it was made, and GM had a tough
challenge to maintain the credibility of the Matiz in its new product line,
SPARK. Nonetheless, GM did a great job in scaling it to the 995cc S-TEC engine,
refining the simple & elegant appearance without damaging the highlight,
the iconic headlamp from the original Matiz. Three cheers to GM!! Whatsoever, Spark hasn't been all that successful in capturing the market, as the Matiz did. GM is projecting this more as a cheap car than banking on its virtues. I should say this is the most under valued super car.
The Decision: Your first car is more emotionally attached to
you and your family. A lot of things go into the decision. Nearly two years
ago, the small-car market wasn’t all that matured as it is today. It was a
tough decision to make. The only options available were the Alto, Wagon-R,
Estilo, Ritz, Spark, Santro and the i10. Every other small-car on the road was
then (and even now) either an Alto or a Santro. Clearly I wanted to be
different and keep away from the crowd. Ritz and the i10 were a clear NO NO for
me, for their really awkward hunched look from the rear. Wagon-R missed the
right curves and the tall boy design failed to impress me. No one in our family
was really taller than 5’ 6” and Wagon-R did not get a buy in from anyone in my
family. Estilo was quite impressive, but Maruti was then stubborn in pricing.
It was never value for money. Also the negative feedback and instability about
its previous generation ZEN-Estilo made me think twice. Now I should say rather
than choice, SPARK survived the elimination test among all nominees. Later I
did some thorough analysis and there was a wonderful response about this little
angel from across the internet.
Before making the final call, I had to bring back Alto and
Santro, as I have eliminated them from the game for sheer psychological
comfort. Alto, was really positioned as the most basic entry level car (the
nano of those days). Compared to the Spark, it was a little too cramped and the
“most basic” in all aspects, for the same price as the Spark. Alto could win
the hearts of millions for its phenomenal ful efficiency numbers, but this one
for me was not the deciding criteria. The 1100cc engine and the superior looks
of the Santro was promising, but wasn’t as much value for money as the Spark
was. I would rather pay for the features than for the name and popularity, and
can compromise on the lower BHp of the Spark compared to the Santro, after all
this is a small-car. Given that the Spark was fairly priced, had most of the
features I would expect from my first car, and the fact that it was built on
the credibility of the Matiz, I decided to go with the Spark. GM’s three year
ZERO maintenance offer was promising too. Having chosen the LT variant, I got
the body coloured bumpers/rearview mirrors/door handle, roof rails and rear
spoiler, dual tone dash board, beige interiors, all-4 power windows, central
locking, 40-60 split rear seat, fog-lamps and read defogger. All this wouldn’t
really be available in Alto, and would cost me a whopping 50-60K more if I went
for Santro. Today, two years later, I am glad I made the right decision.
Quality: Given the price you paid for the smallest offering
in GMs kitty, there is no compromise on quality in any of its features.
Although two characteristics that disappoints me the most could be improved.
Firstly the quality of the body sheet-metal could have been improved. Currently
it is very susceptible to dents. Secondly the platicky feel of the dashboard
and the steering wheel. GM has definitely corrected both these in the next
offering the Beat. But I see no reason why Spark customers should compromise in
this. The centrally positioned instrument cluster would feel awkward for the
first few moments you sit in the car, but eventually you will like it. There is
enough leg room in all the seats unless you are 5’ 10” and beyond when you may
start feeling uncomfortable with your legs, that too only in the rear seat.
Boot space is pretty much decent for a small family’s requirements. Unless you
go with the LPG variant where your stepny eats into your boot space, you will
be more than happy with the offering.
Performance: This peppy little car has never been short of
power. Going up the steepest roads of Bangalore with 4 adults and a kid was as
flawless. Although I attempted the second gear, but when it gave up, I had to
drop down to zero and start all afresh in the first gear, all this while half
way through a really inclined road. Chevy claims that the A/C in this car is
superior to its competitors, but I didn’t see any reason why they claim so. It
has been performing to my satisfaction. The engine is significantly lethargic when the A/C is on. One reason for Spark owners to
keep sulking is the very mediocre performance of this car when it comes to fuel
efficiency numbers. If all you want is a few extra kilometers for every liter
of petrol, think twice before you buy. I would recommend you to go for a Maruti.
Nonetheless, Sparky isn’t all that a poor performer too, it may not win the
number game for you. I have been consistently recording 11-12 kmpl with A/C in
extreme city driving conditions, and around 12-14 without A/C. And when I meant
city driving conditions, it is the packed bumper to bumper traffic in the
Bangalore city during peak hours. On long drives it has delivered me up to 18
kmpl without A/C and about 15-16 kmpl with A/C.
Comfort: Talking of comfort, the beauty of this car is in
the shocks that GM offers. This is the only car in this segment which comes
with gas-filled suspension. Pot holes and small bumps on the road are never a
pain. My friends with Santro and i10 were stunned. However on rough roads, the
noise inside the cabin is significantly more, than inside an i10 cabin. This is
annoying at times. The car does not come with an adjustable steering. Driver
seat height is also fixed. For a person like me who is 5’ 6” and plus, it was
never a problem. I have personally driven long drives up to 600kms in a single
day and never felt uncomforted in the legs or the back. The compact design and
the superior power steering makes city drive as effortless as possible. It has
been extremely easy to zip through city traffic. The gear box is refined and smooth
enough. Gear shifting during normal driving was never a problem. But the
reverse gear has been troublesome since day one. It takes two to three attempts
some times to lock into reverse gear. Though I complained several times to the
service engineers, it was never fruitful. Of late I stopped complaining to
them, as I am skeptical they could mess with the original factory alignment,
making life more painful. One should be cautious about this at the time of
purchase.
Maintenance: The Chevrolet promise of “3 years/45,000 kms”
warranty that came at no extra price is like an icing on the cake. In the past
two years, I haven’t spent a single rupee on getting the vehicle serviced. All
consumables and fluids including engine oil have been replaced or topped up at
absolute zero cost. You shouldn’t bet in this one big time, because the most
expensive servicing bills are expected only after you have completed 4 years or
50,000 kms. GM will cash in on you later. Still this deal would save you about
5 to 10 thousand rupees in the first three years. One fog lamp bulb and the
door beading of one of the rear doors is all that went bad in the last 2 years,
both replaced at zero cost under warranty. Having said that, getting this car
serviced is still a pain. This is where I would say Maruti and Hyundai win an
upper hand. The service network of Chevrolet hasn’t really caught up with the
rest. Firstly there are only three service centers in extreme locations in a
“metro” like Bangalore. The closest one for you could be as far as 10-15kms,
depending on where you stay. Most importantly one would not at all be happy
with the level of expertise of the service advisors. Chevrolet India should
wake up to this.
Conclusion: With more number of international players
stepping into the game, small car segment today in India is way more
competitive than it was two years ago. Fiat Punto, Nissan Micra, Toyota Liva,
Volkswagen Polo, Honda Brio and Hyundai Eon are the additional options
available today. Except for the Eon, the rest of them are targeted in a
different price band. The competitors for Spark are more or less the same. My
belief is that, when it is your first car it would be wise to go with a “value
for money” car at the same time do not compromise for the most basic of them
all. When time is right, you can make a bold move to the sedan class. Chevy
Spark is still the right candidate for those of you who think so. If you think
you will stick along with a compact car for a long, the premium hatch backs are
a good choice too, to be your first car. You can then consider Ford Figo and
Maruti Swift.
To summarize,
Pros:
+ Value for money car
+ Superior suspension
+ Easy city driving
+ 3 year free maintenance at no
extra cost
+ Best in class performance
+ The LT variant is placed
ideally between an entry level small car and a premium hatchback
Cons:
- Not so great fuel efficiency numbers
- Poor plasticky feel on dash board
- Very ordinary and poorly designed instrument cluster
- Inferior body sheet metal
- Poor GM service network
- Greater depreciation, resale may not fetch you as much as a Maruti
would
