Trancer07 30 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 (edited) Hey guys. I've been getting some mixed reviews on how well this car handles on the highway. I've heard everything from "excellent handling" to " blows around and ready to shake apart at 70 MPH" I personally have never driven a spark more than 20 MPH out of a parking structure as a valet attendant so I don't have a clue to how it handles on an open highway/freeway at 70+ MPH. What are your personal experiences and opinions driving this car on the highway? Edited February 8, 2013 by Trancer07 Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I've had her cruising at 80 per on the parkway, and she was stable, solid, and quiet, totally not what I expected. Although being an automatic, I would like to have seen a fifth gear, she showed no signs of straining or screaming. The remarkable thing about the Spark is, when you get in and drive it, it doesn't have that "little car" feel, you actually forget what you are driving. As I tell my friends, "the car is bigger than it appears". I've driven small screamers in the past, where when you climb up to 70, your hair starts to stand up, but this isn't one of them. Bottom line, everything has room for improvement, but at this price point, I don't see what. Trancer07 and kaytlen7 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Lazerface 24 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I'll agree with Walt This car gets buzzy around 80, but its not bad. Ive had it up to 90+ and would have been fine to keep going if i didnt run out of room. Its definitely fine at 60-70. A fifth gear would sure be nice tho :( Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 It does blow around a lot, but any car shaped like this does the same. Anyone saying it is going to shake apart at any speed needs to have theirs serviced! I do not consider it buzzy, but then my comparison my be skewed by the V-twin motorcycle I ride that is buzzy at high rpm and paint shaker a low rpm. It is a typical small car with small engine at high rpm kind of feel, they did a really good job at balancing the rotating assembly in the motor. Probably most of the people making these comments have not every driven one. Since Enterprise has them in some locations for $10 a day, it might be worth a rental torture test and then maybe a test at a dealer (the rental might already be beat). Link to post Share on other sites
westernpa25 16 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I find that if the roads are decently paved the highway ride/stability is very nice. However there is one strech of highway that I frequent that is about 8 miles long and I'm very happy when I pass that section, because I get bounced around alot. With that said most roadways aren't in that poor of condition. Link to post Share on other sites
illinoiSpark 3 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 My wife are I are visiting relatives in North Carolina at the moment. We left Chicago Wednesday, stopped at Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY, ran through the Tail of the Dragon, and then putzed the rest of the way here. Being a HPDE instructor, I've driven many different types of cars (mostly Porsches) on the track. I can honestly say that I am truly amazed by how well our Spark performs. westernpa25 1 Link to post Share on other sites
harleyglide 3 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 As far as handling on the ol highway absolutely no problem i took a few road trips and she hugged the road like a cheetah .There is however a blind spot on the drivers side .I had this problem on a lot of cars ive owned so look before you merge left. You realy should look anyway. Smikster and kaytlen7 2 Link to post Share on other sites
CappyScags 1 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I think it all depends on what you're used to driving. Me personally, I was driving a beat up '95 Cavalier before my spark, so I think that my Spark handles just fine on the highway. Link to post Share on other sites
sparkplug 1 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I will say, though its obvious, that the car handles nicely for what it is, but its not like my lancer to say the least. My lancer is lowered three inches on eibach sportline springs and kyb struts. im running 235 40 18s on it to so there isnt a corner i cant take without any body roll. But, this spark really takes corners decently for its size. Im impressed with it. Like Walt said, The car is bigger (and better) than it appears. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 There are lowering kits for the spark from Korean Auto Imports, we get a discount too. Find the thread down in the mods section for details. Link to post Share on other sites
Trancer07 30 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) Now, acceleration is another thing I need to consider before buying one of these. So many people say it's under powered and sluggish getting it up to speed and passing on the highway. Dunno if these people are used to driving porches and big V8 Ram trucks or what. Others say its peppy and more than adequate for highway acceleration considering the car's size. People and their contradictions!! As a kid, my parents had a car with less horsepower than the spark, a 3-banger! It's gotta have more acceleration power than that thing and that old car wasn't bad. Edited March 8, 2013 by Trancer07 Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 (edited) Third gear goes past 60mph, there is plenty of get up and go for a single occupant, still seems fine with a second person. I think all you need to be willing to do is shift the thing, but this is from the point of view of a manual transmission. The 4 speed auto might suck. Edited March 8, 2013 by Greg_E Link to post Share on other sites
joehornback 5 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 It doesn't have much power, it will pass but you will need plenty of room on the highway. A downshift to 4th at 65 will find you at almost 4K RPM's. And a little bit of torque to advance the car. Taking off uphill from a dead stop is terrible. Just get ready to torque it up to some high RPM's for any power, but then you're really defeating the little car's purpose when you do this, which is fuel mileage, not to mention the wear and tear on the motor at those RPM's. And I don't recommend doing that AT ALL before you hit at least 3000 miles on the odometer. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Also remember that this car has hill start which holds the breaks for up to 2 seconds... This means you can apply power and still have the breaks holding the wheels when on a hill. To me it has plenty of power, no problems passing people at 55mph in 5th gear, but shift it down to 3rd and have some real fun if they are going a little slower. Link to post Share on other sites
joehornback 5 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My hill start only works on a very steep grade. I have one hill that has a red light that is a fairly steep grade and my hill stop will not grab. Dissappointing. Smikster 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Try pressing harder on the break pedal, also make sure you didn't turn traction control off. If it still doesn't work, then you need a trip to the dealer. Check and make sure both traction control and ABS are functioning as both of these use the breaks to accomplish their function. Link to post Share on other sites
jibb3r 29 Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 My hill assist also only works on steep grades. In the 1300 miles I've driven, it's only kicked in once, but the hill I was stopped on was pretty serious. Link to post Share on other sites
smokey 2 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I resently drove our Spark on the interstate in winds that exceeded 40mph. Did it move around? Yes, but not nearly as bad as one would think. It was a real surprise that it handled so well. The Spark we have is an auto. I wish they would have went with a (5 speed) transmission. Other than that, we are very satisfied. The gas milage on the sticker said 37mpg. We are getting 38mpg. How many people can say that they get better milage than the mpg estimates. Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Just about all of us are getting better combined figures for mileage than the EPA suggests. Link to post Share on other sites
smokey 2 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 For those of us who enjoy the milage the Spark delivers, I would agree with you. Have you seen some of the numbers the other guys say they can get? You could'nt get that kind of gas milage at idle on a set of jack-stands!! Link to post Share on other sites
Smikster 10 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 My hill start only works on a very steep grade. I have one hill that has a red light that is a fairly steep grade and my hill stop will not grab. Dissappointing. Mine is utter shit to. had it in the shop for it and they said not sure, pulled it up a ramp and rolled right down...gerrrr....tacos need to call them again, i want my hill asst! Link to post Share on other sites
Riverspark 28 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I drive the highway to work everyday, I travel at 120 km/h (74.5mph) and the car is solid. Accelerating onto the highway is a bit of a slow march but it does get there after a few seconds :D Crosswinds aren't too bad, between my smart and the Spark I would rate them about the same, you feel it a bit but not like you are about to be tossed into the other lane. Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I drive the highway to work everyday, I travel at 120 km/h (74.5mph) and the car is solid. Accelerating onto the highway is a bit of a slow march but it does get there after a few seconds :D Crosswinds aren't too bad, between my smart and the Spark I would rate them about the same, you feel it a bit but not like you are about to be tossed into the other lane. You would rate the Smart, and the Spark about the same? Are you referring to stability? Acceleration? Or both? Just curious, I actually like the Smart, it would have been a little too small for me though. Link to post Share on other sites
Riverspark 28 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I had a diesel version smart and in regards to stability on the highway I would rate both the same (good). Spark is way better in terms of acceleration and much quicker When I had the gas powered smart I would rate stability the same and acceleration I would say is almost the same, I think the Spark is 2 seconds faster 0-60 I love both but for day to day living the Spark beats my beloved smart :D Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I love both but for day to day living the Spark beats my beloved smart :D Yeah, the Spark is a fun car. Thanks for the mini review. Link to post Share on other sites
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