Considering getting a Spark, but I have a few questions.

[tozir 0]

Hi, I currently drive a 2007 F150, and I'm finally tired of the MPG I get from it, and seeing as how I don't require the use of a truck (as in hauling big heavy stuff constantly), I'm ready to get a car. I've been looking on the internet for a while now, just comparing little cars. When I started my search, I had not planned on liking the extremely small hatchbacks, but for some reason, I'm really liking the Spark. That said, I have yet to take one for a test drive (I still need to save up some more money).

I wanted to ask a few questions that I just can't seem to find on the internet. Firstly, I am just about to start my third year of college, where 500 mile round trips are common, and 150 mile round trips even more so. So I'm wondering how this little car is on the highway- what's the noise and actual MPG like? All I have to go off of was a few posts I found on this site and what fueleconomy.gov says. I'd probably get the manual transmission if I get the choice.

The second part to that question makes me feel extremely ignorant, but a question I must ask to ease my mind: the Spark can indeed travel at 70+ MPH for extended periods of time, right? I have almost zero experience with cars with this small of an engine. Additionally, I'd like to know how it would do on a longer road trip- as in a couple thousand miles overall.

I'd also like to know what the real world usability has been. Since I'm going to college most of the year, I do not need to haul much stuff except when school starts up and ends each year, so I'm expecting the small amount of storage to be fine, but I'd still like to know how adequate it has been for you. I drive people around rarely, so I'm not too concerned about passenger room.

Something else I wanted to ask could have been posted in the modification forum, but I just wanted to get everything out in one post. Has anyone put in aftermarket speakers/stereo/subwoofer? I'm expecting the subwoofer part to be farfetched, but would like to know anyways. One review I watched on it had the reviewer complaining about the speakers, and I love my vehicles speakers to sound nice.

I can't really think of anything else to ask, but if anyone just wants to throw in their opinion of their Spark, I'd appreciate it. You know, general feelings about it and whether or not you think it would be a good choice for me.

[Lazerface 24]

Theres a handful of people that have put some nice systems in their cars on this forum.

If you live in a warm climate, do not purchase this car. The AC does not work and GM is not fixing it.

I just traded mine in regretfully.

[austex04 48]

Be sure to test drive the car you want when it's hot out, to make sure the a/c works well enough for you, you'll find this isn't the only small car that doesn't have the greatest a/c. Mine works well enough for me, even gets me too cold after awhile. Can it go 70+mph? Of course! I live where there's a 85mph limit, and have taken mine to 90mph on that tollway with no problems keeping it there with the exception of hills. It's quieter than most entry cars at speed, but road noise is there. It gets the best mpg around 60mph, check out fuelly.com, and what people report in real world driving. The stock Goodyear tires really suck.

[tozir 0]

I live in southern New Mexico, but I spend most of my time In Albuquerque. While I'm in Albuquerque, it's usually really cold during the fall and winter, and can get decently warm in the first few months of the year. I'd be mainly concerned with it having a good heater.

Something I'm wondering the most now is how it does on the highway for long distances: is it comfortable to be in for extended amounts of time? Some of the reviews I've seen say that it's uncomfortable after an hour.

[Greg_E 211]

I haven't traveled mine that long, but I regularly do 45 minutes and no real issues.

The heater works great in mine, only need recirculate a couple times last winter, and normally only until things got warm inside. It heats pretty fast, and holds the heat for a lot longer than I would have thought. I've come out of work two hours later and found that I had some heat immediately which was a huge surprise.

[WaltK 305]

Just to reinforce what Greg said, the heater is a pleasant surprise, it heats quickly, and efficiently, and depending on what model you get, the 2LT has heated seats also. The a/c, is another story, as Lazerface said, if you are in a warm environment for any period of time, you can't depend on this car for cooling, and I would avoid it for now. As far as comfort, as I've said in a few other posts, the car is really larger than it appears. After fifteen minutes behind the wheel, you will actually forget that you are driving a small car, you literally feel as if you are driving a full size sedan. The car excels as far as MPG's, and will easily cruise effortlessly at 70+ mph. It is a great value all around, with the exception of the a/c, which is horrendous, at this time. So, depending on your priorities, regarding the HVAC system, it can either be a great experience, or a totally frustrating experience.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[Classing 6]

Tozir, You may make out better than the most of us. The reason I say this is because you dont have the humidity the most of us have to deal with. I have spent alot of time in NM with my brother. He lived at Mid Valley Air Park in Los Lunas. I have rode and flew all over NM including the trip to VLA in his 93 Cummins Dodge with no AC and I can honestly say that the heat and humidity is very different. I love New Mexico and Mass Ascension!!!

Edited August 9, 2013 by Classing

[austex04 48]

I find it comfortable on a 5hr trip to west TX, but the mpgs suffer at high speeds, especially +75mph, it's not very aerodynamic since it's short and tall. It's not any worse in crosswinds than a full size van, and is very easy to keep planted in the lanes. I know some enterprise locations have a few Sparks in their fleets, you should try renting one for a few days before deciding on one, to make sure the car will fit your needs. If you want something faster, you'll spend more on a Fiat, Fiesta, or Rio. Mini Cooper if you want a BMW in a really fun city car package. You can buy two Sparks for the price of a Mini, can't beat a car for under $12k. Rostra makes a cruise control kit for the cheap LS model.

Edited August 9, 2013 by austex04

[tommyspark 24]

We've had our Spark for almost a month now. I guess I got lucky because our AC works fine. We're moving and yesterday I used it to round up boxes. I was simply amazed at how much the car will hold with the back seats laid down! Easily more than our G6 would've held. I haven't driven it higher than 75 MPH yet, but around 65 MPH it gets between 40&45 MPG with the AC off. Our real world combined was 38.2, and we do about 50% city driving; 50% highway. But I drive it like I want those gas mileage numbers.

I am completely satisfied with this little car so far! Overall it's a cheap car to buy, drive and maintain. Small rims, so tires will be cheap. Small rotors and pads, so those will also be cheap to replace. Same with the rear drums. Shoes and drums will be cheap. It gets OUTSTANDING gas mileage, so once again, it's cheap to drive it daily. Small radiator, so coolant flushes will be cheap. It's a win win. They're priced low, cost very little gas wise to drive, and have very low maintenance costs.

In case no one has mentioned it yet, the speakers (regardless of model) are simply horrible/garbage. I waited a whole 5 wopping days before replacing ours with Pioneer speakers. About the only usefull thing I can think of for the stock speakers would be fridge magnets. And no, that's not an exaggeration.

We got the 1LT BTW...... Hope this helps you in your decision

[austex04 48]

You may also want to budget for new tires, the stock tires are just plain awful. Other than week speakers and poor tires, I love mine, I bought it in April. The heater works very well, and the engine warms up fast, I don't like the cold.

Edited August 10, 2013 by austex04

[Lovgun7 75]

Happy your thinking of the spark ....

If i where you ... print out these 2 links

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=1036

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=1951

take them to the dealer and have them look the car over... OR show them the links and negotiate a deal where if you end up having this issue they give you some type of service contract for your inconvenience.

have them throw in floor mats ! if they dont already do so.

Speakers

any 4' for the front and 4'x6' for the rear will fit ... I think we as a board (with the exception of literally 1 or 2 people) agree that the factory speakers are garbage lol. If i were you ... id actually buy a set of speakers to install on day 1 or 2 lol. Its an easy install that you can do at home.

Bluers Tutorial

http://chevysparkforum.com/topic/729-kicker-upgrade/

this is the thread i used as a guide... Bluer used Metra harnesses for a simple plug and play install

i modified my install a put ... i cracked open the factory harness with a heating pen...

another member here managed to use the factory harness and speaker wire without splicing.

as for a sub theres a few options that are ideal

Kicker Hideaway

Infinity Basslink

Dual 8' mini box with amp

you want to get something that compact and already has an amp built in

this is my system and at the bottom you can see how much my sub takes up ...

this thread discusses Sub options with links to products

Highway / Freeway driving

my experiences are 0-60 takes a bit of power lol once your there its a breeze driving never had any issues. Dont be afriad of opening the engine up a bit by pressing the gas

http://chevysparkforum.com/topic/1363-what-about-bazooka/

[bluer101 241]

You may also want to budget for new tires, the stock tires are just plain awful. Other than week speakers and poor tires, I love mine, I bought it in April. The heater works very well, and the engine warms up fast, I don't like the cold.

New tires and rims. Check

New speakers and sub. Check

Looks like I'm covered.

[Greg_E 211]

The wheels and tires aren't that bad, they go down the road, are relatively quiet, and get good gas mileage. I just don't like them much in the snow so I bought another set of wheels, TPMS, and mounted my old single season snows.

[tommyspark 24]

I haven't rode these tires in the cold or snow, but on both wet and dry pavement I don't mind them. Far from the best tires I've ever had, but they do the job. Bluer; lol you are definitely covered

[tommyspark 24]

We do however plan on getting wider rims and wider tires when the stock ones need replaced. When talking wheels and tires, wider is always better

[Jeffrey Makela 6]

Wider tires are not good in the snow and rain and they use more gas.

We do however plan on getting wider rims and wider tires when the stock ones need replaced. When talking wheels and tires, wider is always better

[tommyspark 24]

We don't get a lot of snow or ice in Memphis. At most we get enough to say yes, it snows here. And we plan on moving to northern Florida by 2016. I just don't like how skinny the stock tires are. Not sure how much wider of a tire that could be mounted to the stock rims. We're not planning on going crazy wide with them or anything like that. just up a two or more widths.

After lowering our G6 and putting some wider Coopers on it, that thing is like a road magnet!

[Smikster 10]

takes up no space, is snug, pounds hard, snails

and it's great how all my fishing gear (thow I had to downsize) fits with a full med-kit, and tool set....and never leave home without a 5 gallon bucket.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Smikster

[tozir 0]

Thanks for all your replies. Just thought of something else though. The models in my price range are the Ls and lt1, but the lt2 comes with a handy roof rack. Is there any way I can get that on a Ls or lt1? Google failed me and gave me roof rack cross members, not the roof racks themselves.

[WaltK 305]

The 2LT is the only model that comes with the rails, as of now there is no factory option, as an add on.

[austex04 48]

I think the roof rack can be a dealer installed accessory on the lower trims. A weekend trip for a small family would require a cartop carrier, and will give a anchor for a rooftop bike carrier.

[WaltK 305]

The cross bars are a dealer option, only if you already have the 2LT rails. Although the dealer prices are absurd, you can do a lot better on ebay.

Edited August 13, 2013 by WaltK

[NoSprak 17]

I think the roof rack can be a dealer installed accessory on the lower trims. A weekend trip for a small family would require a cartop carrier, and will give a anchor for a rooftop bike carrier.

What about a hitch and a cargo carrier (enclosed or open) on the back? It wouldn't affect aerodynamics and gas mileage as much as a rooftop carrier.

All of the weight hanging off of the back might be hard on the rear springs, though.

[Smikster 10]

I have a hitch, got rid of my super duty...had to do something. welded it to the frame for i can go over that 200lb hitch weight. use them 84 horsies. (and 3rd or less lol...witch is good dont want to go to fast.)

[austex04 48]

I wouldn't use a hitch mounted cargo carrier, because the suspension isn't designed to carry much weight. Having weight on the back acts as a lever. Also, I wouldn't carry more than two bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack.