Namaste from India

[brij 0]

Hi all,

Have been using the chevy spark since 4 years, thought i would join in and share my experience and knowledge about the car, and also gain some knowledge. Good to see spark users from around the world out here.

brij

[Retired old Gearhead 201]

Welcome to the forum brij!...Always nice to get a global perspective on a product. Want to share some differences between the India Spark and the US version?

[brij 0]

Hey gearhead,

First of all Spark as sold in US is called as Beat here in India. The spark which they sell here is the upgraded Matiz version.

I think our spark version is similar to which are available in other south american or asian countries.

http://www.chevrolet.co.in/spark-low-maintenance-car.html

Chevrolet cars dont do that well in india for some reasons. Their sales are absymally low to even get in monthly sales charts that come in newspapers here.

But i have found to car good to drive in city conditions.

[Retired old Gearhead 201]

Hey gearhead,

First of all Spark as sold in US is called as Beat here in India. The spark which they sell here is the upgraded Matiz version.

I think our spark version is similar to which are available in other south american or asian countries.

http://www.chevrolet.co.in/spark-low-maintenance-car.html

Chevrolet cars dont do that well in india for some reasons. Their sales are absymally low to even get in monthly sales charts that come in newspapers here.

But i have found to car good to drive in city conditions.

According to the link you gave the Spark version in India costs only about $6,000 USD! That's a really good price for good transportation. It's quite a bit different than the US model, but similar in the 4 door hatchback design. Wheels at 155/70 R13 and a 64hp 1,000cc engine.

Sounds like a perfect city car for the densely populated cities in India with cheap tire replacement costs. Since gas in India is around 55rs per liter (±$3USD) which is quite expensive considering the average salary it looks like the Spark is a good choice out there. I can see why American made GM or any other US made car is not popular in India as they all seem to cost alot more than in the US. The Spark is the exception. Maybe because it is made in Korea.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Retired old Gearhead

[brij 0]

Yes petrol is very expensive here.The petrol is around Rs.70-75 per litre. I have added a CNG kit to this car just because the running costs in petrol were getting unsustainable, as spark is not one of the fuel efficient cars. But i am very happy with the bi fuel car now. The car is very nimble and i enjoy it.

Most GM cars dont work here because they are not customised to conditions here. Cars got to be really tough here to handle the heat, dust, fuel economy, suspensions, and of course the "price", the japanese and koreans have mastered this. The europeans are getting used to it now.

The 1 deciding factor for me going for spark was the 3 year full car service and warranty(we just pay for petrol, rest taken care by GM) which nailed it.

[Retired old Gearhead 201]

Brij, Judging by the gas prices and climate you must live in the south central part of India like the state of Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad) or the Bengaluru area which are both large cities with good economies. I can well imagine that US stock cars would have some problems in the harsh conditions and also the fact that they are very expensive compared to the Korean and other 'Pacific Rim' made cars. How does your Spark hold up in the hot, dusty and rough terrain? I have been in the State of Goa to visit an old friend and he and his family all piled into an old Toyota suv type truck and we drove the 30 or so miles on sometimes rough roads in blistering heat to the beach-resort area on the coast..beautiful area with cultured and polite people. Saw quite a few Toyota trucks but no American cars. We also saw a great assortment of smaller Spark-Beat type cars that seemed to be in pretty good shape...people seem to take more pride in ownership there.

A 3 year full service/warranty is certainly a good sales incentive. On our 2013 Spark we got no free service but it has a 3 year 30Kmi full warranty, a 5 yr. 100Kmi powertrain warranty and 6yr, 100Kmi rust and emission parts warranty.