Car and Driver- 30 under $30K, July 2014, page 54

[NomadMac]

Chevrolet Spark EV by Tony Quiroga
Think of Chevy's battery-powered Spark EV as a millennial muscle car, an electro-GTO, if you will. While a regular Spark ambles along with a gutless 84-hp 1.2 liter engine delivering 83 pound-feet of torque, the EV version drops in a creamy and effortless 141-hp electric motor with 400 pound-feet, zapping the car to 60 mph in 7.9 seconds.

Electrification transforms the Spark into a car that proudly celebrates its smallness. Immediate power and fun-size dimensions transform city corners into apexes and Elantras into back markers. And yet, no matter how hard you're running it, the electric motor is strong and silent, providing luxury-car levels of quiet. Gone are the coarse toilings of the normal Spark's four-cylinder engine whipping itself toward 6500 rpm.

A relatively large 21-kWH battery provides a real-world 66 miles of range, and the price undercuts the competition. It's a comfortable little car, too, with a supple ride and an airy cabin. An LCD display borrowed from the Volt keeps you aware of how much energy you're using. What we like most about the electrified Spark is this: EVs that encourage bad behavior are few and far between, but this little Chevy could practically be your Vegas wingman.

*******************
It's EVs, not EV's.
- Grammar Nazi

 

[xylhim]

Seems to be a glowing review, but I wonder how crazy they had to be driving to get a real world range of 66 miles? I go up a 3000 ft. pass going 62mph and my range is slightly above 70.

 

[nmikmik]

Seems to be a glowing review, but I wonder how crazy they had to be driving to get a real world range of 66 miles? I go up a 3000 ft. pass going 62mph and my range is slightly above 70.

Haha,
I think I know how. If you drove a somewhat sporty sleeper right before getting behind the wheel of the Spark, you feel the urge :roll:
Constantly have to remind myself, slow down, use the cruise, people don't expect this thing to jump ahead of them so don't try to prove them wrong.

 

[markusg]

Chevrolet Spark EV by Tony Quiroga
the EV version drops in a creamy and effortless

That's exactly the words I use to describe my car . Creamy?

 

[SteveC5088]

"Creamy"? ....interesting. I guess that means smooth as silk.

"What we like most about the electrified Spark is this: EVs that encourage bad behavior are few and far between, but this little Chevy could practically be your Vegas wingman. "

Yep. It's going to get me into trouble one of these days. If I'm the first car in line at any light, a block down the street, I am 10 car lengths ahead of all that noisy, slow, gasoline-powered pack. It's becoming a habit to conscientiously think "what's the speed limit? ...ok, 5-over? press the cruise control, get off that pedal!"

 

[StevesWeb]

If I'm the first car in line at any light, a block down the street, I am 10 car lengths ahead of all that noisy, slow, gasoline-powered pack.

When I'm out driving my Spark EV I look just like the proverbial little old man, because I'm little and old. And of course people dismiss our kind of sub compact cars as dogs off the line. So it becomes easy to surprise the hell out of them.

These days if I have to stop at a light I'm always hoping a BMW will pull up next to me. They are much more fun to humiliate.

Once I have reached about the speed limit i'm off the Volt Pedal and the poor little carbon belchers have a chance to catch up.

 

[nozferatu]

Chevrolet Spark EV by Tony Quiroga
Think of Chevy's battery-powered Spark EV as a millennial muscle car, an electro-GTO, if you will. While a regular Spark ambles along with a gutless 84-hp 1.2 liter engine delivering 83 pound-feet of torque, the EV version drops in a creamy and effortless 141-hp electric motor with 400 pound-feet, zapping the car to 60 mph in 7.9 seconds.

Electrification transforms the Spark into a car that proudly celebrates its smallness. Immediate power and fun-size dimensions transform city corners into apexes and Elantras into back markers. And yet, no matter how hard you're running it, the electric motor is strong and silent, providing luxury-car levels of quiet. Gone are the coarse toilings of the normal Spark's four-cylinder engine whipping itself toward 6500 rpm.

A relatively large 21-kWH battery provides a real-world 66 miles of range, and the price undercuts the competition. It's a comfortable little car, too, with a supple ride and an airy cabin. An LCD display borrowed from the Volt keeps you aware of how much energy you're using. What we like most about the electrified Spark is this: EVs that encourage bad behavior are few and far between, but this little Chevy could practically be your Vegas wingman.

*******************
It's EVs, not EV's.
- Grammar Nazi

My brother said the other day it's like driving a Scalextric car...lol.

 

[jsca72]

I really love it when the car I left in the dust is a Porsche. Of course I probably just caught them by surprise, but I still feel smug.

 

[nozferatu]

If I'm the first car in line at any light, a block down the street, I am 10 car lengths ahead of all that noisy, slow, gasoline-powered pack.

When I'm out driving my Spark EV I look just like the proverbial little old man, because I'm little and old. And of course people dismiss our kind of sub compact cars as dogs off the line. So it becomes easy to surprise the hell out of them.

These days if I have to stop at a light I'm always hoping a BMW will pull up next to me. They are much more fun to humiliate.

Once I have reached about the speed limit i'm off the Volt Pedal and the poor little carbon belchers have a chance to catch up.

I tend not to take on too many cars off the line....it's the achilles heel of the car IMO. It's the midrange of this car that blows people away.

There are a lot of young punks around where I live on a major LONG blvd that stretches from Burbank to Glendale. Plenty of opps to blast from 20-50 all day long and smack around a few idiots. Not to mention on-ramp fun...lol