Thinking of getting 2014 spark ev

[Anonymous]

Hi,
Thinking of getting 2014 Spark EV with 28k miles.
I can't find much info on how the 2014 version of battery performs and degradation of it.
Can anyone give me real life experience on this car?
I know that factory warranty expired but I'm planning on buying extended warranty and also the battery is under warranty still which is 8 years 100,000 miles I believe.
Not even sure actually if I need the extended warranty, so again any advise you can give me...
Also, I know I can get adapter for the 110v cord on fiat 500e to make it charge from 240 outlet, can I do the same thing for Spark EV?
Thanks

 

[JPL]

https://www.reddit.com/r/electricve...chevy_spark_ev_132_miles_since_last_charge_15

https://youtu.be/nXa8JqwVGy4


https://youtu.be/_Rstq_0EA_E

https://youtu.be/XdKD6pQwH_I

 

[genosensor]

I purchased a new Spark EV in February 2014 with the older A123 derived cells.
Range when new was between 80 and 95 miles in my case.

4.5 years and 65,000 miles later, range is between 72 and 83 miles.

I have the fast charging option, which I use a 4 to 8 times a month for longer trips.

Certainly wish it could go twice as far. It's more fun to drive than the heavier Bolt, but that would nonetheless be my "next car" if something were to happen to the Spark.

 

[boatbum11]

Bought my 2014 Spark 15 months ago with 35,000 miles on it. Now has 48,000 range runs 83-95 miles (depending on how efficiently you drive. I'm an old hyper miler so get 6-7 miles/kw in town, 5 miles/kw freeway). Battery capacity is 15.8 KW, I fast charge about 6-10 times a month as I frequently do 200-300 mile trips in the car. Most of my charging is L2 at home.

In the summer months it can get to 110, we average 22 days a year above 100, and I have seen battery conditioning to 7% during the peak temps.

It would be wise to invest in a OBDII blue tooth diagnostic tool and use Torque pro with the Bolt PIDS, so you can see what the battery condition is before you buy. This is being discussed in the Battery & Charging section currently, check it out.

 

[Chris101]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who gets 5miles per kwh on the highway.. I can't seem to get any better except maybe once when the wind was pushing I think I saw 5.4 but I was also dead on 55 (not 60 or 70)

Anyway, my 2014 only has 17933 miles on the odo right now and we got it with 15808 so we obviously have not got a huge amount of data to share.

What has surprised me is how little the AC uses compared to the heat. Typical city driving I see between 6 and 7 all the time though.. 7.2 is the best I've seen. If I'm spirited driving in sport mode, I see about 5.4 in the city areas.

I get anywhere from 85 to 110 miles from a full charge in summer weather especially if I don't use AC or lights and hypermile and regen helps a lot!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm on the fence about getting a 2014 or 2016 Spark EV. I like the 2014's torque numbers and it looks as if the battery tech was better(?) than the 2015 and 2016s, but I'm hoping people will chime in on whether that's accurate.
Also, I wonder if it would be better to buy the 2016 as it's newer or would the 2014 be better for my 43 mile each way commute to work on the highway. I'd have a charger both at home and at work.

Thanks all in advance,
-H

 

[MrDRMorgan]

I started out in May of 2015 with a 2015 Spark EV 2LT with DCFC. The 2015 was leased and I returned it in May of 2018. In August of 2015, I purchased a used 2014 Spark EV 2LT w/o DCFC and 1500 miles on the ODO. Then, in August of 2017, I purchased a used 2016 Spark EV 2LT with DCFC and 6500 miles on the ODO. I still have the 2014 and 2016 and both are performing without any problems. However, in my opinion, the 2016 is the best with the 2014 very close behind and the 2015 is in a far third place due to too much battery degradation which other posters on the forum have also mentioned.

 

[JMenacker]

We have two 2015 Sparks. Neither one has exhibited unusual battery degradation. Both average a bit more than 17 KW when checking via the built in Energy screen. I've got about 16K on the odometer. My wife's car has less than 5K on the odometer. Neither car has ever been charged at a higher rate than L2. Both have considerably exceeded expectations.

Joe M in WV

 

[MrDRMorgan]

We have two 2015 Sparks. Neither one has exhibited unusual battery degradation. Both average a bit more than 17 KW when checking via the built in Energy screen. I've got about 16K on the odometer. My wife's car has less than 5K on the odometer. Neither car has ever been charged at a higher rate than L2. Both have considerably exceeded expectations.

Joe M in WV

I started collecting data from the energy information screen just after I leased my 2015 Spark EV. My "calculated" battery capacity was as follows:
2500 miles = 18.5 kWh
10000 miles = 17.9 kWh
15000 miles = 17.6 kWh
19000 miles = 17.1 kWh
24000 miles = 15.8 kWh
This was the point at which the yellow service-vehicle-soon light came on. Unfortunately, after the dealer "repaired" the car, the battery capacity remained 15.3 - 15.8 kWh until I turned it in. A friend of mine who, also had a 2015 Spark EV with just over 30k miles on his ODO, asked me to use my new TorquePro setup to measure his battery capacity. It measured 14.8 kWh.

Since June 2018, I have been using TorquePro to measure the battery capacity in my 2014 and 2016 Spark EVs. This is what I am seeing and I am still trying to figure out how much of the drop is due to the drop in ambient temperature. I will not know until the end of summer this year.

2014 Spark EV - purchased used with 1500 miles on the ODO. Tire wear at the time of purchase indicated the car was driven hard before I purchased it.
17.2 kWh @ 14000 miles.
16.5 kWh @ 17000 miles

2016 Spark EV - purchased used with 6500 miles on the ODO. Tire wear at the time of purchase indicated the car was driven hard before I purchased it.

16.6 kWh @ 10000 miles
16.0 kWh @ 16000 miles