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Old 05-07-2018, 02:24 AM   #16 (permalink)
hydrive
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Join Date: May 2018
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hockeynut View Post
Bought a new Spark.1.4 4 banger.So far I like it alot as far as power and handling.Much better than the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage.Gas mileage not as well.I searched the site to find a proper thread to keep this in but could not find.

Very curious what others have done with this car to increase mileage? Is this the best place to start a 2017 Spark thread?..If not please send me or I can go to another thread?

Here is a pic of the new car.
I bought a 2017 Spark last year as well, it was a pain in the ass to get it during the airbag recall, but eventually it came through.

I've generally been satisfied with the vehicle. I got a CVT model, and it confused me for the first several months of ownership. It is a so-called 'two-step' CVT that has two ratio sets, when it switches between the two modes (happens at roughly 40-50kph range) it has a whine, power drops for a second, then it kicks into the second CVT phase. It was very weird, plus Chevrolet has programmed software 'gears' to simulate, so it further makes the CVT act less CVT-like.

Anyway, my real complaint with it are two items: the back seats are not comfortable at all, as in its cramped and not good for other than small commutes. And the most important item: the new Spark with a larger engine doesn't return fuel economy that I'd expect in this segment. Yes, it has performance, but I don't particularly care if it only takes 10 seconds to get to 100 when taking 12 or even 14 would be fine by me. I just wanted to get better fuel economy.

The best fuel economy I get at highway speeds in highway driving is 5.5l/100km, at just over 100km/h. My average fuel economy, with stop and go major city traffic, is just over 7l/100km.

For my American friends, that translates to roughly 42mpg highway, right around 31mpg for average city driving.

While the 42 mpg sounds great, it only occurs under the most optimal conditions: pure highway driving, maintaining 100-105km speeds, and not running a/c. As soon as I turn the a/c on and drive 110-120 it quickly goes to 6l/100km (and at this point I'm tired of converting, so use google. LOL)

I enjoy the Spark: it handles well, it looks good. Am I the only person who wishes they would have kept a smaller engine in this thing? I see no value in the larger engine they installed recently or the poorer fuel economy rankings it provides. I would give ANYTHING for a turbo 60hp diesel that was only 1 litre displacement. I'm ready for a 70mpg vehicle.
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