Anyone seen/driven a Chevrolet Spark yet? Geo Metro 2.0 ?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

there's the longer expected lifetime of the Prius engine, planetary gearbox and brakes, which last a whole lot longer than regular items on regular cars.

Unless for the brakes, issue that an engine-braking device could easily overcome as it does in heavy-duty trucks, a Diesel still lasts longer than a Prius

[Miller88]

I finally got to drive on yesterday ... I really want one now!

It was the base LS model with manual trans. The salesrep said that he didn't think GM was leasing them.

The interior was nice an simple and it did say "cheap" .. but it's a $12.5K car. It was very good for what it was. The front seat leg and head room was nearly as big as my focus.

The interior compared to a Fiesta: Materials weren't as nice, but the front seat was MORE COMFORTABLE than that of the fiesta. I can get in the Spark without getting my leg stuck under the steering wheel, and I have a lot of leg and head room. While the back seat of the Spark has a bit less knee room, I was able to sit straight up without my head hitting the roof! Really amazed at the amount of head and leg room in this car.

My only real complaint on the interior was the shifter hitting my thigh in 2nd gear.

The "trunk" on this was very small ... but it's a sub-sub compact. There is an inflator kit. If I were to get one, I'd have at least a donut in there from a junkyard ... and a jack and a lug wrench.

I really liked how everything was laid out under the hood. The engine fits between the strut towers with a lot of space to spare, the belt layout is a bit awkward ... I guess they mount accessories to the engine a bit different at Daewoo.

Driving it was actually a lot of fun! It's easy to start off in 1st gear with no gas, and starting off in second gear is possible without slipping the clutch too much. Around town, taking off and getting up to speed isn't that hard.

It's geared like a dump truck. 1-2-3-4 flies right by shifting at 3500RPM. The engine seems to have the same amount of (little) torque everywhere - I think because it's geared so shortly, it isn't hard to speed up the engine a bit. RPM at 60 was a hair above 3000 ... but I couldn't tell because the top of the steering wheel blocks the analog speedometer.

The car doesn't get blown around at all like I had expected it to! Driving at 65 (that's about as fast as I could get it to go), I hopped on a northbound interstate to get some good crosswinds ... but there wasn't much blowing around going on.

On ramps definitely make the car struggle. I didn't want to beat on it as it was new, but it took a lot of pedal and a lot of revs to get to 55 ... I don't know if it's because it's geared so low, or if there's just no power anywhere, but downshifting and planting the gas pedal didn't seem to make it want to get up quicker. You definitely have to plan ahead to do anything strenuous on the car.

It was reading between 38 and 45 on the highway.

Once at highway speed, it had no problem keeping speed. Mashing the gas in 5th gear ... yielded no results, dropping it to 4th and mashing the gas ... a little.

The shifter reminded me of the old Peterbilts I learned to drive on where you could wiggle the shifter around and the gears weren't really obvious where they were.

The battery light was also blinking the entire time.

The engine is a bit buzzy - but in a cool way, not an annoying / cheap way!

The suspension setup on this car is GREAT! There was body roll, but not near as much as I expected. The steering felt great (electric power steering is still a bit weird to me) and it was precise. No wondering in corners.

All in all, I'm really impressed with this car! The lack of a back seat is a bit impractical for me, as is another new car. I'm hoping these things don't have any resale value and I can pick one up cheap in a few years! Provided they are reliable, I can see them being a simple little car to keep.

[niky]

Congrats on the purchase. I'm thinking perhaps better engine mounts and shifter bushings will cure the shifter, but hell... poor shift action is the bane of cheap cars everywhere.

Now it's time to get hypermiling. Show those nannies at the EPA what a Spark can really do.

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Unless for the brakes, issue that an engine-braking device could easily overcome as it does in heavy-duty trucks, a Diesel still lasts longer than a Prius

Old diesels, maybe, with their half-million mile rebuild intervals. But would you really trust a modern direct injection system to last more than 200,000 miles nowadays without needing thousands of dollars in injector and pump repair? I wouldn't. With good cause. Have seen too many secondhand direct injection cars laid up in the shop for one problem or another.

[Shortie771]

So I am 13 pages late to this forum, but my friend just got one of these and I rode in it. It's a decent ride (kinda loud). For the price though I think I would just get a very lightly used 2011-2012 Honda Civic and be done with it. At least then you know it will last forever and replacement parts will be easy to find if/when it starts to break down. GF just got one and she averages 36mpg without hypermiling,no mods and an automatic transmission. I believe the 2012 Civic had the option for a 6-speed manual transmission. That would add some extra highway mpg.


EDIT: Didn't read your last post. Grats on the purchase. I guess you can disregard my post.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Unless for the brakes, issue that an engine-braking device could easily overcome as it does in heavy-duty trucks, a Diesel still lasts longer than a Prius

I don't think there is enough data out there to declare that to be the case - yet.

[Miller88]

Originally Posted by Shortie771

So I am 13 pages late to this forum, but my friend just got one of these and I rode in it. It's a decent ride (kinda loud). For the price though I think I would just get a very lightly used 2011-2012 Honda Civic and be done with it. At least then you know it will last forever and replacement parts will be easy to find if/when it starts to break down. GF just got one and she averages 36mpg without hypermiling,no mods and an automatic transmission. I believe the 2012 Civic had the option for a 6-speed manual transmission. That would add some extra highway mpg.


EDIT: Didn't read your last post. Grats on the purchase. I guess you can disregard my post.

You can't find a 08+ used car with under 100K miles around here for the price of the spark. Granted, I paid the same for my brand new '11 Focus - there's deals on new cars if you shop around.

Around here, USED cars are going for MORE than new cars. I know a LOT of people who have bought new cars, traded them in a year to get what they paid or a bit more.

Check on autotrader / cars.com for Syracuse NY. The used cars are going for a few thousand more than equivalent new cars. When I bought my 2011 Focus in March 2011, I couldn't find a 2008+ focus with UNDER 50K miles for less than $15000.

Fir the price of a spark, you're going to get a 6 or 7 year old car with >100K miles

Originally Posted by niky

Congrats on the purchase. I'm thinking perhaps better engine mounts and shifter bushings will cure the shifter, but hell... poor shift action is the bane of cheap cars everywhere.

Now it's time to get hypermiling. Show those nannies at the EPA what a Spark can really do.



Old diesels, maybe, with their half-million mile rebuild intervals. But would you really trust a modern direct injection system to last more than 200,000 miles nowadays without needing thousands of dollars in injector and pump repair? I wouldn't. With good cause. Have seen too many secondhand direct injection cars laid up in the shop for one problem or another.

Agree. The engine itself will hold up, but all of the emissions equipment and pumps, injectors, etc won't hold up. Especially if something happens and they can no longer access the better quality of fuel.

To me, diesel's attractiveness was the simplicity. You put in something that will combust when compressed on one end and the engine does the rest. You can diagnose an old diesel by the color of the smoke coming out of the tailpipe.

[sendler]

Originally Posted by Miller88

Around here, USED cars are going for MORE than new cars.

I have noticed that too. The Cash for clunkers program in 2009 took thousands of used cars off the market. The ones that remain are way overpriced. There has also been a quantum leap forward in engine technology on all fronts. And gas prices in the USA are up slightly. This is the first time in the car market where buying a new car actually makes more economic sense than a used car. My brother bought a Spark. My co-worker traded his gas guzzling V6 Mazda6 and bought a Fiesta because he drives 100 miles a day. I crushed a 16 mpg 91 560sel in perfect condition to buy my 09 Fit.

[niky]

I weep for the 560SEL. But hey... a Fit!

[Miller88]

Was doing some research. Apparently these (and the Aveos) use the same 4AT as the Yaris. An Aisin box 80-40LE. I was thinking of how I'd be afraid of the automatics in these (and the Aveo) ... but since it's an Aisin unit, I think the auto would be good for 200K miles.

I'm looking at Aveos for a winter rat for next year.

[MetroMPG]

Don't get an automatic Aveo. The trans durability may be there, but the shift logic will drive you insane. They get bad mileage (everywhere but on the open highway at moderate speeds).