Chevy Spark

[bronsin]

I looked at three Sparks at the dealer this weekend.

These are not cheap cars. MT is $16k at the bottom of the sticker. AT nearly $17k. You might do better bargaining with a Chevy dealer than with Toyota. Thats and these cars are probably not going to sell too well. Although people are FINALLY beginning to shop for mileage when they buy.

The styling inside and out is "busy" Not a good busy either. PArts of the dashboards are painted metal same as the outside of the car.

OVerall my gut reaction upon seeing the car (not driving) is "no".

God knows what a REAL car like a Yaris is going for these days. If it was the same price as the Spark the Yaris gets the nod.

Love the 1.2 liter engine though and would love to ecodrive that puppy!

[b20vteg]

Originally Posted by bronsin

God knows what a REAL car like a Yaris is going for these days. If it was the same price as the Spark the Yaris gets the nod.

i got my 2012 L for $14.5k ($16.5 OTD) including mats and tint.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by b20vteg

i got my 2012 L for $14.5k ($16.5 OTD) including mats and tint.

How about tax? In NJ you add 7%. Whats AZ?

The sticker on the auto equipped Spark in the lot was $16,775. With tax that adds another $1175 for a grand total of ~$18,000!

Yummy!

[b20vteg]

Originally Posted by bronsin

How about tax? In NJ you add 7%. Whats AZ?

tax, title, and licensing ended up being $2k flat. az sales tax is about 9%

[1stToyota]

Originally Posted by bronsin

The styling inside and out is "busy" Not a good busy either. PArts of the dashboards are painted metal same as the outside of the car.

OVerall my gut reaction upon seeing the car (not driving) is "no".

God knows what a REAL car like a Yaris is going for these days. If it was the same price as the Spark the Yaris gets the nod.

Love the 1.2 liter engine though and would love to ecodrive that puppy!

Should have driven one. Not going to say that I'm enjoying these first few days with it more than my '08 Yaris when I first got it, but the Spark is fun and feels like it's well-built and precise. I think the Yaris handled better than the Spark, and the doors closed a little easier and sounded better in the Yaris. On the other hand, the Spark has the smoother shifting transmission, no 1st gear launch problems, and no noise from the transmission in reverse. Liked the feel of the steering better in the Yaris, the Spark seems a little bit over-assisted, but that might be able to be adjusted via the touch screen; not sure. If it manages to stay away from the service department as well as the Yaris did I'll be quite happy. I'm under 29 mpg average on my 1st tank (all in-town driving and fuel gauge down to the halfway mark), but that should improve...the salesman let the car idle for nearly 1 hour while he played with the radio and on-star functions.

[bronsin]

Originally Posted by 1stToyota

Should have driven one. Not going to say that I'm enjoying these first few days with it more than my '08 Yaris when I first got it, but the Spark is fun and feels like it's well-built and precise. I think the Yaris handled better than the Spark, and the doors closed a little easier and sounded better in the Yaris. On the other hand, the Spark has the smoother shifting transmission, no 1st gear launch problems, and no noise from the transmission in reverse. Liked the feel of the steering better in the Yaris, the Spark seems a little bit over-assisted, but that might be able to be adjusted via the touch screen; not sure. If it manages to stay away from the service department as well as the Yaris did I'll be quite happy. I'm under 29 mpg average on my 1st tank (all in-town driving and fuel gauge down to the halfway mark), but that should improve...the salesman let the car idle for nearly 1 hour while he played with the radio and on-star functions.

Thanks for the post and feel free to post again as you gain experience with the car.

Yeah one thing I couldnt BELIEVE about the Yaris (and my wifes Camry) is the impossible to get the car moving smoothly gas pedal. Gald to hear the Spark doesnt do that.

Anything you have to say about the Spark Id love to hear it.