[VeluM]

Driving on the Outer Ring Road (Bangalore) and on to Hoskote (just outside) where the road surface varies from smooth but wavy (like the sea) to badly broken, I've found that the Spark travels in the direction one intends it to without much fuss. My Parents, wife and I were all in the car, so that's nearing loaded I suppose. Same in the WagonR I had prior to this would find the rear end jumping around. As far as size goes, as I've mentioned elsewhere, the Spark has more seating room and leg room. The WagonR had a bigger boot and more headroom, though. Acceleration in the Spark drops off noticeably with the AC on, but cruising at speed is really stable. Did anyone notice any difference in the brakes of the WagonR & Spark?

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by anup7649

This is jus a individual perspective buddy. Ask a person who has been driving the Bolero always to sit in a Scorpio, he will surely say the scorpio is bigger. But actually it would be still smaller inside and there would be so much of body rolls. By the way coming to Spark/Matiz, oh man, dont tell us that you have a very good ride on highways. Keep looking around you and then you will realise that a Bullock cart will take-over

You quite definitely haven't sat in a Spark, let alone have driven it, so why make derisive and presumptuous statements like that? Not only does it clip along quite confidently and comfortably on the highway, it has more space inside (seating wise) than my old WagonR did.

Originally Posted by nevertouchme

I read some where in the forum about 'Spark Delivery Blues' - Now it's 3 months and with an 800 CC and 50 K to 75 k less than the current model, I can foresee a 6 month wait.

I drove a spark 2 months back- It drives well and the gear shift is extremely smooth- It was more like a toy-

The wait was while GM was manufacturing the car from only one factory in Gujarat. Now that their second plant is up, they should be able to meet demand. Second plant's in Pune (am I right?)

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

Yeah I guess you have a point there.
Also as ashthedivx mentioned if they add the 3yrs 0 maintenance that will be a killer combination.

I don't see that many "sparks" on the road

Spark is not the best seller in this segment, also GM is yet to produce its non-Daewoo car in India.

BTW, Today they have launches a new variant in U-VA.

[abhi1309]

Originally Posted by anup7649

This is jus a individual perspective buddy. Ask a person who has been driving the Bolero always to sit in a Scorpio, he will surely say the scorpio is bigger. But actually it would be still smaller inside and there would be so much of body rolls. By the way coming to Spark/Matiz, oh man, dont tell us that you have a very good ride on highways. Keep looking around you and then you will realize that a Bullock cart will take-over

I dont think you have ever sat in a Matiz or a Spark. Why would you make that statement when you yourself drive an Indica, that too a Petrol, that too a Xeta and on top of that a 1.2L That petrol engine is the same engine block derived from the diesel tata sierra/estate/sumo/diesel indica. Even the Tata trucks have had the same engine block (minus a few cylinders) and then you talk about cruising on the highway.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by agbenny

Spark is not the best seller in this segment, also GM is yet to produce its non-Daewoo car in India.

BTW, Today they have launches a new variant in U-VA.

Hi Agbenny,

Sorry for going off topic but what variant has GM launched of the UVA? Worth starting another thread or just a minor feature addition/deletion?

And yes, Spark certainly deserves to be a good seller if not the best seller in the segment. It is a cute nibble, city car.

[lightpower]

Originally Posted by anup7649

This is jus a individual perspective buddy. Ask a person who has been driving the Bolero always to sit in a Scorpio, he will surely say the scorpio is bigger. But actually it would be still smaller inside and there would be so much of body rolls. By the way coming to Spark/Matiz, oh man, dont tell us that you have a very good ride on highways. Keep looking around you and then you will realise that a Bullock cart will take-over

I haven't driven SPARK yet but have made couple of drives from Chennai to Coimbatore 550KMS on my dad's 2001 model Matiz. If AC is ON then you will find it a little reluctant to pull but once at the cruizing speed then you wont find anything wrong with it. 130+ Kmph is not a tad slow I think .

The best part I like in the car is the build quality. No rattling even after 7 yrs and 60K kms.

[abhi1309]

Originally Posted by lightpower

I haven't driven SPARK yet but have made couple of drives from Chennai to Coimbatore 550KMS on my dad's 2001 model Matiz. If AC is ON then you will find it a little reluctant to pull but once at the cruizing speed then you wont find anything wrong with it. 130+ Kmph is not a tad slow I think .

The best part I like in the car is the build quality. No rattling even after 7 yrs and 60K kms.

Yeah mine too no rattling 106000 Kms and 8 years.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by anup7649

This is jus a individual perspective buddy. Ask a person who has been driving the Bolero always to sit in a Scorpio, he will surely say the scorpio is bigger. But actually it would be still smaller inside and there would be so much of body rolls. By the way coming to Spark/Matiz, oh man, dont tell us that you have a very good ride on highways. Keep looking around you and then you will realise that a Bullock cart will take-over

With all due respect, you haven't a clue about what you are saying here! Matiz is one of the best highway cars and hill region vehicle for its size - it also comfortably was the best seller among all Suzuki, Hyundai and other Asian hatches in Europe. It has a monocoque body for stiffness. If you open the engine bay, you will see it has a strut brace by default - the handling dynamics are pretty good - way better than Alto, or 800 or whatever.
As I posted in another thread before, I drive a Lancer everyday, and when I go to Delhi and drive my dad's Matiz after many months, I never feel it to be a small car (the front is designed for being spacious). And I can tell you, this is not the case for 800, Alto, Zen, Santro, Santro Xing.

And it was the FE champ in its time. Fellow bhpian hvkumar drove the Matiz to Leh and over couple of hundred thousand kms!

Cheers,

[blue_pulsar]

Good move by GM! But don't you guys think that if the price difference between the 800cc and 1000cc is only Rs.20K, people would still prefer the 1000cc.

[abhi1309]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

With all due respect, you haven't a clue about what you are saying here! Matiz is one of the best highway cars and hill region vehicle for its size - it also comfortably was the best seller among all Suzuki, Hyundai and other Asian hatches in Europe. It has a monocoque body for stiffness. If you open the engine bay, you will see it has a strut brace by default - the handling dynamics are pretty good - way better than Alto, or 800 or whatever.
As I posted in another thread before, I drive a Lancer everyday, and when I go to Delhi and drive my dad's Matiz after many months, I never feel it to be a small car (the front is designed for being spacious). And I can tell you, this is not the case for 800, Alto, Zen, Santro, Santro Xing.

And it was the FE champ in its time. Fellow bhpian hvkumar drove the Matiz to Leh and over couple of hundred thousand kms!

Cheers,

Excellent post...Great info this! True. Never felt like a small car no matter what you drive. This is just right for the Matiz and no other small car can boast of this.

[TheARUN]

There was this intervie where the head of GM India said the MATIZ is coming back. Its going to be priced very less and maybe with the 800cc engine.

Don't think the BEAT is ready for the road as yet, so guess its going to be the MATIZ. Maybe now is the time to drive a hard bargain and pick up that second-hand MATIZ for a song, and then laugh all the way to the bank a few months down the line

[five46]

Again in the news...
Source

Could well be that they were referring to the '800cc Spark' and the 'Cruze'.

[amitk26]

GM just pretended in India that they did some modifications to Matiz to make it spark Well Spark is nothing but Matiz II launched in Korea years ago. I have seen quite a few Matiz II in Korea and everything including tail lights / headlights is exactly same.
For production cost it does not matter if engine size is 800 CC or 1000 CC it does not take away any material cost or production cost ( tooling / dies etc) as they already have assembly line for new engine. In fact it may increase overallcost for GM to reintroduce older engine and gearbox rather then cost reduction.
So what is the real reason for this 800 CC talk ?

Well Spark waiting period is too high and it is faster / easier to set another
assembly line with already available machinery gathering dust in Surajpur plant rather then increeasing capacity to produce newer engine, and pass the older model to waiting customers in lue of 20K but overall not great cost savings for GM.

This may backfire to GM as the lower end price sensitive customer base will surely shift to Nano as they cant match on price point and performance oriented customers in sub 3L who can not wait will shift to Maruti / Hyundai.

[SA7VA5]

Well to begin with GM in India did not "pretend" to make any changes - it actually brought the new Matiz to India in 2007 April. The similarity between the old Matiz produced by Daewoo in India vs what has been introduced as the Chevrolet Spark is less than 5%! Whatever stuff is similar is basically common nuts & bolts. Nothing else is common and its a all new platform developed by GM Daewoo Auto Technology Korea.

The new Matiz is obviously sold under different brand names across the globe depending on GM's global network presence and brand preferences suitable for a given market.

Production costs may not matter but material cost does. And there is significant difference in material costs between the two engines - one less cylinder gives you that benefit.

Spark waiting period is high because of its demand and GM is ready to take on this challenge with the start of the 2nd factory at Talegaon Maharashtra dedicated to Spark production and an annual capacity of 1,40,000 units.

Surajpur factory is old low volume technology that requires huge investment for modernisation and robotic production and painting. It has already been acquired by another party.

GM in India for all those who dont know has already started work on a new Powertrain manufacturing unit at Talegaon which will go on line in 2010 producing a variety of diesel and petrol powertrains.

We all want Nano to succeed. But Nano will pull in volumes for the 2 wheeler industry primarily and will help in expanding the market for cars. Spark is rocking and will continue to rock India!

Cheers!

[nanopano]

That’s good to know. I think that all car manufacturers are in process to introduce new and fuel efficient versions of their successful car models.

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