[djay99]

@Nimz
I find it difficult to drive in 1st and 2nd gear in city traffic when speed is between 0-15kmph with AC on.
In TD car i found out that when AC is switched on, power reduction was not very noticeable but in my car its noticeable.
Any tuning to be done? Howz ur car when compared to TD car?

Yesterday while parking infront of my residence, was taking reverse and accidentally touched rear bumper to the wall. Can see good scratches and paint has come off. Can i get touch up work done on the bumber?
I felt very bad since my sparky is just 4 days old
I am driving from past 10 years and such things never happened.

In 3rd gear, at around 25-30kmph the cars power surges. Is it indication to change the gear to 4th or is it some ECU character?

[BMW-X5]

Djay,

After taking the test drive I have got two more reasons to fall in love with Sparky !!!

1- Super Silent Cabin

2- There was no (noticeable) power drop when AC turned on.

I was wondering being small car how sparky managed this.

You could check this with your service station when you are going for the first service.

Sorry to hear that your Sparky has got her first scratch.

I dont think that you can do touch up works.If the scratch is not very big try out with the matching color nail polish.

[radek]

Originally Posted by djay99

@Nimz
I find it difficult to drive in 1st and 2nd gear in city traffic when speed is between 0-15kmph with AC on.
In TD car i found out that when AC is switched on, power reduction was not very noticeable but in my car its noticeable.
Any tuning to be done? Howz ur car when compared to TD car?

In 3rd gear, at around 25-30kmph the cars power surges. Is it indication to change the gear to 4th or is it some ECU character?

Yes, even I thought Spark gear ratios are bit different. But I never had any problem in slow traffic. In fact, I always put AC on when there is slow and crowded traffic. I felt it bit underpowered when driving on steep incline. But it is just matter of getting used to. You will be fine with this in a month.

I normally change from 3rd to 4th at 40-45kmph. It is fun to overtake in third, gentle push on pedal shows amazing result for its 1L engine. (Not sure if it has to do something with ECU. I thought it is function of gear ratios. )

Don't worry too much about small scratch on bumper. Such things happen when you are getting used to new car.

[Nimz]

@djay - I have scratches on front bumper.. heart pains.. but especially in Bangy these things are common.. and Sparky just surges in reverse without you having to touch the accelerator.. so you need to watch out for that while reversing.. Check with Sundaram about touch ups.. or just watch all the other cars with bumps and dents and tell yourself you are blessed..

Have had no difficulty in 2nd gear with AC on.. In traffic.. just touch brake and clutch and car moves.. Was the engine fully warmed up when you faced this issue??

Yes there is a very small drop in power. You wont notice that in normal city driving..on an incline or on the highway you would notice.. nothing to worry about as it is very minor.

@djay - if this is noticeable, I suggest you get it checked. Also I have never felt the need to move the blower speed beyond 2 as Spark's AC is quite effective. I keep the temp knob at max cooling and havent touched it for monthes.. Just use the blower speed to adjust cooling.

And yes Sparly will feel underpowered on inclines.. need to downshift!!

I change to 4th at around 40 kmph and its amazing to overtake on 3rd.. with that surge of power as you and Radek also refer to.. that also comes in the 5th when at 90-100 kmph and the car shoots to 120 without you realising . I dont know about ECU, but I think thats when the engine hits the 4000-5000 rpm mark and gets its max torque..

Have fun with Spark..

[djay99]

@Nimz
Thx for the words.

I spoke to sundaram guy and he said they will check the issue in Reassurance checkup.

Some times i feel sparky is underpowered on flat/even roads when you are doing 30KMPH in 3rd.
I know tuning has to be done after runin period and hope all issues will get sorted out.

This is how i change gears from many years:
Driving style - Normal
1st gear 0-5kmph
2nd gear 5-20kmph
3rd gear 20-30kmph
4th gear 30-40kmph
5th gear >40kmph

I never change gears when sparky is gaining momentum.

Also above gear shifts give me decent fuel economy.
I am not bothered abt economy in runin period. Main point is i dont wanna stress sparky too much

[Nimz]

@ djay - Which car were you driving before this. One thing you need to note is that the max torque for Spark peaks at 4500 rpm so if you are used to driving a car whcih peaks at 2000 odd rpm then you would feel the car underpowered.

Surprisingly I have never felt the car underpowered even on my higway trips even on slight inclines.

Maybe you should get used to Spark's gearing

[djay99]

@Nimz
Once i finish 500KM, i will go on a highway trip. I know spark rocks.
Dude did u change sparkys engine oil after 1000KM?

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by djay99

@Nimz
Once i finish 500KM, i will go on a highway trip. I know spark rocks.
Dude did u change sparkys engine oil after 1000KM?

No I did not. When I gave it for the 1 month checkup car was harldy at 600 kms..so didnt stress on it.

Nimz

[luckyakash]

Late update but would like make it:
I officially joined spark club here.

Bought 'Spark LT- Platinum Metallic' on September 1st week from Sundaram/Bangalore. so-far-so-good Experience. Will update as & when spark gives me a chance to seek expert suggestions & guidance from members here....

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Well Santros are dime a dozen and there have been quite a few posts about reliability issues on this forum itself which kinda ties in with what I have learnt about Korean companies hence I did not really consider a Santro.

Isnt Sparky a Korean product too ?

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Isnt Sparky a Korean product too ?

Well.. Spark is based on the Matiz developed by Daeweoo before 2000. After 2000 GM took over Daewoo and has been doing a lot of modifications to the original design..over a period of 4-5 years now.And the current Matiz / Spark we see draws heavily from a Chevrolet concept.

Well.. apart from this.. what I'd like to stress on is the Korean approach to business (prod. development, R&D, sourcing etc etc) which US / Jap /European co. will not have and which am averse to

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Well.. Spark is based on the Matiz developed by Daeweoo before 2000. After 2000 GM took over Daewoo and has been doing a lot of modifications to the original design..over a period of 4-5 years now.And the current Matiz / Spark we see draws heavily from a Chevrolet concept.

Well.. apart from this.. what I'd like to stress on is the Korean approach to business (prod. development, R&D, sourcing etc etc) which US / Jap /European co. will not have and which am averse to

Actually, its a jap design. Just something i once heard - daewoo car production started as a JV with suzuki/govt of korea(Suzuki) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. suzuki later had to exit, but the spark design is basically from the original m800 pedigree.

and of course, now its a chevy

[ethanh_hunt]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Actually, its a jap design. Just something i once heard - daewoo car production started as a JV with suzuki/govt of korea(Suzuki) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. suzuki later had to exit, but the spark design is basically from the original m800 pedigree.

and of course, now its a chevy

When I told my Bro who is in the US that I was buying a Chevy, he seemed to be very concerned with the niggling problems (& there are lots) that surface on the Chevy cars in US & was advising me against buying it. So when I told him that its has a Korean pedigree (read Daewoo) he seemed to back down a bit.

Will the Chevy Spark have similar problems, we will have to wait and see..

[djay99]

Originally Posted by ethanh_hunt

When I told my Bro who is in the US that I was buying a Chevy, he seemed to be very concerned with the niggling problems (& there are lots) that surface on the Chevy cars in US & was advising me against buying it. So when I told him that its has a Korean pedigree (read Daewoo) he seemed to back down a bit.

Will the Chevy Spark have similar problems, we will have to wait and see..

Dude i own a chevy spark and i am very much satisfied with the car.
No niggling problems with the car and from my experience i found out that chevy cars are built to standards.
Build quality is better than maruti, tata and hyundai.
No small issues like in tata cars and even marutis. I have used M800 and an Alto earlier.

what do other chevy owners wanna say?

[ethanh_hunt]

Originally Posted by djay99

Dude i own a chevy spark and i am very much satisfied with the car.

Guess what, even I do and am loving it too. Its got great style, finish, handling etc.. & I can go on.. But thats not what I meant. Isnt it too early for all us Spark owners to conclude about the reliability of a GM vehicle (with just 2000 Kms of run?) And believe me it seems to have a pretty bad rep in the US with regards to its reliability.

For the Spark, My Guess is that since it has some Asian (korean, Japanese etc.) influences in it things should be better.

So We will have to wait and see. What say GM owners?