Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Long-Term Ownership Reviews


Reply
  Search this Thread
2,322 views
Old 6th July 2010, 20:03   #1
BHPian
 
Lightening-Fast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 251
Thanked: 11 Times
Sailing past 8000Kms in my Sparkling baby!

Hello all,
This is my first attempt at a technical review and also the first one at Team-BHP. So please feel free to provide feedback at will!!
And here we go.

Decision: I was just another guy looking for a car below 4Lakh and trying to zero in on one. Choices were Alto, Santro, WagonR, Zen Estillo, Spark and A-Star(slightly over my budget). I did not want to go ahead with Alto being a 800CC engine. Santro was too common, did not like the styling of WagonR and Zen Estillo. So then it was a head on between A-Star and Spark. I liked the looks of the A-Star, but apart from that, Spark seemed to score over A-Star in all other aspects. I like the styling of Spark too, but thought A-Star a tad better. However, Chevy was offering a decent cash discount and a gold coin during last diwali. So that is it. A little sunshine was about to sparkle in my life
There she is!!
Sailing past 8000Kms in my Sparkling baby!-100_3182.jpg

Purchase/Price: I was not too particular with Power windows or ABS. AC and Power Steering had to be a must. So Spark PS was my choice and booked it with Kropex, Bangalore. Dealing with Kropex was quite smooth and the car was delivered on time during last Diwali. It was a Blazing Red Spark PS and an absolute beauty!! Negotiated with the dealer to get Mud flaps, mats, steering cover and car cover as freebies. In addition, pampered the vehicle with leather seats, JBL speakers with Pioneer HU with antenna, wheel covers and door beading. On road price for the car was 3.33L and the additional accessories cost me another 20K. In all, a fully loaded car delivered at 3.53L. Yup, within budget for me!!

First Impression: I was a graduate straight out of driving school and i was instructed quite heavily to go easy on the new vehicle. I felt the vehicle was super smooth, made zero noise when running and did a great job handling. Gear transition was a little rough and the engaging the car in reverse gear gave me some problems. It still does to this day. Not sure if this happens at certain angles of the steering wheel. I am 6ft tall and with seat pushed back all the way, have no problems with my seating. It is quite a spacious car inside for 4 people as opposed to the small car image that we get when we look at it externally.

Performance: With 8k kms under the bag, I have pushed the vehicle both in city as well as highways. Pickup is good and that’s an advantage in the city for sure. Turning radius is great and parking is generally not a problem. AC is powerful and cools quite quickly. But yes, there is a drastic power reduction as soon as the AC is on. You will have to come down one gear when the AC is on. Beige interiors, I consider for any car, is a menace. I am not talking about the interior looks, but dashboard reflection on the windshield is quite annoying. Have already invested in Polaroid glasses to overcome this problem. Performance of this car took me by surprise when I took this baby to the highways. It left most vehicles with superior specifications biting the dust. I know, it also depends on driving, my point is that this car handles great in highways. Have ripped it NH7, Mysore road, wayanad and it keeps coming back to me asking for more!!

Service/Mileage: First service was at the end of 1 month. I had informed about the problems regarding gear shifting and it did seemed to improve after the service. After the completion of 3k Kms, it seemed a different car and the ride was getting smoother. After 6k or the second service, the car seemed to settle down in its own rhythm with not much variation in the drive quality or the performance. I did not pay anything for the 2 services so far except for the pick up and drop. I hear even the pick up and drop is free in some places, but I certainly don’t think so that’s the case in Bangalore. Highest mileage managed is 18KMPL with no AC on highways and 15KMPL with no AC in Bangalore city. People claim to have achieved higher mileage. But I guess its also to do with driving style and I generally don’t think about mileage while driving.

Overall Score card: A very good car under 4L, great handling, easy maintenance, good highway presence and a sparkling baby that you can carry around anywhere you want.
Lightening-Fast is offline  
Old 7th July 2010, 10:05   #2
BANNED
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 4,287
Thanked: 2,810 Times

Hey there, let me be the first one to congratulate you. Nice and crisp report of your Spark there. The car is indeed very much value for money and a decent performer as well. Add to it the Chevy package and its comes on out on tops on most counts.

Congrats on your buy and enjoy your ride for a long long time..
n.devdath is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks