[ajay_satpute]

^^^ Thanks Eminenttismo for the info. However, my wife does not want anyone to touch the eletricals of the car ever. Its as if the bonnet is sealed now.

UPDATE:

I drove the car for about 10 odd KMs after the repairs and all is well.

Also, the owner of Phadke Car Decor has paid us all the expenses occurred during the Saturday's mess without any fuss.

Would I recommend the shop to anyone? Take your own pick. I would not go to him again for sure.

[Eminenttismo]

@ajay, can you please add some exterior pictures? I just wanted to see the color and the number plate design(geometrical). Thanks!

[ajay_satpute]

1200 Kms update.

The car got its first highway drive. The route was Pune-Nashik-Pune. A total of 508 KMs drive to and fro. WHAT A PLEASANT DRIVE! I must say I am totally in love with this little beauty. The car has the torque spread all over the range and I could sprint ahead in any gear. Highway overtaking experience was fabulous. The little size of the car also helps to move ahead and quickly get into that otherwise non-existent gap between two vehicles. Due to just the size advantage, I overtook almost all vehicles on the Nashik highway with ease. Ok, no bragging here. Since, the Pune-Nashik highway is a joke of a highway and its single-lane road makes life hell to drive on. Smaller the vehicle, its easier to maneuver through the traffic on this route.

I am so not taking my Vista on this route again. Vista is best suited for a route like the Mumbai-Bangalore highway, where the roads are huge and straight for a long long distance. Vista fares much better on such roads than the Spark.

Spark returned an impressive FE of 18.8 KMPL average for the whole trip. Of course, throughout the 508 KMs, I was consciously driving around 70-80 KMPH speed range.

Overall, we are pretty happy with the purchase.

Some exterior shots clicked during the trip

[tacho9000]

Congratulations ajay_satpute on completing 1000km. Did you notice any kind of unwanted noise filtering into the cabin from the engine?? Reason for asking is that one of my friend has a 1600km run spark and at around 80-90KPH the engine sounds harsh almost like its running at its maximum rpm. Should we wait for a few more kms for the engine to open up properly?? Also his cabin noise is quite a bit more compared to the other spark which I have sat in or driven. What could be the reason??

[StrangeWizard]

Originally Posted by tacho9000

Congratulations ajay_satpute on completing 1000km. Did you notice any kind of unwanted noise filtering into the cabin from the engine?? Reason for asking is that one of my friend has a 1600km run spark and at around 80-90KPH the engine sounds harsh almost like its running at its maximum rpm. Should we wait for a few more kms for the engine to open up properly?? Also his cabin noise is quite a bit more compared to the other spark which I have sat in or driven. What could be the reason??

I have a 39000 km done Spark. I drive at a constant speed of 80-90 on empty highways. Never experienced any such noise. The only noise I get is from the Bridgestones.
Only after 120 I can hear some engine noise inside.
Why don't you wait till the first service and then see what is the issue.

[F150]

Glad to note that the car is back in perfect condition and trip to nashik has dispelled any other concerns that you might have had.

Did chevy a.s.s create any issue about warranty void etc ?

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

[

The car got its first highway drive. The route was Pune-Nashik-Pune. A total of 508 KMs drive to and fro. WHAT A PLEASANT DRIVE! I must say I am totally in love with this little beauty. The car has the torque spread all over the range and I could sprint ahead in any gear. Highway overtaking experience was fabulous.

Though Spark is often seen as a city car, it never lets one down on the Highways. I have done quite a few highway runs in my Spark and it has always been a joy ride. It handles well upto speeds of 120, beyond that it gets a little scary. Between 90-110 it feels at home and at those speeds it has returned me FE of 16-17 with ac.

[Lucas_2007]

Congrats Ajay on your purchase.
Superb FE man!!My spark returns ~20kmpl on highway @ 70-80 kmph without AC. with AC and full load it returns 18+. I don't know why this car is underestimated. Yes.it is a joy to drive this car in city and highway as well. You should see the astonishment in the faces of people when the step inside a spark for the first time. "I never thought it was so spacious inside!!" is the line they speak out most of the time. Had it been from Maruti, it would have been a best seller for sure.

[deehunk]

Having owned a Spark myself just a year ago, I can vouch for the entertainment on highways with this car, it is very good on highways, I had done 3 trips to Dharmsthala with 5 people and AC on on Shiradi ghat, the car never let me down. Spark can reach max speed of 145kmph without much strain, but can cruise all the day at 120kmph. As a BHPian had commented long back many first time buyers never really buy on their own choice but prefer to ask their close ones which car to buy?, Spark loses out here, it is more an undervisualised/underspoken car I would say. Ajay, enjoy many more happy miles with Spark.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by tacho9000

Congratulations ajay_satpute on completing 1000km. Did you notice any kind of unwanted noise filtering into the cabin from the engine?? Reason for asking is that one of my friend has a 1600km run spark and at around 80-90KPH the engine sounds harsh almost like its running at its maximum rpm. Should we wait for a few more kms for the engine to open up properly?? Also his cabin noise is quite a bit more compared to the other spark which I have sat in or driven. What could be the reason??

I have not noticed any such noise yet. Its always best to take the car to the authorised service center and get it checked. Chevrolet is really good in understanding problems and rectifying, at least based on all the reports I have heard and read from existing owners. So better not take any chances and get it checked.

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard

I have a 39000 km done Spark. I drive at a constant speed of 80-90 on empty highways. Never experienced any such noise. The only noise I get is from the Bridgestones.
Only after 120 I can hear some engine noise inside.
Why don't you wait till the first service and then see what is the issue.

+1

Originally Posted by F150

Glad to note that the car is back in perfect condition and trip to nashik has dispelled any other concerns that you might have had.

Did chevy a.s.s create any issue about warranty void etc ?

Absolutely no issue from Chevrolet side. They were extremely friendly and understanding. All repairs were done for free, even though it was none of their fault. to Chevy. Even the SA at the service center are very friendly, quiet and honest. We are overwhelmed with the service center experience. When it comes to Tata, the experience is not as good as this, but its not bad too.

Originally Posted by karty_83

Though Spark is often seen as a city car, it never lets one down on the Highways. I have done quite a few highway runs in my Spark and it has always been a joy ride. It handles well upto speeds of 120, beyond that it gets a little scary. Between 90-110 it feels at home and at those speeds it has returned me FE of 16-17 with ac.

Agreed. Its a pleasure to drive on the highway, contrary to the common perception.

Originally Posted by Lucas_2007

Congrats Ajay on your purchase.
Superb FE man!!My spark returns ~20kmpl on highway @ 70-80 kmph without AC. with AC and full load it returns 18+. I don't know why this car is underestimated. Yes.it is a joy to drive this car in city and highway as well. You should see the astonishment in the faces of people when the step inside a spark for the first time. "I never thought it was so spacious inside!!" is the line they speak out most of the time. Had it been from Maruti, it would have been a best seller for sure.

+1.

Originally Posted by deehunk

Having owned a Spark myself just a year ago, I can vouch for the entertainment on highways with this car, it is very good on highways, I had done 3 trips to Dharmsthala with 5 people and AC on on Shiradi ghat, the car never let me down. Spark can reach max speed of 145kmph without much strain, but can cruise all the day at 120kmph. As a BHPian had commented long back many first time buyers never really buy on their own choice but prefer to ask their close ones which car to buy?, Spark loses out here, it is more an undervisualised/underspoken car I would say. Ajay, enjoy many more happy miles with Spark.

+1. Thanks for the wishes.

[tacho9000]

Thank you ajay_satpute. The problem was traced to a faulty pressure plate which had resulted in the clutch plate getting fried. When contacted with the local ASC they checked confirmed and then replaced the entire assembly including the flywheel and release bearing under warranty. It really feels nice to see chevrolet working this good to bring back the customer's faith in its product.

[ajay_satpute]

Our Spark completed its 3rd free servicing at 0/- INR. Due to extremely low usage (25 kms a day on weekdays only), there was nothing to service. The odo reading is around 4.5k KMs. We wanted to get the rear parcel tray, but its out of stock as of now.

The car is almost perfect for city drives as I have already mentioned. Easy to maneuver, easy to park.

Cheers !

[ajay_satpute]

It's been a solid 10 years with the Spark. Like many owners have mentioned, Chevrolet cars age very well and our Spark is one of those too. There have been zero issues and it does its duties really well all the time.

However, now it feels very outdated in terms of features and more importantly, in terms of safety.

So we are out shopping for the replacement.

We have fixed the budget around 10-10.5 on road Pune and we will only buy the fully loaded top end. So far the candidates are:

• Tata Altroz XZ+ (A solid candidate in all aspects, except the miserable ground clearance)
• Hyundai i20 Asto(O) (6 airbags, Hill ascent and descent control,sunroof, wireless phone charger, good ground clearance and most spacious)
• Maruti Baleno Alpha (Lowest in terms of safety, in spite of the 6 airbags and interior space is least too, but feature rich top end)
• Tata Punch (Same as Altrox with 205mm ground clearance, although missing rear ac vents, charger)