By: Dave Abrahams
New York Motor Show - It's a stark reminder of how differently Americans see things that the New York motor show handout calls this a minicar.
What it is, is the completely redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Spark A-segment hatch, with a longer wheelbase, a 40mm lower roofline for a sleeker profile and improved fuel-efficiency - and it will be a global minicar, on sale in more than 40 markets around the world, including, we expect, South Africa, although we're waiting on GMSA for confirmation of that.
It's built on what GM hypes as an all-new, more robust architecture - which reinforces our guesstimate that it shares a platform with the new Opel Karl , as does the maker's statement that it will be offered in North America with a new 1.4-litre Opel Ecotec four-cylinder engine rated at 73kW and mated to either a five-speed manual or a continuously variable transmission - for which GM is claiming a conservative 5.9 litres per 100km, no doubt due to the huge fines recently levied on another Korean carmaker for 'underestimating' its products' fuel consumption.
The new engine is all-aluminium, with its exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head (one less gasket, four less places to seal, less weight and a better front-to-rear weight balance) as well as low-friction piston rings, camshaft drive and oil-pump to reduce internal losses.
MORE SPORTY DRIVING POSITION
The lower roof height, GM says, is an attempt to reduce the tall, boxy appearance that is all too often the result of trying to put as much car as possible into the smallest footprint, but headroom has been retained by lowering the hip point of the seats, front and rear, and using higher-density foam - especially on the bolsters - to give occupants the feeling that they're sitting in the seats rather than on them.
There's a completely new instrument panel, with a dot-matrix liquid-crystal instrument cluster display, flanked by a more prominent centre stack that brings the controls for infotainment and aircon closer to the front-seat occupants, and Opel-style body-colour trim elements, brought right up to date with trapezoidal air outlets rather than the traditional airvents on the previous model.
The simplified audio controls include a seven-inch colour touchscreen with an icon-based display, similar to smartphones and iPods, that works the same way with pinch, swipe and tap gestures - although the volume control is still a rotary knob that can be safely found and operated without taking your eyes off the road; nice one, GM.
Also available in North America will be blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and forward collision alert as well as OnStar connectivity with built-in 4G Wi-Fi, which automatically becomes a hotspot whenever the car is switched on.
A rear-vision camera is standard, as are no fewer than 10 airbags, including knee-bags for both front-seat occupants, side and curtain bags.