Spark - Competition doesnt exist!!

This car is the best in its class.

I needed to buy a new car and i use it for daily commuting. The cars that I had previously driven and for which I did test drives too were Maruti’s Estilo, WagonR, Swift, Hyundai’s Santro, Getz, GM’s UVA. I had initially shortlisted Estilo, Getz ad UVA but I waited for Spark’s launch as I had heard good reviews about it from abroad where it was already in the market.

Well, to put it correctly, the moment I drove Spark, it was way much better than all the other cars mentioned above and for the price that it was on, it looked a steal to me. Consider this, Spark is the only car in its segment to offer tubeless tyres, gas based shockers, fully folding rear seats and add to it 3 yrs warranty, incomparable sturdiness, great pickup, good mileage and stylish looks from both outside and inside. Infact, its a head turner on the road and unknown people have come upto me to enquire about it! The dealer that I bought from in Delhi - AutoVikas is really good and it made the whole car buying experience a really pleasent one which was way different from snobbish Maruti dealers.

Lot has been said here about ineffective AC and being overpriced. Well, AC is smooth and efficient and the best thing is that car’s engine doesnt loose too much power with AC on which is the opposite of what happens in Maruti’s car and Santro. As for the price, I bought the highest model and it cost me 4.2L on road with insurance which is almost equivalent of highest models of Santro, Estilo, WagonR though there is heavy discount on these cars due to them being old models (excl Estilo). If you buy the option pack of ABS and Alloy wheels thn the price would be aroind 4.5L but there is no real need for the option pack.

The central console is a really nice novelty and adds to the exclusivty of the car and gives it more spacious look from inside. The boot space is decent and can be increased as rear seats can fold completely. Interior fabric and plastic are of decent quality. The ride is really nice and its gas based shockers help a lot on the indian roads :)

The cost of spare parts is really low and in some cases beats Maruti. I checked spare parts cost of all the competition cars and the low cost of Spark convinced me even more to go for it.

The only negatives so far have been back gear engagement which is not that smooth and the engine vibrations are bit noisy but given the overall great styling and ride quality, these are minor abrettions.

The mileage has been 13kmpl with AC on the delhi roads and since I commute to Gurgaon to my office, the highway ride is simply incomparable with its competition because of its sturdy body and great pickup even with AC on.

As I said that I have extensively driven cars like WagonR, Santro, Swift and Palio so I know what I am saying when writing this review.

Don’t look for any other car if your budget is 3.5 to 4L. Feature for feature, the competition cars dont stand anywhere near except somewhat Estilo but you add in low spare parts cost (I have seen the price list of spares of all these cars), good economy, great ride and handling, great space inside and there is ONLY one Winner - SPARK.Value for money, styling, space, ride quality, pickup, sturdyengine bit noisy, back gear not that smooth