2021 Chevrolet Spark Review

LIKES

Low price
Available active safety gear
Good tech
Nimble handling

DISLIKES

Slow, loud acceleration
Busy ride
Pricey with options
Low-rent interior materials

BUYING TIP

Chevrolet makes buyers choose the top trim level to get the automatic emergency braking, which we recommend.

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark is one of the cheapest ways to get a new-car warranty, though it’s simple and uninspired.

What kind of car is the 2021 Chevrolet Spark? What does it compare to?

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark is a small five-door hatchback. It’s tiny and inexpensive, characteristics that appeal in times of high gas prices. It compares to small economy cars like the Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Versa, and Toyota Yaris.

Is the 2021 Chevrolet Spark a good car?

The Spark’s low price comes with compromises in features and quality. We rate it a 4.0 out of 10 overall.

What's new for the 2021 Chevrolet Spark?

The 2021 Spark carries over unchanged from 2020 and it could be on the chopping block after the 2021 model year. It continues in LS, 1LT, Activ, and 2LT trims.

The Spark is basic transportation with a basic engine. It’s a 1.4-liter inline-4 that makes just 98 horsepower. It’s paired with a 5-speed manual transmission or an available continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The Spark will go from 0-60 mph, eventually.

With its tiny footprint, the Spark is maneuverable in traffic and parking lots, though it’s not so stable on the highway.

Despite its size, the Spark has decent space inside thanks to its hatchback body style. Still, the rear seat lacks room and comfort, and the skinny body means the Spark seats only four instead of five.

How much does the 2021 Chevrolet Spark cost?

The Spark is one of the lowest priced cars on the market. The base Spark LS costs about $14,000 and comes with basic equipment like 4-way manually adjustable front seats, roll-up windows, manual door locks, and 15-inch steel wheels. However, it also gets air conditioning, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, Bluetooth, and two USB ports. The Activ model apes the look of an SUV with a raised ride height and body cladding, but the Spark comes with front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive is not on the menu.

Where is the Chevrolet Spark made?

The Spark is made in Changwon, South Korea.

Styling

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark may be cute, but it’s also very basic.

Is the Chevrolet Spark a good-looking car?

An economy car first and foremost, the 2021 Chevrolet Spark lacks design flair but its small dimensions make it cute from some angles. The Activ model adds some rugged appeal, but we rate the Spark a 3 for styling based on uninspired looks inside and out.

The Spark is small and skinny, traits that are all too apparent on today’s SUV- and truck-filled roads. The Activ model’s inch-higher ride height and plastic body cladding aim for some SUV-style toughness but come up short on what is really an economy hatchback. The Spark even lacks all-wheel drive, so it’s certainly not meant for off-roading.

The Spark’s cabin is basic and functional, and its materials impart an economy feel to go with the price. Chevrolet does make some interesting upholstery patterns available that add some fun, and the standard 7.0-inch touchscreen mounted high adds to the functionality in the uncluttered, uncomplicated cabin.

Performance

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark lacks for power and suffers from a busy ride quality.

One of the least-powerful cars on the market, the 2021 Chevrolet Spark takes its own sweet time to accelerate. Its short wheelbase also makes for a busy, though not overly firm, ride. We rate it a 3 out of 10 for performance due to these traits.

Is the Chevrolet Spark AWD?

The Chevrolet Spark comes only with front-wheel drive.

How fast is the Chevrolet Spark?

The Spark is powered by a 1.4-liter inline-4 whose hp doesn’t even break into the triple digits. Its 98 horses drone as they struggle to get the car up to speed despite it’s small size and weight. The 0-60 mph run takes about 11 seconds.

The engine is paired to a standard 5-speed manual transmission that lets drivers get more out of the tiny engine without too much noise, but those who don’t want to shift their own gears are stuck with a CVT that brings on more engine drone.

The short wheelbase teams with the solid rear axle to create a busy ride on broken pavement. The small size does add a bit of fun around corners, but the ride becomes too tedious to call it pleasant.

The Spark is most at home as a city car, where its small size makes it easy to park and allows it to squirt through holes in traffic.

Comfort & Quality

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark’s hatchback shape gives it good space for such a small footprint.

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark packs a lot of space into its small footprint, but it’s still a very small car. We give it a 4 for comfort and quality based on its small rear seat.

The Spark is too skinny to fit three across in the back, so it’s classified as a four-seater. Those occupants won’t have much leg room, as it’s limited to 33 inches, which is shorter than most vehicles on the market and best for kids.

The room isn’t compromised up front, and the firm seats feature a range of attractive fabric upholsteries.

The tiny size also limits the Spark’s cargo capacity to just 11 cubic feet with the rear seats up and 27.2 cubic feet when they are folded down. The latter number provides decent storage space, but it’s about half of what you’d get in a small compact SUV.

Interior materials fail to impress and consist of a lot of hard plastic. However, with prices starting below $15,000, they are appropriate.

Safety

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark has incomplete crash-test scores, but it offers some active safety features at a reasonable price.

How safe is the Chevrolet Spark?

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark has incomplete crash-test scores, but it comes with 10 airbags and offers some important active safety features. Without crash-test ratings, we can’t give it a safety rating of our own.

The 2021 Chevrolet Spark has no crash-test results and the 2020 model had only partial ratings. The IIHS gave the 2020 Spark “Good” ratings for front and side crash tests, but it didn’t perform the rest of its battery of tests. The NHTSA has no crash-test scores.

However, Chevrolet offers a Driver Confidence package with low-speed automatic emergency braking and lane-departure warnings for the low price of $295. Unfortunately, buyers have to go to the top model with the more expensive transmission to get it.

Chevrolet also offers rear parking sensors.

Features

The base version of the 2021 Chevrolet Spark is sparsely equipped, but moving up a step brings a respectable number of features for a thrifty price.

The Spark is an economy car with an economy car price and economy car equipment in its base trim. Higher-line models add some nice amenities, but you’ll pay for them. We give the 2021 Spark a 5 out of 10 for features, adding a point for the infotainment system and subtracting one for the sparse base equipment.

Chevrolet offers the Spark in LS, 1LT, Activ, and 2LT trims.

Which Chevrolet Spark should I buy?

We recommend the 2LT model because it’s the only way to get the optional safety equipment we recommend. It gets the 1LT’s cruise control, power windows and locks, satellite radio, 6-speaker audio system, daytime running lights and aluminum wheels plus keyless start and heated front seats.

How much is a fully loaded 2021 Chevrolet Spark?

To get the Driver Confidence package, buyers must not only choose the 2LT model, but also the CVT. That will cost about $19,000.

Fuel Economy

It’s small and light, but the 2021 Chevy Spark doesn’t reach 40 mpg.

Is the Chevrolet Spark good on gas?

Small, light, and completely lacking in power, the 2021 Chevrolet Spark is efficient, but not as miserly as you might expect. It qualifies as a 6 out of 10 in our rankings.

In its base form with the 5-speed manual transmission, the Spark is rated at mpg 29 city, 38 highway, 33 combined. Opt for the CVT and the numbers are slightly better at 30/38/33 mpg.

The taller Activ model suffers a slight fuel economy penalty with both transmissions. It’s rated at 29/37/32 mpg with the manual and 30/37/33 mpg with the automatic.