Chevrolet Spark EV

[fengshui]

So I drove a Spark EV today.
I have mixed feelings about the car. It's obviously tiny with a ridiculously small trunk. But the thing that really disappointed me the most was its handling under acceleration. The motor is indeed nice and peppy - but with the heavy batteries in the rear and the shift of the CG when accelerating, the front wheels get really light and especially on a wet road (I'm in Oregon, it was pouring rain today) the car gets really squirrely. Not a good feeling.
Add to that the fact that they went with the "break pedal triggers 'real' regen" (go-pedal only does a max of about 8-9kW), the Spark EV doesn't give me the wonderful single pedal driving experience that I learned to love so much in my Model S.

Were you driving in D or L? In L, I think I get more than 8-9kW of regen, but I'd have to test it to be sure.

 

[scottf200]

So GM chose a massive low rpm motor for the Spark. Hope they had more reason to do this than just being able to brag about '>400 lb ft'. It is meaningless to brag about this figure since it is the power applied to the road by the tires that determines a car's performance. But having a low rpm motor can indeed be quieter overall with less gear shifting, noise & driver fuss. Thus I want to test drive one whenever that becomes possible. :smile:
--

It is about efficiency.

http://insideevs.com/gm-general-says-spark-evs-400lb-ft-of-torque-no-misprint/

Peter Savagian, who is GM’s General Director for for Electric Drives and Electrification Systems Engineering

“I need to disabuse you of the mistaken notion that this motor has less than 400 ftlb of Torque. The Spark EV motor is designed and manufactured by GM. This motor makes 540 Nm (402 ftlbf) of Torque at stall and out to about 2000 rpm. This is not gear- multiplied axle torque, but actual motor shaft torque.”

“The very high torque is motor performance that we are very proud of, and customers will notice the difference: (It has a gear reduction of 3.18 to 1, so the axle torque is the product of these two). This is a very low numerical reduction ratio, which has several great benefits – 1) Feels much better to drive. 3.18:1 is less than half of the reduction of all other EVs. This makes for extraordinary low driveline inertia, less than 1/5 of the driveline inertia of the Nissan Leaf and 1/4 that of the Fiat 500 EV. Their cars feel like you are driving around in second gear all day long; ours feels like fourth gear. 2) Lower gear mesh, spinning losses, and lower high speed electromagnetic losses mean very high drive unit efficiency. The Spark EV efficiency from DC current to delivered Wheel torque is 85% averaged over the city driving schedule and 92% when averaged over the highway schedule. This is the highest in the industry, and that is one of the reasons why the Spark EV sets the benchmark for most efficient car.”

 

[dirkhh]

Were you driving in D or L? In L, I think I get more than 8-9kW of regen, but I'd have to test it to be sure.

In D. Didn't occur to me to try L.
Do you also get the rather unstable behavior under strong acceleration?

 

[fengshui]

In D. Didn't occur to me to try L.
Do you also get the rather unstable behavior under strong acceleration?

Yeah, that's definitely a factor. D versus L is like Low versus Standard Regen in a Model S. I haven't noticed the instability under strong acceleration, but I don't have a lot of experience with sporty cars. I have noticed the tires coming a bit loose and traction control kicking in when accelerating through corners. I've been thinking about upgrading the tires to Yokohama S.Drives.

 

[JRP3]

A small front wheel drive car with lots of torque is going to be somewhat unstable under strong acceleration.

 

[mnx]

A small front wheel drive car with lots of torque is going to be somewhat unstable under strong acceleration.

Heck, my p85 feels unstable under strong acceleration. (I guess the spark isn't accelerating nearly as fast as a p85 though).

 

[stopcrazypp]

Well there's going to be torque steer, but the rear batteries probably affects the natural weight balance of the car (vs the ICE version). If they had centered batteries it would be better, but it's a conversion so I guess you can't ask for much.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Another front drive electric vehicle with crazy torque steer is the Toyota Rav4 EV.

 

[gameon]

any owner with real world driving review...online reviews are pretty favourable.

 

[fengshui]

any owner with real world driving review...online reviews are pretty favourable.

I'm happy with mine. It's not in the same class as the Model S (which I've test driven once), but it's excellent for getting you from point A to B, with a hint of the Tesla smile. Are there specific details you're interested in?

 

[Smop]

I had a chance recently to play with the "guts" of the Spark EV. The pack is almost exactly the same as a Fisker Karma A123 Amp20 pack except that it is in a different configuration/housing. The cooling plates are on the bottom as they are on the Karma's pack. Pack is rated for 10c (I believe that DC Fast Charge is in the 2-2.5c range) and is 336v. This thing is a bargain and probably costs Chevrolet 23k to manufacturer (13k in just the battery)

 

[JRP3]

Don't suppose you took any pictures? I agree the car is a great deal, even just for the components. Once they start hitting the used car market they'll be a great source for conversion parts. Stick them in something lightweight with a transmission and rear wheel drive and have some real fun.

 

[TonyWilliams]

GM was the largest purchaser of ZEV credit last fiscal year ending Sept 30, 2013. They MUST unload these Sparks at any price!!!!

 

[dirkhh]

GM was the largest purchaser of ZEV credit last fiscal year ending Sept 30, 2013. They MUST unload these Sparks at any price!!!!

Actually, at least in Portland they are flying off the lots. None of the dealers have stock, several that I called said that the next half dozen or so coming in are already sold.
I am positive that Tesla is outmanufacturing GM when it comes to making EVs

 

[TonyWilliams]

Actually, at least in Portland they are flying off the lots. None of the dealers have stock, several that I called said that the next half dozen or so coming in are already sold.
I am positive that Tesla is outmanufacturing GM when it comes to making EVs

With total Spark EV sales in both California and fellow CARB state Oregon of just a few hundred, Tesla builds more Model S cars in less than a week.

GM is losing their butts on the sale of Spark EV, which is why sales are limited to CARB states. The really low prices that are attracting customers is to compete against other compliance offerings from Fiat/Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Toyota and soon to be Hyundai (hydrogen car), Mercedes, Kia, Mazda, BMW and VW.

 

[cwerdna]

Chevy Spark EV is For West Coasters Only Still No Plans to Expand Sales
Chevy Spark EV Priced at $29,995 in Canada; GM Confirms Public Sales Will Start in 2014 No Longer to be Fleet-Only

October 2013 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card has the puny sales figures of the Spark EV which are somehow With fewer than 400 sold, Chevy Spark sales s expectations.

 

[cwerdna]

From the table at December 2013 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card, 76 sold for Dec '13, making for a total of 539 for 2013.

If this constitutes "flying off the lots", where does that put the Leaf that sold 2,529 in December '13?

 

[TonyWilliams]

From the table at December 2013 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales Report Card, 76 sold for Dec '13, making for a total of 539 for 2013.

If this constitutes "flying off the lots", where does that put the Leaf that sold 2,529 in December '13?

It's sure a good thing we stopped building CHAdeMO and Tesla Supercharger stations when GM tried to stop them so that GM could take over with the Frankenplug stations and Frankenplug cars. Oh, wait, there are still ZERO Frankenplug cars in the USA in 2014 and less than 10 total Frankenplug stations. Thankfully, not too many people listened to GM.

Heres a map of all the CHAdeMO and Tesla Supercharger stations in the USA. Sorry, don't have a map of the less than 10 GM / German car manufacturer Frankenplug stations:

 

[JRP3]

 

[MrTeff]

This will be solved by a simple drag race between any Tesla and a Spark.

Yes, and Tyrone Smith can sack Tom Brady. So what? A Spark EV is nothing like the Tesla. It's small, inexpensive and front wheel drive. But it's still great in my book.