2020 Chevrolet Spark 5MT: Regular Car Reivews 

THIS is the RCR I missed! I’m not saying the rest of the content is bad, but this little car, this review, the jokes, Roman’s singing in the end.. just **chef kisses**

As I get older I find myself appreciating these more basic Cars much more.

I bought a 2013 less than 2 years ago for about $5000, it didn't have a lot of miles, it was the 1LT trim, so it had a lot of nice features, and it was mechanically and aesthetically flawless. It was the nicest car I'd ever had, and it was so much fun to drive, and I'd get 38-40mpg without trying. And within just one month, I got rear ended, and then hit a deer at 55 and totaled it. I know that thanks to the market, that exact car will never be found for $5000 again, and it will be a long time before I can ever afford to buy another car similar to it. Fuck that deer

Man, it really sucks that most of the small, hyper-affordable, hyper-efficient cars have been taken away, only to be replaced by $30k+ crossovers and $40k+ EVs. Cars like this make driving accessible and affordable for the average working person. They made driving/commuting long distances make economical sense. They gave a lot of people affordable opportunity and freedom- to be able to own a car and still save for other life goals like retirement. Expensive trucks, SUVs or EVs will never be able to fill the role these cheap workhorses had.

Sad to say that passenger cars such as these are being discontinued in favor of SUVs and pickup trucks. The only passenger cars sold by GM that I know aside from the Camaro and Corvette is the Malibu. Because of that, buying a vehicle becomes more expensive.

You know you're in for a treat when Mr. Regular starts using his soft voice of endearment he uses every time he reviews something he genuinely appreciates.

As someone who works at a Chevy Dealership, I can say that once every year someone calls in and asks about Chevy Spark availability. Usually it’s “I want to order one with no options at all.” Yes, you indeed called about the Spark, it’s implied that you want it with nothing.

Boomers will tell you they want more simple cars like the Chevy Spark, but then they'll go spend their retirement money on a new GMC Sierra with a heated steering wheel they never figure out how to use.

When I was younger in college in DR, I stared at this car constantly with desire, I felt it would’ve been the perfect car for my needs.

My family has one of these with the CVT. This car is incredibly fun and light, surprisingly good all around. I drove this in high school, putting plenty of miles on it, and my record was 53 mpg on a 30 minute trip. I fit 7 of my friends in it at once, and the handbrake was abused for donuts often as it should have been as a high schooler's car. Very charming and fun car.

Cheap and cheerful. And it was available in bright colors! About 4 years ago my daughter and I parked up next to a bright green Spark at Lowes. As the passenger door of the car swung open she let out a squeal “Look! It’s got whindy windows!”

I rode in my friends manual spark this weekend and it was incredible in how simple and purposeful it was. Made me realize 95% of people should drive them instead of Rav4s

I've owned two of these at one point. I bought them both on the same day. One was a 2014 with 25k miles for $7,500 OTD and a 2015 with 25k miles for $8,500 OTD. Both were manual base models. I still own the 2015 and daily it to work and back. It now has 80,000 miles and the only issue it's had is a leaky coolant reservoir bottle. It honestly might be the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. It's also given me the most head room ive ever had being a 6'4" tall person. This car costs me roughly $120 a month which basically includes gasoline (39mpg) and Insurance in Michigan. I can't say enough good things about it.

The yellow flannel worn while driving this car truly solidifies that this car is a 10/10

Classic example of it being more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow

Damn, where has this quality of RCR been? Also, I want a full version of "sad boy hours", that was fabulous!

A little purple Spark has gotten my girlfriend and I through college, we got our licenses with it, and it’s genuinely great taking to densely populated areas. Cheap, little, easy to service, and surprisingly competent. I’ll add this since this is the review for the manual: this has the same CVT as the Nissan Versa did, but having driven both, the Spark uses its CVT correctly rather than fake shifting, and it’s one of the few vehicles that won’t elicit a groan related to it having one.

I bought a 21 activ model about a month ago with 20,000 on it, manual. It’s about everything I need it to be and want it to be. I like to go on weekend adventures and the roof racks can hold kayaks and bicycles. On the daily commute it’s always zippy and comfortable (even for me at 6’2”) and amazing mileage making for super low running costs. I’m 19 now and have been in the workforce since graduation but I was looking at a car to get me through college when I go in the fall. I feel this car is perfect for me

I think the stall protection you’re feeling might be a modern GM thing. My 16 Camaro SS acts very similar. You have to basically drop the clutch to stall it

Here where I live in Italy, this car was branded has an "Opel Karl" and I bought one new in 2018, but with a smaller 3cyl engine with 75 cv, factory installed LPG system and slightly rised suspension (Rocks version). It is incredibly depandable, dirty cheap to run and it suits perfectly the "jungle madness" of center Rome. Love it to bits.

"Three knobs of justice" should be on a T shirt

After months of research and looking at possible replacements for my Toyota Echo, I ordered a 2022 Spark LT1 5MT in January of that year, one of the last to be made. This puts it one trim level above your tester, so I have a/c, power windows, power locks, cruise, and power heated mirrors. I chose it for a lot of reasons. Crash test ratings are some of the best in class. I think the interior and exterior styling is great, it looks simple to work on, and the fit and finish is also good. It gets great gas mileage, the connectivity is well done, and it's fun, yet practical. The ergonomics are comfortable, the handling is very good, and although not as quick as my Echo, the engine is still eager. There was a wide range of colours to choose from (not just black, white, silver), as well as other options like the sunroof mine has, and one of the nicest manual gearboxes I've ever driven. (I'm not a fan of CVT automatics.) I was even able to order it with a very sturdy trailer hitch. The only gripes I have are minor: you can't shut off the automatic locking function as you drive off, and folding the back seat is not intuitive. Once you do it a couple of times, it's fine. I'm in my forties and this is the first new car I've ever owned, and so far, I've very, very happy with it. I plan to keep this car for a long time, so I had everything wax sprayed before winter and so far, not a speck of rust. Hopefully it helps in the long haul. I think your review is spot on and the Spark dispels the illusion that inexpensive must equal cheap. Its the last of a kind of car that will likely never come again, and I'm so glad I bought one when I did. Thanks for posting.

GM sold a rebadged Daewoo and didn’t even bother to lesrn what features it came with 😂

You really nailed this review. I have a 2016 spark. While it has the CVT (which is a bit crap with its fake shifts), it’s been completely reliable and has survived some wicked -40 Canadian winters and some off road driving. It’s certainly beat to hell and back, but for its cheap price it’s been undeniably reliable and anything that has broken has been easy to fix. There are also some wicked curvy roads up here and it’s so much fun to throw around corners. It’s a Miata with 1/2 the horsepower. I love this car. It’s about to hit its 7 year anniversary with me as its only owner, and I will keep it until it dies, which may be longer than I was expecting despite me pushing it through feet worth of snow, giving it airtime on occasion, and taking it down hundreds of kms of old abandoned forestry roads.

😂😂😂 3 knobs of justice! In an era of push button everything this car still screams remember the 2000s

My mother has owned and loved one of these for the better part of the past decade. She’s a 5’1” 100lb elementary school special education teacher, and somehow it’s the perfect car for her as well. Thanks for this unexpected tribute RCR 🙏

Looked into a spark before I bought a Sonic back in 2013, the fat version of this. It was pretty fun because you could tune the little 1.4 turbo to get about 200 horsepower & 35mpg

I bought a manual LT spark brand new in June 2022 as a cheap, reliable source of transportation. I would’ve never thought I’d have as much fun in it as I do. I have a squarebody chevy as well and use this as a daily. I’m 6’5 and fit in it surprisingly well. I would recommend a spark to anyone. Lots of e-brake slides in the winter and bombing curvy roads in the summer and she’s holding up great so far.

Just bought a 2013 because it was a great deal from a friend. I've been feeling more and more that it feels like a new Metro. Carries all my construction tools, can't get the lifters to be quiet, never wanted to own GM but I've been having trouble finding faults with it.

when I lived overseas I had the 1L 3-cylinder version of this car. I still miss it. I loved it! Unless you've driven this car, you just don't get how much fun this thing is. It was the perfect car for getting to the train station, running errands, and on the days when I had late meetings, driving into the city. Absolute fun!

holy shit that outro goes insane, please release a full version roman & mr.regular

We had one of these as a rental a few years ago, and I was shocked at how much I liked it. Even with the auto, it still felt fun, light, and zingy. It's the kind of car that makes you want to go through roundabouts again and again just for the stupid juvenile fun of it. What a pleasant surprise of a car!

Huh.. you summed up the same feelings I have towards my 2013 Spark. 90's Kei car, no frills, loud, semi-disposable, but a little goddamn tank despite its lack of everything.

I had a 96 grand am with a five speed and it was also extremely easy to shift as a beginner to manual transmission driving. GM must have proprietary knowledge that helps them design a very forgiving manual transmission. I appreciate inexpensive, lightweight, economy cars with manual transmissions because that's what I've grown to love out of necessity. When you're barely scraping by financially in life that extra mpg or two makes a difference. Before the times of CVTs the manual option was always good for a couple more mpg.

its nice to see regular car reviews reviewing a regular car.

Absolutely perfect tune, Roman. These are little cool cars to me as well. Seems like a death trap of a car but it would be fun to zip around in it. I always chuckle when I see the huge head/taillights to make it look "bigger".

The Spark is a true diamond in the rough. A fantastic small car in a field of not-so-fantastic offerings. We had a '16 Spark (the first year of this second gen) until 2021 and it was a pleasant car to live with. Despite the small size, it was comfortable, the ride and noise levels were well controlled, the handling was tossable (a testament to the Opel engineering of the platform), had enough tech on the 2LT package to relevant, fuel efficient, and all of the materials used felt solid. And it was reliable. After 55k miles, nothing went wrong. Not a single thing. We had minor complaints: the fuel tank was tiny and the CVT was jerky at times. It's an underrated, underappreciated car that has no disappeared among the sea of bland CUV's. Such a shame.

Bought a 2021 model for my mom recently. Have to say, I actually really like the damn thing. It’s so basic, but that’s the great thing about it, so little that could go wrong.

I've been working at a GM dealer for the last 6 years and every time a Spark comes in it reminds me that it is one of the few GM products I'd be interested in owning!

The Chevy Spark is such a fun, happy little car, you see them all the time here in Mexico (where it was GM's best selling car) and for a good reason. We got the previous generation Spark as a daily and, at least I, love it.

Roman went hard in this one 🔥

One of the best RCR in a while! Laughed so hard I cried. The Spark is the cheerful "minimum viable product" of a car.

2:00 From a European point of view it's absolutely insane you guys would learn manual/stick in a V8! We all grow up learning in small hatchbacks like the Spark - the Spark is a horrible supermini compared to Ford Fiestas/Hyundai i10s/VW Polos though, you guys were robbed.

Anti-stall throttle behavior is pretty common on newer manual transmissions, as is hill start assist (keeps the brake on after you take your foot off it if you're on an incline), it was a bit of a surprise to me the first time I was on a hill in my 14 civic.

I actually like this little car to be honest, I wish I had one, would be a nice upgrade from the plastic hell that is my Aveo. I would also love to see him do a rcr video on the Aveo, it would be fantastic

Watching an rcr video is such an unpredictable experience. You never guess what they are going to say about a car. It's really intresting especially if you are watching from outside the US where many of the cars they review are not available. I am glad to see that fun cheep cars are still made. Great outro song by the way!

0:48 The Spark is actually a size down from the Aveo. The Aveo is sort of in the Honda Fit / Toyota Yaris size, and the Spark is in the Suzuki Alto / Honda Brio category.

YES!!! I fell in love with a car like this at the 2019 Toronto Autoshow, Chevy had 2 sparks on display: One was a Light Blue fully loaded model, with all the bells and whistles and a CVT... then right beside it was a Red Base Model, with no bells, no whistles, it had a 5-Speed Manual, Windy Windows, Manual locks in all corners, manual mirrors, no cruise control, no A/C, and only one arm rest in the middle... and I loved the base model so much~! For $10,000CAD, the cheapest car on sale in Canada, you still got great fuel economy, a 7 inch touch screen with Apple Carplay and Bluetooth Audio, and a backup Camera, as well as knowing you have one of the smallest cars to ever be built in the new millennia! It's so adorable, I want one so bad, too bad they already stopped making them...

FYI the stall is smooth and the electronic throttle is from a feature called “stall saver” and it’s actually working pretty well on that. But it’s on all new GM cars. It detects stall type of conditions and tried to prevent it. It’s cool to see a reviewer finally notice it. It’s pretty complicated.

I had one as a long term loaner and absolutely loved it! My uncle bought one for work and kept it as his retirement car because he loves it so much! The first Gen was available in electric for 3 years and the first year was available with 400lb feet of torque!!!

This has old school RCR vibes. I love it

I absolutely love my manual 2017 spark. It’s always fun to drive, and the nicest car I’ve owned. I can park anywhere and every drive is a fun drive in this thing.

I absolutely love my 2013 Spark. You nailed it when you said that every moment in it is fun. lol

I've got a 2017 Spark LT1, the mid level trim. I bought it used in 2019 to keep the miles off my Z4M on my commute. 4 years and 50k miles later I am still pleasantly surprised with how good the car is for how cheap they are. Fuel economy is good, mine has power windows, power locks, carplay/android auto, cruise control, AC, backup camera. A ton of features that don't have to exist in a car of this price. I did some grubhub delivery while going to school and the Spark was perfect for it. Easy to park anywhere, nice sized screen for GPS, good on gas, it was perfect.

I looked at these when I bought my last car. I wanted a cheap basic manual car. Ended up getting a base model Hyundai Elantra instead of this. It was the same price and came with cruise, air, power windows, a nice head unit, heated seats. It was a no brainer to go for the mid size Elantra vs this. Oh and I get 45-50 mpg in the summer.

I had a '14 Sonic 6MT for 8 years and was shocked at how versatile and reliable it ended up being. Small hatchbacks are widely underrated in this country.

this is my favorite rcr video, the one i come back to most frequently. this and the geo metro video. i love bare-bones simple cars and hearing people genuinely praise them. sure there are other reviewers who talk positively about econoboxes, but they all lament the lack of bells and whistles, then say the car is good despite that. like a used car salesman at a chevy dealership. no one really gets the beauty of simplicity like rcr. great content.

"Did a heart really break if it's beating?" That is a fucking great line

I worked with a guy who bought one of these- on a new one, his payments were under $100 a month, and he put 30L of fuel in it a month. I’ve never been so jealous of someone’s car in my entire life.

The previous chevy aveo is similar. My last 4 daily drivers, since 2006, have all been manual window cars. All of them econobeaters with good reliability and fuel economy, and cheap to repair and maintain, and all manual transmissions. Its really the only way I buy them because it just works.

I love how small they are. The model with the turbo 3 is also fun to drive!

My parents have had a Chevrolet Spark since 2013. Has always been nice to drive, and still runs great!

Great work Roman and Mr Regular - I really enjoyed having more of both the normal speaking voice and the singing. More videos like this please.

This is the review I wanted and thought I’d never get.. I used to play with these when I worked in service for a rental company. They’re so much fun

Your style of review always hits different. Seeing in-depth breakdowns of every feature and performance tuning that goes into the newest sports and muscle cars is cool and all that, most people aren't ever going to get to drive them. I've tried youtube on and off, but recently seeing your video on coming out and the focus on regular, everyday cars has made me think about trying some 'reviews' of my own. Keep up the great work, don't let life get you down, etc. etc.

Your voice-over for the video reminds me of my feelings for my 1987 Dodge Aries K in the early 1990s. It died soon enough and with too much money put into repairs, but your review of this car brought that memory back.

Love PASTE 😂 What a surprising upbeat review on this car.

I waited 6 months for delivery of my 2022 ls with 5 speed. I lone love love this car. Going to the supermarket for groceries feels like I'm driving in a rally. It's a total joy. I love showing other car guys the manual windows, etc. It's like 1975 all over again.

I love these things, at some point I'm gonna have one of these to play autocross with. The Chevrolet Cruze has the same little computer gas asset with the clutch. But yeah, in Canada a psark LS 5 speed with no a/c could be had for 10k NEW, which is just wild to me. You could buy 3 new sparks for the price of one new civic. It's like a 90s D series civic hatchback with some decent crash structure and a torsion beam in the back.

I bought this same car brand new in 2022! I had to order it from South Korea. Ordered it in Feb took delivery in August. I went out of my way to buy the stripped model. I tell everyone this car is faster than it should be and more fun to drive than it has any business to be!

this is one of the best RCR videos of all time, top 10 for sure.

You're spot on about the clutch; I've stalled mine a few times and hardly realized it until it conked out. It's my mid-life "fun" car and I absolutely love it.

Everyone forget about that hot hatch Chevy Spark EV?

That song at the end was really great, Roman! Listened to it six times in a row.

Finding beauty in the ordinary, this is why I love RCR! Nice to see GM unexpectedly made a little hero. Cheers!

Picked up the last manual base trim in the Mod Atlantic area at the end of December and so happy I did! It's just a spare car for my wife and I but it's so much fun! In 3 months we've put 7k miles on it. As someone who grew up with 80s and 90s Honda's and multiple Miatas, small lightweight underpowered momentum cars are underrated and so much fun.

I learned on a metro and it was a breeze. Was literally handed keys and my only instructions were "you'll figure it out". That said a base mini is easy too, you can lift the clutch and it'll go without giving it gas and float gears easily.

I have a 2017 base Spark, but with a CVT. It was given to me as a gift for my first car. Sometimes I wish I would've gotten the manual instead, but I love it regardless. It is a very basic car, but it gets you from point A to B and has some neat features. Honestly I think so long as it is maintained well, you should be able to get a lot out of it. I love driving this car knowing I am getting way better gas mileage than the SUVs with less personality that are oh so popular on our roads now.

My ex and I drove her first gen from Raleigh to Atlanta absolutely LOADED down with bags and gear for a con. The car was great on the highway and had pretty good pulling power for an automatic. The ONLY issue I had with the car was that it felt like a regular car minus 1. Like the seats were ALMOST big enough, the steering wheel was ALMOST big enough, the controls were just a tad to close together, things of that such.........

I went. I drove one. I bought it. Always wanted a 90s car like a classic civic. There all non existant. I love basic cars. Less stuff the better. The purity of it. The feel. I guess you get it or you dont. Im glad you do sir. Its a shame there all faiding out the American market for 30k+ monsters.....

Hey mr regular just checking in on you u probably wont see this but still we love you bud! ❤

We are in love with our 2020 Spark …totally underrated vehicle. We bought it as a second vehicle to save money on gas as we live an hour and a half from the city and our truck was just guzzling the gas. we live in Manitoba where the winters are horrific and this little car is a beast in the winter time no problems whatsoever.

Roman's outro is straight bars don't click away too soon.

I've been watching you for YEARS and this is my favorite video of yours. Was smiling the whole time

I used to work at a Chevy dealer and the stick absolutely makes these things. It turns them from a penalty box into a legitimately fun little go-kart. It doesn't hurt that the manual for both this and the Sonic were by far the easiest to use out of all the ones offered at the time (Spark, Sonic, Cruze, Camaro, Corvette, Colorado).

I used to have a girlfriend with an older version of this car, and I taught her to drive stick in about 3 minutes in that thing. The car was actually kinda fun, too. Thanks for the great content over the years.

It's great to get an American perspective on these little cars, you see its potential as a manual learner where it would potentially be ignored elsewhere Edit: great outro song from Roman too

THIS is the car I watched get knocked on its side by a late 90's Camry. The Camry was in front of me stopped at the light to go straight. A line of semi-trucks occupied the left-turn lane, so we had no visibility to our left. Our light turned green, the Camry paused for a second, then slowly pulled out. That's when the Spark suddenly appeared from said left and connected with the Camry's hood. There was the obligatory bang, the Spark slid, and then tipped over coming to rest on the opposite street corner. Wild.

I think you’d love the Chevrolet volt (last gen, I know you reviewed the first) it’s an incredibly versatile car that can cruise quietly with high e-mpg on the highway, or you can put your foot in it in a corner and watch one of the front tires belt out the high notes as you whip around the corner and the car transforms into a little oversized gokart. Also you can brake with a paddle on the back side of the left side of the steering wheel, for some reason.

Got one of these new back in 2019 as my daily driver for college. 4 years later its still kicking and haven’t had any major issues considering that it has over 120k on it. Very good on gas too and can park literally anywhere

Wonder what a 1.4 liter turbo swap would do in this car.

I saw a third gen Spark with Invader Zim and Vermin Supreme stickers in a supermarket parking lot last spring. Because of that, last summer I bought a 2022 Spark LS; she's due for her first routine maintenance soon. I love her to death and look forward to driving her until it's no longer economical to keep paying repair bills. I'm so happy to see that the fourth gen Spark is getting this appreciation. Thank you to that Spark owner who inspired me just by being yourself and owning such a delightful little car.

I bought a 2021 5MT Spark back in 2020. I got it ordered with all the hot stuff; Sunroof, special edition black painted roof, Machined alloy wheels. It legit caught people off guard thinking it was higher class than it actually was. I never realized how much of a unicorn I had specked until I had to sell it. Some bad prior decisions in years past and being under 25 meant insurance spiked to nearly $550 a month. I had to sell it. I have not been able to find one even remotely close to mine. I keep kicking myself for selling it. Fuck Progressive and fuck the insurance industry. It’s a tax to make sure you can’t own a home.

I have one of these and love it! It's cheap, it handles well, good fuel economy, infotainment is good, and I like the styling. I prefer driving this in the city compared to big cars, easier to park too! I might add mine is a 2017 model, and I haven't had one single problem with it. Quality is actually very good! But I don't expect it to last forever, the engine probably won't last more than about 120,000 miles,the CVT either. But at the rate I'm driving it, that will be in 10 to 15 years time!

My wife has a 2015, this has by far been one of the most reliable modern cars to own, and it’s been incredibly easy to do your own maintenance, it was definitely designed with quick tune ups in mind

our family business used to use this as a workhorse, delivering sizable stainless steel fabrication works then when it retired from the family business i used it as my college car goddamn memories man

We use three of these as delivery vehicles for the Chick-fil-A I work at. I am used to Miatas so I love the lightweight feel of them and the way they corner but unfortunately we have the automatics and the CVT sucks so much life out of the car, it revs so weirdly like it can’t make up its mind sometimes. I imagine this one would be a much more enjoyable experience.

This is like getting a beefburger that is literally bun>patty>bun. ...and it still being great because the chef cooked the patty perfectly and the bun is fresh and soft.

I have a 2016 Spark EV. The added power and weight from the battery makes it even better.

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