Some journalists may incessantly complain about hard plastics, but they work here to offer a utilitarian experience of hard-wearing surfaces with nice textures. On the inside, our mid-range 1LT Spark test car exceeds all expectations for the money. 1LT and up cars also get LED daytime running lights, something definitely not expected at a sub-$15,000 price point. It was incredibly nice of Chevrolet to include projector halogen headlamps on every Spark as they offer superior light output to the reflector units so commonly found in inexpensive cars. It’s a neat treatment for $795, but most consumers would be best to skip it unless they absolutely can’t stand the chrome treatment that comes standard on the front of standard Sparks. Our mid-range 1LT test car came with the Sport Edition package which includes a contrasting roof treatment, high-contrast 15-inch alloy wheels, blacked-out trim and emblems. One funky touch from the old Spark remains, and that’s how the rear door handles are up behind the door windows in a place that’s difficult for kids to access but really convenient for popping groceries into the rear seat. The same theme goes for the body styling which is upright and youthful yet conservative enough that it will likely be a design that ages well. Gone are the excessively oversized headlamps and taillamps that look like a karaoke machine from the mid-2000s and in their place are smaller, more mature fixtures. On the outside, the current Spark adopts a more mature look than the previous-generation model. Other than overleveraging themselves to their eyeballs with long-term car loans, what options do those shopping on a budget have? How about walking into a GM dealership, because the 2021 Chevrolet Spark LT is here to blow expectations of what a cheap car can be into the middle of next week. Even a decently-equipped Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic can crest the $20,000 mark, so true budget pickings are a bit slim. With manufacturers abandoning traditional cars at a record pace in favour of crossovers, it’s not a great time to be in the market for an inexpensive new car.
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