If you're looking for an affordable city car that's easy on gas, the Spark may strike your fancy. The four-door subcompact, which is built in South Korea, gets excellent fuel economy -- 32 mpg overall and 42 on the highway -- and has a surprisingly usable rear seat. It offers a relatively nice assortment of features, including alloy wheels, a touch-screen audio system, Bluetooth, and 10 airbags.
Parking might be the most fun you have with a Chevrolet Spark. It has sluggish, patience-testing acceleration; a 0-to-60-mph "sprint" takes 13 seconds.
Despite the Spark's commendable space utilization, the front seats are narrow enough that your shoulders and hips hang over the cushions. And then, there's the cabin noise, a relentless assault from all quarters.
All of this contributed to a meager overall road-test score of only 34, one of the lowest we'd awarded. An all-electric version, with a claimed 82-mile range, was new for 2014. Also, the four-speed automatic was replaced by a continuously variable transmission (CVT).