This will come as no surprise to regular readers, but I don’t really like newer cars very much. I never thought I’d be one of those people whose taste in cars (and music and movies) essentially froze in my thirties, but here I am in my fifties pretending anything made after 2005 doesn’t exist. This week, however, I’m going to try to explore the newer car market. I’m going to try to stick to cars no more than fifteen years old, starting with these two little runabouts.
Friday was an experiment: What happens if I show you two obviously overpriced cars, and give you an escape hatch in the poll? Well, what happens is most of you take it. Fully seventy-five percent of you noped out. So that’s enough of that. We’re now back to our usual “you must choose” rules.
If I throw out the “none” votes, the winner on Friday was the black Colt GT, which is my favorite of the two. Putting a wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel in a basic economy car is my kind of silly, and while I still think they’re both overpriced, if forced to choose, I’ll take the less expensive option.
Gas prices right now, to put it plainly, suck. It’s almost never worth it to think about trading in a car to get better mileage, but I can’t say that I don’t look at the small cars on the road with some envy, as our Hemi- and LS-powered cars gulp down unleaded like a rock star on a bender. You never want to see $100 on the pump total. And with the two little cars we’re going to look at today, you never will – unless prices really went crazy. Let’s check them out.
2013 Chevrolet Spark – $3,900
Engine/drivetrain: 1.2-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Chicago, IL
Odometer reading: 171,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Chevy’s history of tiny captive imports dates all the way back to 1985, when the Suzuki-built Chevy Sprint was introduced. The Sprint gave way to the legendary Geo Metro, which stuck around for more than a decade before being replaced by the Daewoo-built Chevy Aveo. And in 2013, the Spark, also based on a Daewoo design, replaced the Aveo. Now, of course, you can’t get any small cars at all at a Chevy dealership, which feels like a mistake to me, but what do I know?
The Spark is powered by a tiny 1.2-liter four cylinder making just 84 horsepower. But it’s a lightweight car, especially by modern standards, so it’s enough. This first-year Spark has a traditional four-speed torque-converter-type automatic; later Sparks had the dreaded Jatco CVT. This transmission is said to be less efficient, but a lot more reliable. You could spec a five-speed manual as well, but few buyers did. This Spark has covered 171,000 miles, but the seller says it runs and drives like new.
The condition of the interior at that mileage shows that someone has taken care of this car. The tree air freshener is a little worrying, but I know some people actually like the smell of those stupid things, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. The seller says everything works as it should.
Sparks came in a whole rainbow of colors, as a small economy car should. This pale rosy pink, called “Techno Pink” by Chevy, is actually one of the more subtle options. It’s in good condition outside, but it almost looks like some body panels don’t quite match. I’ve noticed that on other cars as well, and I can never tell if it’s a trick of the light in the photo, or if the paint fades more on the plastic parts than on the sheetmetal, or what.
2014 Fiat 500 Sport – $3,999
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 1.4-liter OHC inline 4, six-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Plainfield, IL
Odometer reading: 75,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
You can pretty much blame Volkswagen for this car. VW’s Concept One show car in 1994 was a big hit, and became the New Beetle in 1998. BMW, after acquiring the Rover Group and with it the Mini brand, saw the Beetle and thought, “Hey, we can do that, too!” Fiat, not to be left out, introduced its own modern version of the iconic 500 in 2007, and brought it to the US in 2012. It isn’t quite the pared-down people’s car that the old 500 was, but then, the modern Mini and Beetle weren’t exactly bare-bones cars either.
This is the Sport model of the 500, with a turbocharger on its 1.4-liter MultiAir four cylinder. It drives the front wheels through a six-speed Aisin automatic, which is a bit of a letdown, but maybe the extra horsepower makes up for it. It’s a one-owner car with only 75,000 miles on it, and the seller says it runs and drives well.
I’ve always liked the interior treatment of these 500s. The body-colored dash panel, the cream-colored accents, and the overall stylishness of it is a nice change from the bland gray plastic appointments of most small cars. It’s in really good condition, as you would hope with the low mileage.
This one is a good color as well; you don’t see many brown cars these days. It’s also in really good condition. Personally, I think Fiat did a better job modernizing the 500 than BMW did the Mini. These are good-looking little cars.
It may not be worth trading in your gas guzzler on one of these, but if you’re looking for a car anyway, one glance at the numbers on the gas station sign could have you thinking small. Your choices for today are a simple no-nonsense hatchback from a domestic brand, though it’s built in Korea, or a stylish Italian mini built in Mexico. These things are from everywhere. Which one could find a home in your driveway?
The Spark is the better choice by default. 4 doors, a cooler color, and by far a MUCH better car 😀
Mary Kay Pink Sparks were popular in the Korean market. Supposedly, 40% of KDM Sparks were pink. Also, every year had some cool color choices, a nice rotation of good color options in a reliable car 🙂
Later Sparks were available with a sunroof and heated pleather seats too, in addition to the cool colors.
Fuck the shitty Fiat. They came back to the US the same place they left: at the bottom.
The four doors on the Spark are completely pointless with how tiny that back seat is. It’s like adding rear doors to a BRZ. There’s no rear headroom at all.
Brown Fiat for me. 6 speed auto is better than a 4 speed and I like the style of the Fiat better.
I simply don’t trust the Fiat. I’ll bet the engine with the Turbo is more fun, it’s a better looking car, and it has half the mileage. But I think the Spark will be a little more practical and I trust even a Korean build more than Italian FCA/Stellantis quality so I suspect the Spark will run longer. Practicality wins today.
171k on a Korean-built econobox was enough to make me pick the FIAT.
My wife had a bright green 2014 Spark until the end of last year when the timing chain went at 135k miles, which is functionally the same as the ‘13. A few issues for anyone interested:
1. The touchscreen is notorious for failing. By the last few months, it would only work 25% of the time and require a complete reset to try.
2. Another electrical issue was the door locks. They would randomly open/close rapidly when the car was parked.
3. The transmission grenaded at 105k miles. But Chevy had an extended warranty out to 7 years/115k miles that was not advertised at all. You had to bring it to a dealer, make sure the failure was covered under certain circumstances, and get approval from the regional management. Finding that out through a Reddit thread was one of my best moments in my at repair history.
So definitely look out for this problems, but it reliably got 40+ MPG, even on the highway, and was insanely easy to street park.
Fiat all the way. Cute as heck. Tree air fresheners have become the new fuzzy dice. I’ve seen cars with several hanging off their mirrors. People gotta bling.
500 because it’s a turbo model, the automatics in them are from Aisin, they are surprisingly comfortable and roomy for a tall driver, and god dammit.. they make you smile when you drive them.
I bought a 500 Abarth for my wife because she thought it was cute (stick shift too). I ended up completely loving the damn thing and drove it all the time. It also never had a single problem besides a battery that I killed (by accident).
I did drive a rental Chevrolet Spark through a whiteout blizzard on I70 in the mountains of Colorado once and it did amazingly well. I was passing by tons of Range Rovers, etc.. who were terrified. I actually really liked the honesty of that car.
Your Fiat 500 experience mirrors mine. Ex-wife bought an automatic non-turbo Sport in 2015 because she rented one and fell in love. I was skeptical at first but damned if that eager little car didn’t win me over within a few months.
It’s more comfortable with more refined road manners than any other subcompact I’ve driven. It has handled bad weather better than many larger cars, and was rock-solid reliable for 160k miles. Unfortunately it appears the BCM is on the way out, which is manifesting in demonic behavior from the headlights. We’ll see if I’m able to keep it going long enough for my kid to finish learning to drive with it.
Overall it’s been a wonderful little car for over 11 years.
Fiat. We rented one in France a few years ago, simple, deep navy blue, lovely French roads and even the motorway, again surprisingly comfy for 6’2″ me and you always smile behind the wheel. Hell I even scored a few speeding tickets that showed up in my inbox 3 months later. I’ll snag the brown turd and keep looking for the 500C I really want, mostly because the top reminds me of a 2CV I will never own.
The Spark is a surprisingly good winter car. I had one for a week as a rental in the middle of a Canadian prairie winter. It never failed to start, even when the temperature dropped to -36 overnight, and handled snow and ice better than some much more expensive cars I’ve driven. My biggest complaint with it was noise levels, especially on the highway. Oh, and being seen in a Chevy Spark.
Right? I was shocked at how good it was in very bad winter conditions. It might be because it was a CVT, which I have a theory that CVT’s are actually better in the snow vs traditional autos (flame suit on).
But, even though they are probably good cars, the Spark didn’t have the Spark of the Fiat.
Gotta go with the Fiat here. I can’t believe it won’t cost some money to keep it going, but it ought to be worth it for the fun factor. The Techno Pink is also not a plus for the Spark.
The 500 will make you happy every day. It’s nimble, it feels solid, it looks great, it’s nice inside, and it’s quick enough if you keep your foot down. I saw 38 mpg highway and the price difference of premium gas doesn’t matter much if you’re only buying 8 gallons.
This is a poll close to my heart, as I was shopping both these cars recently for an urban commuter. But for the ultimate gas-saver, you have to be looking at the 2010s compliance EV versions of these things. Not only do they get infinity mpg, they are much peppier than the anemic gas versions. I ended up with a 2016 Spark EV in baby blue. $4000. 320 lb/ft for some reason?? It will spin the front wheels to 45mph. Cheaper and more cheerful I doubt you could find.
I seriously know absolutely zilch about both of these econo penalty boxes.
However, as I initially suspected, the Fiat is the obvious choice here. My first instinct (headline-only pre article read) – was that the Fiat was the easy pick, despite being the junkiest thing you can get here from the Italian company.
I know even less about the Korean import; it’s existence was merely a Spark in the consciousness of American automobilia. I never see these anymore, or they have already died and are mailboxes, dishwasher doors, or pallet nails by now. Sparks were as disposable as cars get, and have been reflected as such in history.
171k, no way, unless you wanted a pink raised garden bed.
I do see 500s pretty regularly still, and with HALF the mileage and brown and a very nice condition… that’s an easy choice as demonstrated by the enormous 80/20 vote today.
Someone on the next street over from me has a bright baby blue Spark….or is it a Sonic? In any case, I am sometimes jealous of the parking spots they can manage on our street only parking that my massive (by comparison) GTI wont fit.
I look at those interior photos and envision them after a crash, crumpled around my broken body.
I drove a 83 Civic for a decade. Naturally, millennials and GenZs expect nothing than a Lexus. Now get off my lawn.
A Cinquecento in espresso brown?? Sold.
Fiat has a turbo and half the miles, and is pretty damn clean. This would be a better comparison with the Spark LT or RS with the turbo 1.4. Both better as manuals, but I bet that Fiat is fun even with the auto box.
I didn’t even have to read anything to know the Fiat is the better car – but at less than half the mileage its definitely the better choice.
I have two coworkers with this Fiat and they have both been maintenance nightmares.
I had a rental Spark a couple of years back and it was a completely good car.
I voted for the Spark. I acknowledge the Fiat 500 is probably more interesting, but for whatever reason these cars don’t do much for me. I was never a huge fan of the original 500 (mostly because I have only seen maybe two ever so they are out of sight, out of mind), so I give no bonus points for nostalgia here. Perhaps due to or at least related to my lack of nostalgia, the styling doesn’t work for me. I also find them cramped.
Give all this, I see this as generic econotransportationpod vs generic econotransportationpod. I think most of us would agree the Spark is the better, or at least cheaper, generic econotransportation pod.
I wish the Spark were a different color, though. I like that this isn’t greyscale, but this is one of few actual colors I don’t give bonus points for. This car would look so much better in the bright green that was available.
I would have picked the Spark if it had a stick. More importantly, if it hadn’t had the air freshener. I see one of those and I figure it smells like a Skunk Proctologist’s waste bin.
oooo yeah that green is awesome 😀
The Spark always had some cool colors every year. Different colors every year, but always some cool colors in any given year. Pink, green, yellow, purple, orange, even a knockoff of Porsche’s Miami Blue!
Fun colors seem like an easy way to make an unappealing car appealing. I think the green is my favorite, but that Miami blue knockoff is also spectacular.
It is amazing how much color choice affects my perception of a cheap car. I see the green and blue Sparks and think they look fun. I see them in grayscale and think they just look like econoboxes. I’m not fond of the color of this particular Spark, but it is unique enough that people can have an opinion of it beyond “meh” – that alone is worth something.
If I’m buying a cheap car to save gas, I don’t want to trade my gas savings for repair bills. I’ll have the Chevy.
I already have a high-mileage hatchback commuter that gets excellent gas mileage, so I’ll take the Fiat because of the lower mileage. I suspect the Spark just has fading paint, given all of the painted plastic bits seem to match, but I also suspect it is more likely to need major maintenance than the 500.
Spark for me, especially if it’s purpose is to be a stingy fuel-sipper. I really like the 500, but if I’d hold out for an Abarth if I wanted to go that route… and that’s not the fuel-efficient route, either, so it kind of defeats today’s purpose.
Mark, you’re not alone in your preference for older cars/movies/music, and it’s not necessarily just you or an age and nostalgia thing. Modern cars are objectively safer and improved in multiple ways, but with acres of non-tactile touchscreens, numb electric power steering in so many cases, plus general commodification (and let’s not forget the ever-looming potential for subscription-based “features” thanks to always-on connectivity…), they’re less involving and attractive to enthusiasts than the ones from last century or the start of the new one.
As to music and movies, there’s a reason why a lot of artists are reaching back to elements of music from the 80s/90s/2000s (heck, some were reaching back to the 80s already in the early 2000s…) and also a reason why so many remakes and reboots of old TV shows and movies are being churned out.
Newer doesn’t equal better when it’s only due to a relentless and soulless pursuit of new and novel for nothing but its own sake and in the name of profits. There’s a bit too much of that sort of thing going on. Heck, that’s kind of in line with the dystopian visions in popular fiction from the 70s/80s/90s.
Man I wish that 500 was a stick. They’re fun little cars and very reliable. Plus, it’s brown!
I might be inclined to choose the Spark, mainly because the techno pink color is just plain fun in the sea of greys, whites, blacks, and more glossy primers we currently exist in on the roads.
Also… I recently heard that those Sparks can “smoke” other cars if you throw some Pennzoil in there along with a performance filter, and a mixture of 1/3 jet fuel. IFKYK…
The Fiat. Some European class. And stop with the xenophobic reliability jokes. Plenty of data points globally to show the model works. Hell, it stripped the Germans and Japanese of the German ADA award in A-class reliability a few years back.
That Fiat is very overpriced, but I’ll take it over the Spark.
Fiat quality doesn’t scare me, so I’ll take the lower mileage fun car.
I daily’d a Mini Cooper S for a while – now THAT was an unreliable hunk of junk. I’ve heard stories of nightmare maintenance on new Beetles. Chevy quality is eh, okay, I guess.
Maybe that’s why I’m willing to gamble $4000 on something that looks fun and will fall somewhere in the range of the other cars quality-wise.
literally the Giant Douche vs Turd Sandwich choice here. I guess the Turd with a turbo motorcycle motor is the way I would go today.
Nah, c’mon, the 500 is cool – it has pedigree and style and actually feels nice to be in.
You might not get where you were going but you’ll look fantastic on the side of the road waiting for Tony to Fix It Again.
What do you expect for $4k today? Especially with fuel prices the way they are, both are actually pretty decent deals.