The Chevrolet Spark EV, one of the more promising all-electric vehicles from a mainstream manufacturer, has just received its official range and efficiency information. According to GM, it is “the industry benchmark in retail electric vehicle efficiency,” as it has been officially rated with a combined EPA-estimated 119 MPGe equivalent and a driving range of 82 miles (131 km).
The source of all this is the Spark EV’s 21 kWh battery pack, which comes with 100,000 miles warranty, or eight years, whichever comes first. It can be charged up to 80 percent of its capacity in around 20 minutes, if a DC fast charger is used. If not, then a regular wall socket should give you a full charge in around seven hours.
However, the Spark EV’s party piece, to me at least, is the performance. It gets over 130 hp from its electric motor, and 60mph (100 km/h) is said to come up in “under 8 seconds” – a Toyota GT86 takes 7.6 seconds to reach the same speed, so this should be pretty brisk. Keep in mind that if you are going to use the performance on offer, you won’t get anywhere near the claimed range and efficiency figures, though.
By Andrei Nedelea
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