It's more than three years since we last tested a Chevrolet Spark, and not much has changed in that time. One reason for revisiting it now is that Chevrolet made some upgrades which were revealed at the Frankfurt Show a couple of months ago and are now available on production cars.Most of them concern the interior. The trim and instruments have been changed, with pleasant enough results, and there's a new radio/CD player with Bluetooth connectivity, USB and aux-in jacks and steering wheel controls. On a separate note, Electronic Stability Control is now available as a £360 option, which is fine but not as good as having it fitted as standard.It may not be enough. The Spark's 170-litre luggage capacity (with all seats in place), high load sill and narrow tailgate weren't too impressive in 2010, and they're looking much less so now that the Volkswagen Group's itty-bitty city committee - the VW up!, the SEAT Mii and the Skoda Citigo - plus the forthcoming second-generation Hyundai i10 all offer more than 250 litres.Of the cars mentioned above, only a few examples of the up! cost more than the £11,070 Spark 1.2 LTZ tested here. And, to take the thing to extremes, no Dacia Sandero comes close to that figure either. This is not going Chevrolet's way.More positively, the Spark can easily seat four tall adults, and it's surprisingly fun to drive on country roads. On motorways and dual-carriageways it's quite good too, though on one occasion I found that, while indicating - both with the lights and, eventually, with an outstretched arm - to move out a lane so that I could pass a lorry, I was completely ignored by three drivers coming up behind, as if they didn't feel they had to pay any attention to a car like this.The last car in which I experienced anything like this was, ironically enough, a Daewoo Matiz, the Spark's predecessor. When I was in the Matiz another driver made several attempts to run me off the road, so I suppose the Spark represents a small step forward in that respect.Strangely, the environment in which the Spark is least convincing is the urban one. The steering is particularly nice to use, so manoeuvring isn't a problem, but moving away from rest requires a high level of throttle control, and it's quite easy to use far more revs than you intended to, or to get going in a series of hops, or to stall completely.The LTZ trim of the test car is the highest we've yet experienced in a Spark. Along with the lower LT spec it's available only with the 81bhp 1.2-litre engine. The 67bhp one-litre alternative has the least equipment of all and bears the name LS.Standard equipment on the LTZ, in addition to what was mentioned in paragraph 2, includes 15" alloy wheels, air-conditioning, front foglights, six airbags, traction control, remote central locking and silver effect roof rails. Metallic paint is available as a £425 option. Engine 1206cc, 4 cylinders Power 81bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 56.5mpg / 118g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 12.7 seconds Top speed 102mph Price £11,070 Details correct at publication date
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