[AutoGuide.com]

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released official fuel consumption and range ratings for the Chevrolet Spark EV today.

According to the EPA Chevrolet’s little electric car is capable of a maximum 82-mile driving range and returns 119 MPGe in combined city and highway driving.

“We’re poised to deliver to the market an EV that’s not just efficient, but also thrilling to drive thanks to the 400 lb-ft torque output of its electric motor,” said Pam Fletcher, GM executive chief engineer for electrified vehicles.

Spark EVs get their power from a 21 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that puts out 130 hp and is covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile limited warranty.

Using DC fast charging, the Spark EV can regain up to 80 percent of its capacity in approximately 20 minutes, while using a dedicated 240V outlet, charging will take “less than seven hours.”

The Spark EV doesn’t quite beat the competition however, as Fiat recently unveiled the 500e, which tops the Spark EV with 87 miles of range, and a free gas-powered rental car if the owners want to take a long trip.

The Spark EV will be offered for sale this summer in California and Oregon.

 

[TDR]

The EV range seems decent. The only thing that worries me is the 7 hour charge up time, which I suppose is normal for EV cars. But it's still much more convenient to fill up at a gas station. I'm wondering if it would have been a better for Chevy to use a hybrid engine for the Spark.

 

[chevysub]

The EV range seems decent. The only thing that worries me is the 7 hour charge up time, which I suppose is normal for EV cars. But it's still much more convenient to fill up at a gas station. I'm wondering if it would have been a better for Chevy to use a hybrid engine for the Spark.

If you think about it, it's not that bad, that 7 hours can be done while you're sleeping. But theres always the faster charger to charge your spark up to 80% in 20 minutes. So the whole timing thing doesn't matter unless you are driving around a lot every day....then maybe you shouldn't own an EV.

 

[SparkMan99]

yes to charge it to 80% in 20 mins requires you to get an alternate charger. which is not bad considrring a full charge on the regular charge take up to 7 hours.

 

[Raymondjram]

I knew that the range was over 80 miles

In my first post on the Spark EV, I saw that the range display on the dashboard shown in the Spark EV at the L.A. Auto Show was 80 miles. So I knew that the production Spark EV was better. Now I can predict that someone will extend that range to pass 90 and even reach 100 miles. If present Volt owners have reached 60 miles on a vehicle that had a 35 EPA range rating, this Spark EV will get better results than any import EV (Nissan Leaf or others).