Anyone here HAVE a 2015 Spark EV ??

I am about to buy one, but wondered if anyone here Actually HAD the 2015 model with the New battery and the New Torque settings ?

Curious how it is.

I guess that's a no? Have you bought yours yet or test driven? Anything to report?

Nothing Still trying to get the dealer to ship it to me.
I think I can get the 2014 for a good price, but some have back-walked on letting me do the shipping

tigger19687 said:

Nothing Still trying to get the dealer to ship it to me.
I think I can get the 2014 for a good price, but some have back-walked on letting me do the shipping

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Just make sure that you don't get stuck paying California sales tax (unless you're getting yours from Oregon, that doesn't have sales tax). I'd let the dealer handle the freight and the responsibility for the car until it arrived at your door.

No matter where you buy the car, Ca makes you pay the tax when you register the car, unless it's an older purchase. Don't know the exact number of months. Avoiding Ca tax by buying in Oregon is a lost proposition last time I looked into it.

iletric said:

No matter where you buy the car, Ca makes you pay the tax when you register the car, unless it's an older purchase. Don't know the exact number of months. Avoiding Ca tax by buying in Oregon is a lost proposition last time I looked into it.

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That's absolutely not true. I know MANY folks who have successfully purchased the Toyota Rav4 EV out-of-state (and it is ONLY sold in California).

I have personally bought airplanes "out-of-state" to avoid sales tax (there are specific procedures on how to do that for planes and yachts).

Do not take delivery of the car in California, and further, I recommend not even setting foot in California during the transaction. If you drive the car in the state directly after purchase, the state may assign a "first use" tax (basically, sales tax).

You will need a "bill of lading" that shows the car leaving the California dealer to your out-of-state location.

TonyWilliams said:

You will need a "bill of lading"

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Corrected.

JoeSchmoe said:

TonyWilliams said:

You will need a "bill of lading"

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Corrected.

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Thank you.

Well, so far the ones who didn't care that I take it out of state all back peddled and now won't sell it.

OR, like the guy at Momentum that qouted me a great price (knowing it was going out of state) Only to double check with his "boss" that now says it would be $1500 more . "due to the amount of work that goes into doing the deal. " but they are NOT helping me ship it at all.
Oh and he said that the lower price would be god if I came to CA :lol:
BTW, they have like 11--2014's and 15-- 2015's
You would think they would want to get rid of the 2014's :roll:

there was another one but now no one will return the emails.

1 that would help, doesn't have any in stock and still (a week later) has not gotten back to me.


I'm about to call it quits and just wait till Tesla comes out with theirs

tigger19687 said:

I'm about to call it quits and just wait till Tesla comes out with theirs

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You do know that there are others EV's out there besides an extreme limited production Spark EV and a future Tesla Model 3 (which will cost even more)?

Toyota USA had to crack down on its dealers in Oct 2013 when those dealers kept selling the RAV4 EV compliance vehicle out-of-state. If GM hasn't done it previously, believe me, they will. When the singular purpose of a car is to meet regulatory mandates, obviously, anything that impedes that will be squashed. The GM Spark EV, like any of the several other compliance only cars, will ONLY be sold in regulatory states.

GM could sell them in other regulatory states, but I suspect it's cheaper not to do so.

Why not consider cars that are produced by manufacturers that fully support EV's and will sell them in your state?

Those currently are:


Nissan - LEAF (150,000 sold worldwide) and eNV-2000 coming
Kia - Soul EV and several others coming (a solid 100 mile car!)
BMW - i3 with more models coming
Tesla - Models S,; Model X and Model 3 coming
Mitsubishi - iMiev


CARB-ZEV - California’s ZEV program has now been adopted by the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. These states, known as the “Section 177 states,” have chosen to adopt California's air quality standards in lieu of federal requirements as authorized under Section 177 of the federal Clean Air Act. Additionally, California’s GHG standards are now federal law. Maine and New Jersey are participating with ZEV initiatives, but are not signatory CARB-ZEV states.

^^^
Fit EV is a lease-only compliance car but is/was available in MA (http://automobiles.honda.com/fit-ev/drive-fit-ev.aspx). Unfortunately, they were apparently not easy to get in CA and Honda's done w/them, they might be even harder to get.

FFE is available nationwide, AFAIK, but they sell in puny numbers, so it's not clear how serious Ford really is about it/BEVs, in general.

Maybe the VW e-Golf will be available in MA (very old article at http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-vw-e-golf-20140530-story.html claims that).

Because NONE of those cars had Liquid cooled/heated Batteries.


I AM a Section 177 State (MA), so CA DOES get the ZEV point if it is sold there and brought here and "put into Service"
According to their Agreement


--VW originally DID have Liq col/heat batteries, but now does not. and the price is $35k....

I am also BUYING, not leasing.

Now, Anyone else have a 2015 Spark EV and have to tried to do a Mileage test like the one on the 2014 Spark EV ?

cwerdna said:

^^^
Fit EV is a lease-only compliance car but is/was available in MA (http://automobiles.honda.com/fit-ev/drive-fit-ev.aspx). Unfortunately, they were apparently not easy to get in CA and Honda's done w/them, they might be even harder to get.

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The last Fit EV's will be leased soon, and then the project ends to make way for hydrogen cars. All the Fit EV's will be returned to Japan and crushed.

FFE is available nationwide, AFAIK, but they sell in puny numbers, so it's not clear how serious Ford really is about it/BEVs, in general.

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The Ford Focus EV is a liquid cooled / heated battery, but obviously they are not serious about EV's. I suspect they go to a hydrogen car for 2018.

Maybe the VW e-Golf will be available in MA (very old article at http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-vw-e-golf-20140530-story.html claims that).

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The eGolf is not much more than a 2011 LEAF clone. Yes, they will likely sell in other CARB-ZEV states, and will be required to do so for 2018 model year, UNLESS they also go with hydrogen. That way, they can sell in California only post model year 2017.

Hi

I just picked up a 2015 Spark EV after driving a 2014 model for 6 months.
both of them were LT2 models and on the 2015 I got the DC charging option.
Since I got both of them in electric blue I did not see any differences in the
appearance of the interior.
How do they compare when driving?
To be honest - I do not feel any real difference between the two model years and
I am happy about this because I did like the ride of the 2014 Spark right from the get-go.
Still the same tire chirping acceleration in sport mode when taking off traction and
stability control - and still just as fun to drive.
At first I was a little concerned about the range being possible less because of the smaller
battery pack especially since the gauge read 73 miles after the first full charge after picking up the car,
but after driving it the first full week in mixed freeway and road use I am back in the 82 to 85 mile range
being displayed after each full charge. Usually the consumption shows between 4.1 and 5.1 kW based on
my driving style.
Going by my gut feeling (not scientific really) it appears that the 2015 might do a little worse on the freeway
between 65 to 75 mph (CA style), but a little better in the city going 30 to 45 mph. If I drive the car like a Prius
I am convinced excellent range numbers can be archived - going city only.
The torque while less on paper and directly from the engine seems to be pretty much the same at the tires.
I have not measured the actual 0 to 60 times, but it still feels pretty quick if not a little quicker after the initial "jolt".
To sum it up - don't be afraid of the 2015 model - it is still a great car if you liked the 2014 model.
I wish they had changed the radio volume to a simple knob and a 6 kW charger would have been nice since the SAE fast charger
rollout seems to be kind of slow, but overall I really enjoy the car as a city commuter.
Well, one more thing maybe - a tiny bit more of trunk space and 4 equally sized tires wouldn't hurt either, but in
comparison to all other affordable EVs I chose to buy the same car again - that is how much I like driving it.
I know it should all be about the environmental impact and the economy of it all, but I have to admit that the low and
instant torque is addictive and that is why I drive the Spark EV.
I will entertain any 2015 model specific questions if it helps somebody on this forum.

Cheers

Mike,

Do you have any interest in performing a test like this?

http://insideevs.com/kia-soul-ev-range-autonomy-demonstration-nets-100-miles/

Just bought a silver 2015 Spark EV. I am in love. Torque is phenomenal.

TonyWilliams said:

Mike,

Do you have any interest in performing a test like this?

http://insideevs.com/kia-soul-ev-range-autonomy-demonstration-nets-100-miles/

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Hopefully Tony can get a taker. IIRC, for the Chevy Spark EV test, the owner drove, while Tony supervised and did most of the other legwork.

cwerdna said:

TonyWilliams said:

Mike,

Do you have any interest in performing a test like this?

http://insideevs.com/kia-soul-ev-range-autonomy-demonstration-nets-100-miles/

Click to expand...

Hopefully Tony can get a taker. IIRC, for the Chevy Spark EV test, the owner drove, while Tony supervised and did most of the other legwork.

Click to expand...

I'll be doing a VW Golf EV soon.

Hey guys!

So, I just got a Spark EV 2015 last week for my birthday!

I have a plug-in Prius, and loved getting crazy mileage in it, so I decided to go for an electric car as a second vehicle (keeping the Prius for work trips to San Diego and beyond). My parents both recently passed away, so I was stuck with a couple of older cars that I traded in for it. Total, after the rebates, it's only costing me $5k out of pocket!

After seeing the Spark EV at EPCOT (in the Test Track post-show) in Florida over a year ago, I knew I wanted one. I loved the look (especially the Electric Blue seats and interior), the size, and everything about it.


Charging at the new ARTIC Anaheim transportation plaza.

Harbor Chevy gave me a great deal, and price matched a TrueCar offer I had.

Tony - reach out to me, I'd be interested in doing your Inside EV mileage test with you (I have put about 250 miles on it - don't know if that's too much for a 'new' test).