One Week In!

[nozferatu]

Well it's been a week since I got my Spark EV LT2.

Time flies when you're having fun!

I got the car with 27 miles on it and now it has 309. Since I reset the trip before I drove it home, I've been getting 5.3 miles/kWh.

This translates to about 179 MPG.

My driving needs and style are somewhat different than others I would presume. My freeway/city driving is about 50/50 I usually average about 30 miles a day...although with this car so far I've averaged more than that so I better tone it down before I go over my 12K mile lease!

I don't drive to and from a specific spot everyday. My work takes me wherever I need to when I need to go. So for example, I run an errand, 10 miles....come home, charge. Go out, 25 miles, come home charge, etc. I've never dropped below 50 miles of range and when topped off I've seen as much as 113 miles range. When I drive in the city, my range goes UP. Freeway driving deals a bigger blow to range particularly at speeds in excess of 65 MPH.

The car is quiet, smooth, and comfortable. I hope it stays this way and there are no rattles or squeaks that develop. I still would have liked two features on this car that it does not have....HID lights and a MUCH MUCH MUCH better stereo.

But overall, I'm liking it. And man oh man...the fact I don't need to go to the fuel station...wonderful.

I'm still debating on whether I should bother getting an L2 EVSE from Bosch. So far I don't see the need for it as I come home and usually the car doesn't need to be driven until about 7-8AM next morning. Sometimes my wife takes it to work which is about a 20 mile roundtrip.

Things may be different in the shitty So Cal summers....we shall see.

 

[emv]

If Bosch is still offering a $500 discount on the EVSE, get it. Get the 30 ampere one, it's only a little bit more. Although they would like to have one of their people install it, you can have anybody do it. I did my own but be sure you're comfortable around electricity, and I mean lots of electricity, 8 gauge Romex is not very cooperative and 40 amp circuits really pack a wallop!

We've had our for a month now without any problems. When I drive it to work I park next to a Fiat 500, a fancy one with Carlo's scorpions on it. I wouldn't trade and that's coming from a man who knows the allure of Italian cars. The Fiat is cute but looks so old fashioned and if you'd ever driven the original you'd know it was missing something.

Speakers? I'd say to replace them but you're never going to get much out of 4" drivers. Even Amar Bose never could get real bass out of small drivers. And with a lease you need to watch what you do to the car. Perhaps high quality four inchers and a sub somewhere would get rid of the tinniness, but I wouldn't trust some kid at Best Buy to cut into a leased car.

We love ours, if it were totaled tomorrow we'd buy another, from the same dealer and salesperson. It's an amazing day when I say that about a GM product.

 

[nozferatu]

If Bosch is still offering a $500 discount on the EVSE, get it. Get the 30 ampere one, it's only a little bit more. Although they would like to have one of their people install it, you can have anybody do it. I did my own but be sure you're comfortable around electricity, and I mean lots of electricity, 8 gauge Romex is not very cooperative and 40 amp circuits really pack a wallop!

We've had our for a month now without any problems. When I drive it to work I park next to a Fiat 500, a fancy one with Carlo's scorpions on it. I wouldn't trade and that's coming from a man who knows the allure of Italian cars. The Fiat is cute but looks so old fashioned and if you'd ever driven the original you'd know it was missing something.

Speakers? I'd say to replace them but you're never going to get much out of 4" drivers. Even Amar Bose never could get real bass out of small drivers. And with a lease you need to watch what you do to the car. Perhaps high quality four inchers and a sub somewhere would get rid of the tinniness, but I wouldn't trust some kid at Best Buy to cut into a leased car.

We love ours, if it were totaled tomorrow we'd buy another, from the same dealer and salesperson. It's an amazing day when I say that about a GM product.

Hey EMV,

Yeah I think I might get the EVSE. I also get a $100 rebate from my city for hard-wiring the unit. I already got a quote from an electrician to do it. $595 installed as the wiring from the box to the garage is underground already. The only concern is if the conduit is large enough to handle an additional big wire for the EVSE.

Yeah I really like this car now. Its acceleration in mid-range is phenomenal and addictive. I've really surprised a few drivers in G37's, 335i's etc...by the time they realize what's going on it's game over...lol. But that sort of fun really sucks the battery down fast.

My 500 was a nice car...I can't fault it as it had some really nice amenities this car simply doesn't have and things I find important to me. Small touches that make a difference...certain areas of lighting, a moonroof option, etc...but perhaps the next generation.

I don't expect extreme sound from 4" speakers but the Bose system in the Fiat was pretty damned good.

 

[adamsocb]

I am thinking about installing a pair of quality 4" two-way speakers in the front (the factory grilles on the dash just pop off), and a small removable sub enclosure in the trunk. I will need to tap into the rear speakers for the signal and run a 12 volt source to the sub amp. Kind of primitive, but as I said this car is just an appliance and, because its a lease I can't cut it up.

 

[fengshui]

Yeah I think I might get the EVSE. I also get a $100 rebate from my city for hard-wiring the unit. I already got a quote from an electrician to do it. $595 installed as the wiring from the box to the garage is underground already. The only concern is if the conduit is large enough to handle an additional big wire for the EVSE.

Don't forget you can probably get a tax credit for installing the EVSE.

 

[nozferatu]

Yeah I think I might get the EVSE. I also get a $100 rebate from my city for hard-wiring the unit. I already got a quote from an electrician to do it. $595 installed as the wiring from the box to the garage is underground already. The only concern is if the conduit is large enough to handle an additional big wire for the EVSE.

Don't forget you can probably get a tax credit for installing the EVSE.

You mean a credit for the INSTALLATION part? If you know that exists, please do send me a link of some sort...because I've not heard about that. Bosch is charging almost $2K to install it but instead of offering 1 year warranty if I only but the unit, they will throw in 3 years of warranty and service as well.

But $2K is a lot of money.

 

[adamsocb]

Yeah I think I might get the EVSE. I also get a $100 rebate from my city for hard-wiring the unit. I already got a quote from an electrician to do it. $595 installed as the wiring from the box to the garage is underground already. The only concern is if the conduit is large enough to handle an additional big wire for the EVSE.

Don't forget you can probably get a tax credit for installing the EVSE.

You mean a credit for the INSTALLATION part? If you know that exists, please do send me a link of some sort...because I've not heard about that. Bosch is charging almost $2K to install it but instead of offering 1 year warranty if I only but the unit, they will throw in 3 years of warranty and service as well.

But $2K is a lot of money.

You only need a 20 amp 240 volt circuit to Level 2 charge a Spark. The Spark's 3.3kW charger will only draw about 14 amps at 240 volts. At that amperage #12 wire is good for about 100 feet (one way) and #10 is good for about 160 feet. So you don't need very big wire. If you want the charger to be 6.6kW capable for the future you would need a 40 amp circuit and #8 wire. In any event there is no way two extra years of warranty is worth $1600.

BTW, I ordered these items from Crutchfield to upgrade the stereo:

Kenwood KSC-SW11 Compact Powered Subwoofer
HELIX Blue B4X 4" 2-Way Coaxial Speaker set
Universal "T" Wire Harness speakers

 

[nozferatu]

You only need a 20 amp 240 volt circuit to Level 2 charge a Spark. The Spark's 3.3kW charger will only draw about 14 amps at 240 volts. At that amperage #12 wire is good for about 100 feet (one way) and #10 is good for about 160 feet. So you don't need very big wire. If you want the charger to be 6.6kW capable for the future you would need a 40 amp circuit and #8 wire. In any event there is no way two extra years of warranty is worth $1600.

BTW, I ordered these items from Crutchfield to upgrade the stereo:

Kenwood KSC-SW11 Compact Powered Subwoofer
HELIX Blue B4X 4" 2-Way Coaxial Speaker set
Universal "T" Wire Harness speakers

Yes I know unfortunately the Spark is limited to 3.3kWh...but I do plan on getting another EV in the future and I think by then that standard will be obsolete and done with.

Let us know how your speaker retrofit goes...take pics!!!!

 

[fengshui]

Don't forget you can probably get a tax credit for installing the EVSE.

You mean a credit for the INSTALLATION part? If you know that exists, please do send me a link of some sort...because I've not heard about that. Bosch is charging almost $2K to install it but instead of offering 1 year warranty if I only but the unit, they will throw in 3 years of warranty and service as well.

But $2K is a lot of money.

It's Form 8911, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit. The credit expired at the end of 2013, but could be retroactively extended as has happened in the past. Details from IRS.gov:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-8911,-Alternative-Fuel-Vehicle-Refueling-Property-Credit