| First Drive | Athens, Greece | 2010 Chevrolet Spark |

Chevrolet is slowly but surely increasing its market share in the UK, despite a product base as dry as, ooh, let's say a levee. With the Spark, Chevy is hoping to add some funk to its line-up and increase that share even further - it reckons the chunky city car will account for 30 percent of its total sales eventually. Have a look at it while thinking about the fact it's effectively the replacement for the Daewoo Matiz and you'll agree it's off to a good start. Are looks enough, though?

In the Metal

When we asked Chevrolet's design chief if he'd adopted a design language, as is essential these days, his reply was satisfyingly not littered with pretentious rhetoric. There was no meaningless slogan. What he did say was that he'd like its cars to have a 'wheels out, body in' look that pushes the wheels as far out to the corners as possible, thus giving the car a planted, sporty stance. Packaging needs restrict it - i.e. the need for interior space - but the Spark does seem to adopt that visual approach. It's a cliché to say now, but there is something of the mini-SUV about the five-door only Spark, with its high sides, tall bonnet line and bold creases.

The interior, on the other hand, isn't as successful because it absolutely smacks of being built down to a price. And we're talking closing down sale at Poundland here. Pick a base model car and everything is the same shade of dark grey, and all fashioned from the same plastics as a Lidl pre-school sand pit. There are essentially three trim levels, the upper two of which colour some of the dash trim and illuminate more of the dials, but there's no getting away from the general sense of cheapness.

The instrument binnacle is interesting too; apparently inspired by that of a scooter (which young urban Italians associate with freedom before they're shackled by children and responsibilities), the combo of a big, round analogue speedometer tacked onto a square, digital rev counter and info display looks a bit like a gadget that you might win from a fairground claw machine.

What you get for your Money

A total of £6,495 gets you a basic 1.0-litre petrol model, rising to £9,845 for a 1.2-litre petrol LT. There's no diesel, so you'll choose between 67- or 80bhp outputs, both linked to a five-speed gearbox. Bottom spec is basic (with capital letters): the mirrors are black, the wheels steel, the entire cabin is the same shade of dark grey and there's no air conditioning. There's a 'plus pack' that adds cold air, electric front windows, central locking and 'a USB compatible four-speaker stereo', although because we didn't sample the very base of the range, we're unsure how that's better than the standard stereo.

The top whack LT - which you can only get with the 1.2-litre engine - comes with 15-inch alloys, climate, contrasting colour trim for the interior and a better stereo.

Driving it

Think of the Spark as a Matiz replacement and it's in a different stratosphere; yes it feels cheap, but it looks good, is spacious and actually handles business perfectly acceptably on the road. The driving position lacks adjustment (the seat is set too high and the wheel doesn't adjust for reach - or at all on lower versions), but there's so much space that it doesn't feel cramped. A fairly shallow windscreen and a horrible slab of grey plastic on the C-pillars to accommodate the door handles restrict visibility, but it still has that high set driving position that small cars seem to be migrating towards, which makes it feel bigger.

And while it's hardly an inviting cabin, there's method to it because the switchgear is chunky and easy to read (and glows a lovely blue at night). Even the scooter-inspired instrument cluster makes sense if you can get past its aesthetic mire. On the move, both engines are adequate in the sense that your uncle might call them 'poky' or 'good at nipping in and out of traffic', but the 1.2 has much more sparkle, feeling usefully more urgent - if never quick. Both are noisy, but that's mostly because it's a small, cheaply made car rather than the engines themselves feeling underdeveloped.

Basically, the Spark doesn't actually do much wrong: it's comfortable, with a setup that's firm enough to hold the tall body in place but still dampen out the worst elements of a bad road, the steering is surprisingly quick, and wind noise - which you'd expect to feature high in the aural mix on the motorway - is nicely quelled. Our only real problem is with the gearchange, which is 'porridgy' and angled backwards so that the stick feels like it's in neutral when it's actually in first.

Worth Noting

The Spark was designed by public committee. You may recall that during the 2007 New York Auto Show, Chevrolet rolled out three concepts named Beat, Trax and Groove, and asked the public to vote on which it wanted to see built. The Beat was by far the most aggressive and well resolved, and of over one million votes cast at the website www.vote4chevrolet.com it won, becoming the Spark you see here. A Chevrolet insider told us that the company always knew the Beat would win - a bit like a certain ITV phone voting competition - although unlike that the voting was still legit and Chevy isn't waiting on a fine from OFCOM. When asked what would become of the other two cars, a wink and a smile 'we'll still use them,' reply came. Look out for those...

Summary

You don't need us to tell you that the city car segment is awash with brilliant little cars, so whether you're after something chic on the street or sharp on the road there are plenty of cars we'd choose ahead of the new Chevrolet. However, if those things don't bother you and you just want something that's cheap, looks decent, has space and is acceptably capable on any road, the Spark is well worth a look. For that reason - and without having lived with one in the UK - we'd probably recommend going as cheap as you can live with. At £7k, the five-seat, five-door Spark makes loads of sense; at £10k it's just not good enough.