Chevy Sports Up 2017 Spark With Activ

CARS.COM — If you can’t be a crossover SUV, at least try to look like one. That’s Chevrolet’s approach with the Spark Activ, a new version of the brand’s subcompact car outfitted with styling cues like those found on SUVs, the hot ticket in the auto industry that continues to gain popularity among buyers. Chevrolet introduced the 2017 Spark Activ in Los Angeles Monday ahead of the media preview for the 2016 L.A. Auto Show.

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Chevy describes it as having “trail-inspired accents,” and its pseudo-crossover exterior cues include roof rails, wheel-well and lower-body moldings, hatchback cladding, fog lamps and a specific grille pattern with an Activ nameplate.

The Spark Activ is scheduled to go on sale in early 2017 featuring base prices of $16,945 with a five-speed manual transmission and $18,045 with a continuously variable automatic. That’s quite a bit higher than the base Spark’s $13,875 starting price; all prices include destination. Its price positions the Activ between the 1LT and top-shelf 2LT models in the subcompact Spark lineup.

Standard equipment includes air conditioning, power windows and locks, cruise control, heated front seats, Chevrolet MyLink with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a seven-inch dashboard screen, a 4G LTE

Wi-Fi hot spot and a backup camera. The Activ uses a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine and comes only as a four-door hatchback, the same as other Spark models.

Car sales are down more than 10 percent this year as more buyers switch to SUVs, but the Spark has managed to hold its own. Sales through October are 29,747 units, just 94 fewer than last year. In contrast, though, sales of the Trax, Chevrolet’s subcompact SUV, are up nearly 23 percent to 62,802.