How small is too small? In the case of cars, is there a minimum size to transport five people in reasonable comfort and safety?

The Chevrolet Spark is certainly not the smallest car being produced, but it does have the smallest footprint in our market.  The Spark checks in at a mere 3495 mm long and 1495 mm wide. Everything on this car is tiny, from the 155/65-13 tires and underhood components. Weight is correspondingly light, at 795 kg.

Inside the Spark, everything is within easy reach. Which is good, since the door locks are all manual, as are the side mirrors. You don’t even have to lean far to tap the right-side mirror’s control stick. Front windows are powered; the rears are crank-type. The rear bench is good for two adults. Three can fit in overlapping, sardine-can formation. Whoever penciled in the middle seatbelt (three-point, no less) was an optimistic fellow. Legroom is reasonable for average-height Asians. Up front, you’ll be rubbing elbows (and arms and shoulders) with your front passenger, particularly when you shift gears. Good if it’s your dreamboat sitting there; bad if it’s your mother-in-law.

So the Spark is excellent for blind dates and team-building field trips, then. For runs to the airport, you’re in trouble. Luggage space is at a premium; there’s not enough room for large suitcases. As for groceries, Chevy is hoping that you like your food very fresh. The rear seatback does fold to increase cargo capacity, and commendably, it does so in a 70-30 split.

The Spark does without the tall seating position of Japanese subcompacts. Because your view of the road is limited, that results in you losing that airy feeling. The greenhouse is adequately large, but because you’re sitting low relative to other cars, you always feel boxed in while driving. Having an obnoxious bus’ nose literally two meters from your own rear end doesn’t help much either.

The best way to get rid of that claustrophobia is to punch your way through traffic. The Spark may be a magnet for road bullies but it has just enough power to escape their clutches. The Spark's SOHC 8V 1.0-liter ekes out 65 hp and 91 Nm.

The four-cylinder does a good impression of a Toyota engine: it’s reasonably smooth and has good low-end torque delivery. It even produces a similar non-descript hum. The gearbox has relatively short gearing to make the most of what's available. Thus takeoff from second gear is possible and the engine doesn’t feel short of grunt. Once in the ideal rev range, the Spark accelerates willingly, without the wheezing impotence that characterizes its bigger brother, the Aveo. But traveling at 100 km/h in top gear has the engine cranking away at more than 3000 rpm.

You're looking at one of the smallest cars available locally.  At 3,495 mm long it's supposed to fit 5 people plus luggage. An impossible feat.

You'll stare at these gauges more times than you think. The key to wringing out more performance from the 1.0-liter engine is thrashing the hell out of it.