Granted, the Spark EV is about 621 pounds heavier than a gas Spark, most of that extra weight (560 pounds, or 254 kg) coming from its hefty 18.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. But that battery also effectively provides a healthy amount of totally gas-free driving range, with an official combined city and highway rating of 131 km, which is higher than the 120 km average Nissan now suggests for its ’15 Leaf, though the U.S. EPA rates the Leaf five kilometres better than the Spark EV’s 137 km figure.

Unlike some dreaming-in-technicolour EV range estimates, like the Leaf’s initial 160 km range estimate, the Spark EV’s “guessometer” range estimator is fairly accurate. I managed to travel to the yellow low charge zone of this tester’s battery after having traveled 118.8 km, with the last two of ten battery bars remaining, the car suggesting I had about 23 km left of possible driving left, or about 142 km in total, if I really wanted to push it.

This means summer time activities will ideally be 70 km or less away to not have to worry about recharging during the day. And in the wintertime, it will be notably less: if you’re considering a Spark EV or other full BEV, plan on at least a 15 to 40 per cent reduction in range, depending how harsh those conditions are in your area.

These range limitations are why plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt are often seen as more desirable in much of the country for drivers or families with only one car. Or why provincial governments in BC and Quebec have invested in more charging stations.

For Spark EV drivers, with no internal combustion engine backup, you’ll likely end up looking for activities near EV charging stations. Many municipal lots have them now, and Ikea just announced that all Canadian stores will receive Level 2 chargers, the first popping up in August throughout Quebec, with all Ontario stores planned to have them by the end of September. These 220-volt L2 chargers, as they’re dubbed by EV enthusiasts, can be used by all plug-ins, as they’re all standardized to J1772 SAE specifications. If you drift in on your last electron, a full charge at one of these will take two to four hours with most modern EVs, outside of Teslas, whose huge batteries can slurp at these for two to three times as long.

The other option is to find a quick charger that can provide an 80 percent fill in 20 to 30 minutes, which is the preferred method when you’re trying to go beyond your EV’s range as quickly as possible – but costs much more to install and maintain. This is where the Spark EV, and the BMW i3, are underserved, as they use the SAE Combo quick charge standard, which are just starting to pop up, but are much less prevalent than the CHAdeMO standard used by the Nissan Leaf and most other BEV products (Kia Soul EV, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and some Tesla Model S versions).

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