A good first step for Chevy
The Volt is an "electric-first" hybrid that tries to show how people can do most of their driving with no gas.
The Chevy Volt comes to us after the Malibu hybrid and some other hybrids in the maker's lineup that are trying to redeem some karma from the first 3/4 of its car-making history. It went on sale in North America in late 2010 and a few other countries in late 2011. It is sometimes called the Holden Volt, Vauxhall Ampera, and Opel Ampera in other countries. It is a compact hatchback designed to look like a sedan. While it may be a good start for many people looking to switch to electric cars, it has a few shortcomings.
Lets take a look:
Different Styles:
The Chevy Volt comes only as a 5 door hatchback disguised as a sedan. It has only one engine setup: a 149 HP electric motor with a 1.4L 4 cylinder, 80 HP premium fuel engine (due to the setup the two HP figures cannot be combined). Depending on the year it could have 1 of 3 battery sizes. From 2011-13: 16kWh; 2013-2014: 16.5kWh; and 2015: 17kWh, the difference only being about a 5 km increase between each one. In reality, it uses two electric motors; a large one to move the car and a smaller one to provide extra power at higher speeds. The smaller one is linked through a planetary gear (just think of it as one physical gear) to reduce the RPM of the large one and the gas engine to provide power for the smaller one to make electricity.
Styling and Comfort Impressions:
Not going to lie, this car looks weird, and not in the good way. It sort of looks like a clothes iron with wheels. The front is too tall and bulky for a car this size and the rear looks like it was shaped with an ax. I'm usually not one to say that tires are too small, but these look really small considering the bulky shape and the amount of non-window space on the car.
Going inside is a bit better. The layout of the front media unit is a bit confusing with oddly named buttons that aren't actually buttons; it's all touch sensitive. The material makes you feel like there should be a bit of a click when you push in, but it doesn't, so you second guess yourself and press it again, which then screws stuff up. The touch screen unit also is set back deep enough that trying to press some parts for controls is somewhat difficult. If you try to steady your hand on the bottom part of the edge you accidentally push other "buttons" that could change your air system. The dashboard in front of you is just a screen with no dials or gauges, and when it comes on it really shows you a lot of information, too much actually. There should be a setting that toggles the information that is shown on the screen. On a plus side, the colour combos used for the interior are pretty nice.
The sound system is pretty good - it's by Bose - it has 6 speakers which are decently loud and clear, but for a car with this technology and this price, 8 would be nice (or at least a sub-woofer).
The sound system is pretty good - it's by Bose - it has 6 speakers which are decently loud and clear, but for a car with this technology and this price, 8 would be nice (or at least a sub-woofer).
Getting to the actual comfort of the front, it's actually pretty good. There are nice materials used and it feels solidly put together. Head room and leg room are good in the front with nice bucket seats that are very comfortable and supportive. The large center armrest is much appreciated.
Take a look:
Getting into the rear seats is a bit of a mixed feeling. First off, there are only two seats as the car's battery runs through the middle. However, those two seats are nicely supported and are quiet comfortable, for certain people. Due to the car's sloping roof line, headroom isn't the best so you need to slouch down a bit (which is fine because they are bucket seats), but if you are sitting behind someone that is tall you most likely won't have enough leg room to do so. But if you are short and the driver is somewhat sort then everyone can be comfy.
Finally, the trunk. While this is technically a hatchback, it is designed as a sedan, so the trunk space isn't as big as one might expect. Yes the seats fold flat, and the lack of a middle seat means skis and long skinny items can be placed inside with all the seats up. But you wont be putting any large bulky items in here. Also, the headrests need to be taken out before the seats will fold down or they will get stuck in the front seats.
Driving Impressions:
Before the actual driving experience, I just need to mention that visibility is OK out the front and sides but the back is awful due to the shape of the roof, the back glass, and the side supports. The lip on the trunk cuts your line of sight and the extra little window underneath isn't big enough for anything useful. A back up camera is not standard equipment...
However, once you start driving, this is where the Chevy Volt really shines! The car almost completely redeems itself here. Most people think electric cars are slow and under-powered, but that's because they think of scooters and senior citizen power-chairs. Electric motors have much higher torque capabilities than gas engines, and it's all available from the very start.
Another thing to clarify is that the way the Volt is set up means that it always tries to use electricity first and even once the gas engine turns on, it is just creating power to turn the electric motors.
When you turn the car on it is completely quiet (unless the radio is on), same with acceleration throughout the city and to some extent the highway. If pushed really hard the motor will make a bit of a small turbine sound but you barely notice it. The acceleration is also very fast and powerful with almost no delay which is very nice. Due to the battery adding extra weight, the car soaks up bumps nicely and is very smooth on most road surfaces. The car is also very aerodynamic so wind noise is almost zero and road noise is very low as well. The car handles corners well with little roll but the power steering is too powerful and takes away some feeling of direct control on the road.
While the Volt is rated to have about 60 km of electric only range, that is only attainable in low speed driving on level ground with good temperatures and no use of the air conditioning or heat. Realistically it has about 50 km of useful electric driving (only 25-30 when it's cold outside). With that in mind, most North Americans drive an average of 70 km (43 miles) per day, meaning that you could do about 1/2 your driving with no gas at all. If your work has some plugs available to use then you could do almost all your driving with no gas as the battery can be completely charged in 10 hours on a normal plug, or about 5-6 hours on a 240V plug.
Once the electric battery is empty the gas engine kicks in, to supply power for the electric motor. It is a small engine that can be noticeable in some situations but is never loud or very rough. Unfortunately it does require premium fuel, which means if you are constantly going over the electric only range, you may not see much savings in the long run.
One thing that readers should do is a bit of research on batteries in electric-only or electric-first hybrids as they tend to be made with Lithium Ion cells that are much different then batteries one would find in a normal hybrid. These cells tend to live much longer and do not have toxic and corrosive by-products once it is finally dead. Meaning that as long as the car holds up, it should keep working well for a long time and the environmental impact is much less than a gas car or a normal hybrid.
It really depends on whether you like the look of the Chevy Volt or not. If you do, then get it, as it will be a great first car for a small family or a second car to use for inner city drives less than 60 km a day. It is comfortable (mostly) and drives quite nicely. It has enough room for 4 average-sized people and a good sized trunk. If you don't like the look of it, either close your eyes while walking towards it or look for something else like a Nissan Leaf or Kia Soul EV, or if you need to go the distance, possibly a BMW i3 or used Tesla Model S. Would I pick the Volt for myself? No, mostly because of the look, because I don't really fit in the back, and because the electric only range isn't that useful in Canada for 4 months of the year.
However, there is apparently a new version coming out next year that is completely redesigned and will have about an 80 km electric range. This could sway my opinion slightly ...
Links:
Chevy Canada
While the Volt is rated to have about 60 km of electric only range, that is only attainable in low speed driving on level ground with good temperatures and no use of the air conditioning or heat. Realistically it has about 50 km of useful electric driving (only 25-30 when it's cold outside). With that in mind, most North Americans drive an average of 70 km (43 miles) per day, meaning that you could do about 1/2 your driving with no gas at all. If your work has some plugs available to use then you could do almost all your driving with no gas as the battery can be completely charged in 10 hours on a normal plug, or about 5-6 hours on a 240V plug.
Once the electric battery is empty the gas engine kicks in, to supply power for the electric motor. It is a small engine that can be noticeable in some situations but is never loud or very rough. Unfortunately it does require premium fuel, which means if you are constantly going over the electric only range, you may not see much savings in the long run.
One thing that readers should do is a bit of research on batteries in electric-only or electric-first hybrids as they tend to be made with Lithium Ion cells that are much different then batteries one would find in a normal hybrid. These cells tend to live much longer and do not have toxic and corrosive by-products once it is finally dead. Meaning that as long as the car holds up, it should keep working well for a long time and the environmental impact is much less than a gas car or a normal hybrid.
Overall:
It really depends on whether you like the look of the Chevy Volt or not. If you do, then get it, as it will be a great first car for a small family or a second car to use for inner city drives less than 60 km a day. It is comfortable (mostly) and drives quite nicely. It has enough room for 4 average-sized people and a good sized trunk. If you don't like the look of it, either close your eyes while walking towards it or look for something else like a Nissan Leaf or Kia Soul EV, or if you need to go the distance, possibly a BMW i3 or used Tesla Model S. Would I pick the Volt for myself? No, mostly because of the look, because I don't really fit in the back, and because the electric only range isn't that useful in Canada for 4 months of the year.
However, there is apparently a new version coming out next year that is completely redesigned and will have about an 80 km electric range. This could sway my opinion slightly ...
Facts/ Figures:
Price New (for mid trim level): about $41,000 (Canada) $35,000 (USA)
FWD
Max HP: 149 (electric) 83 (gas)
Max Torque lb/ft: 273
MPG (approx*): 35 city. 40 highway.
Cargo room (approx*): 10 / 30? CuFt
Length: 177"
Width: 70"
Tank Size (gal): 9.3
Miles on one tank (using combined MPG figures): 60 km (37 miles) electric only, 344 gas
Average used price with 60,000 km or less: $22,000
* when I say "approx" I usually am using the numbers given by the actual manufacturer or Consumer Reports, minus 1 to be a bit more realistic.
**No pictures featured are my own, they have been taken either from Google images or the manufacturer's website and their rightful owners should get any credit for them. This review featured all pictures from the manufacturer's websites ( some through Edmunds.com).Links:
Chevy Canada
Related Cars:
Toyota Matrix
Versa Note
09-14 Honda Fit
Toyota Matrix
Versa Note
09-14 Honda Fit
Enjoy!
Please leave a comment or follow.
J.K.
No comments:
Post a Comment