The IIHS calls the Volt a Top Safety Pick+ and federal testers give it five stars for safety, across the board. To call it a seat would be a stretch it's little more than a cushioned pad over the battery pack, with the wide battery tunnel requiring the occupant's legs to splay into the foot wells on either side. Responding to owner requests, Chevy has given the Volt a fifth seating position, though it's only for occasional use on short trips by small, lithe passengers. The front seats remain low to the ground, with good bolstering, while the the two rear outboard seats take the form of individual buckets. The Volt is reasonably comfortable for four adults. When temperatures drop significantly, that range may fall to 40 or 45 miles-and the engine will switch on to heat the cabin below freezing. Build quality in the several Volts we've tested has been excellent, and a range of 50 miles or more is realistic in temperate weather.
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Even when the range-extending engine switches on, the new Volt doesn't feel strained under full power, maintaining the smooth, silent feeling of electric drive. It's not a sport sedan, but it's easy and comfortable to drive, even somewhat calming. It has a heavy feel for its size, but the weight is situated low in the chassis, so it corners flat and has decent feel from the electric power steering. On the road, the Volt is remarkably quiet, smooth and vibration-free, and powerful when needed. An 8.9-gallon fuel tank and the larger battery give a rated range of 430 miles on electricity and gasoline together. For lowest energy use, its combustion process has been modeled to simulate the ultra-efficient Atkinson cycle under some circumstances. It delivers 101 hp at 5,600 rpm, and runs on regular (87-octane) gasoline. It's a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder from GM's latest global family of 3- and 4-cylinder engines. Once the battery is depleted, after 50 miles or so, the engine switches on and the Volt turns into a conventional hybrid car (until its next recharge) with an EPA rating of 42 mpg combined. Chevy quotes acceleration from 0 to 60 mph of about 8 seconds. Total output between the pair is 111 kilowatts (149 horsepower) and a remarkable 294 lb-ft of torque. As long as charge remains in the battery, the Volt's two motor-generators power the front wheels alone the engine never switches on even if maximum power if required, unlike most other plug-in hybrids. The 2017 Volt's T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack has a total capacity of 18.4 kilowatt-hours, giving it a stellar EPA rating of 53 miles of electric range, about one-third more than the 38 miles of 2013-2015 Volts. Inside, the new Volt retains the central display screen and instrument-cluster display of earlier models, but the cockpit is more intuitive, with conventional knobs for things like audio tuning and climate control that are much closer to standard Chevrolet interior hardware. The front of the car comes to a point and then wraps back around the corners, with the low nose and rising window line making the car appear to lean forward like a very sleek, wedgy sedan. Its low cowl and door sculpting dispenses with the slab-sided look of earlier Volts. The Volt's EPA-rated electric range of 53 miles is second among plug-in hybrids only to that of the BMW i3 REx, but the Volt is more convenient for long trips because the range-extended BMW's tiny gas tank requires fuel stops roughly once an hour.įrom the outside, the Chevy Volt is crisper, more rakish, and visually both lower and tauter than its predecessor. GM says its user data show that the Volt will now cover nine of every 10 trips entirely on battery power, recharged by plugging in. The Volt manages a 7.7 overall rating on our scale with a high fuel efficiency rating, great safety rating, and good features.
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