Dan Frio. Prior to this, General Motors' backup cameras have been some of the worst in the industry thanks to its first-generation-camera-phone resolution. If the Volt had a compact spare, I'd have infinitely more flexibility in repairing the flat. The slow trickle of 120 volts made it necessary to put the Volt to bed by 6:00 p.m. to get the charge started and use a different car if we wanted to see a movie or go to dinner. For example, the Leaf SV and SL have a 6.6 kW onboard charger that cuts the charging time to five hours despite also having a larger battery pack with greater range. You don't have to try and cover the din of an economy car powertrain with loud music. --, "Farther back, the Volt's hatchback design makes for easy loading and unloading." All in, this 2016 Chevrolet Volt Premier Hatchback wears a sticker price of $40,620. Of course, the soonest Pep Boys could take a look at the car was noon, and of course, the Volt was already off the flatbed. We averaged a bit less 37.3 mpg while covering almost 29,000 miles. file. For the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, becoming smaller on the outside has translated to slightly less front and rear headroom, front and rear legroom, and front hip room compared to the old model. The electric motor's instant torque provides a quick burst of acceleration if you need it, too." This is both good and bad. Thats below average for a compact car, though hybrids typically have less cargo space than nonhybrid cars. Most other hybrids have more room also, though in fairness, several of them are midsize sedans. This thing is so long and heavy that, once opened, it's pretty darn hard to close it. It's capable of much more, but I got addicted to that electric torque, and electricity's cheap as hell, so who cares? The Volt spent most of its time in April with our long-distance commuters, but the majority of the miles racked up in May were from editors close to our Santa Monica headquarters. (The Volt's battery pack can't actually hold 31 kWh of energy, though, which correlates to its fewer than 100-mile range.). Since minute variations in throttle position produce a profound effect on velocity in that mode, I'll go with "D" for highway driving. (It's worth noting that there's some inherent inefficiency during the battery recharging process, so I'd end up "putting in" more than 6.6 kWh's worth of electricity to fully recharge the battery, but that's another topic.) Still, simple oversights, such as failing to record the switchover point from battery power to gas or filling up the gas tank with battery in reserve, mean a loss of useful data. But with our long-term Volt in my driveway, the temptation to just hop in and drive is certainly there. The new engine delivers enough power to keep up with traffic and it doesn't rattle the cabin in the process. The Blazer EV gets 59.2-cubic feet of space with the 2nd row folded down. Urban fuel consumption and thus pollution would plummet. Mike Schmidt, Interior "The Volt has a big hatch/cargo area, but here's one place the car reveals its compact dimensions: rear-seat footwells. Where Did We Drive It? Once the interior is cooled down to your temperature of choice, the Eco mode does a nice job of maintaining the temperature and you probably won't feel like you're making a huge sacrifice in the name of fuel economy." In the past, we were underwhelmed with MyLink, finding it slow and unresponsive at times. I've gone as far as 70 miles when traffic was just bad enough to keep my speed down below 50 mph the entire way. I didn't even notice when it fired up a far cry from the first-generation Volt, which made a noticeable vibration once it kicked in. Comfort and convenience are covered by single-zone automatic climate control, cruise control, teen driver controls, ambient interior lighting, and a pedestrian safety signal which alerts pedestrians of the vehicle's presence with an automated exterior sound. At least the 2011 model was realistic about it. Use our tools to calculate monthly payments or figure out which cars you can afford. Mike Schmidt, "The Volt has a big hatch/cargo area, but here's one place the car reveals its compact dimensions: rear-seat footwells. The i3 had a 22 kilowatt-hour battery and an all-electric range of 72 miles. Last month, GM said it will be cutting. Audio is delivered via a standard six-speaker setup in the LT and via an eight-speaker Bose sound system in the Premier. On the downside, there is still a fair amount of hard plastic inside, detracting somewhat from the interior's otherwise excellent fit and finish." The Chevy Volt seats five and comes standard with cloth upholstery. Chevrolet updated the Volts infotainment system for 2019. I immediately plugged in my new Galaxy S7, but it didn't seem to work. I just thought of a fourth! Service Campaigns: Recalls were resolved in a timely manner, and in our case, each was performed during routine service. Front Pedestrian Braking At speeds below 50 mph during the daytime, this feature can help you avoid or reduce the severity of a front-end collision with a pedestrian it detects directly ahead of you. Where Did We Drive It? They are surprisingly comfortable. Enter the LT with its remote keyless entry and start, and on the inside, you'll be met with power windows, manual tilt and telescoping steering column, six-way manually-adjustable front bucket seats, and 60/40 split-folding rear seats. The Chevy Volt battery is much less expensive but still has an eight-year or 100,000 warranty like the Bolt. model year. When it fired up you couldn't help but notice the added racket. Chevrolet lists the Volt's official cargo capacity as 10.6 cubic feet with all seats in place, but as I was driving solo on this mission, I didn't need to worry about saving room for passengers. The insubstantial feel of the door-release handles and some of the buttons is another disappointment. Optional on the higher trim, forward automatic braking, forward collision alert, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping assist can be equipped. Highway passing maneuvers require extra calculation before execution. If there was a Malibu Plug-In Hybrid, it would be a slam dunk. That allowed me to hear the voice prompts more easily, and I assume it helped the voice recognition system hear me better, too. You can't modulate it. Chevy Volts come with a small air compressor and tire sealant goo. Since our 2016 Chevrolet Volt has been used primarily as a commuter with a charge station on at least one end of the route, it was lacking in the long-distance part of its life. No lights or messages on the dash. 105 E Rt 130 S, Burlington, NJ 08016 Open Today Sales: 9 AM-7 PM. On the 2,000-mile road trip to Oregon and back, the Volt ran exclusively on gasoline and returned 34.6 mpg. Now I need some rest." We weren't able to deduce a way to trick the engine into the higher rpm range sooner. The engine runs at a moderately low rpm till around 35 mph (even longer ons some runs) until it kicks over to another mode and the rpm increases dramatically, providing much more thrust like a secondary cam. An Audi A4: 63.7 at cruise, 40.4 at idle. With the Volt (or similar plug-in hybrid or pure electric vehicle), you'd still likely be generating carbon dioxide or other pollution indirectly through whatever means you used to recharge the battery pack. Acceleration is strong until about 30 mph, then begins to drop off pretty significantly. It's easy to forget that our 2016 Chevrolet Volt is a hybrid. A 240-volt home charger would allow me to straggle in after midnight, plug in, and still have enough charge time to fill the battery by morning. Paradoxically, this is simultaneously the Volt's greatest strength and biggest weakness because the ability to manage this trick essentially requires two advanced drivetrains, with all the extra complexity, packaging difficulty and cost that implies. It was a genuinely pleasant experience. I try wrestling the manual seat-bottom adjuster fore and aft. Michael Massey, Vehicle Testing Assistant. Even in front, however, you can lose pedestrians and even other vehicles in the Volt's large A-pillars." I left L.A. in the morning, but not early enough to beat traffic. Not surprisingly, when I started it up, the automatic climate control went into full-power mode to try to cool things down. Chevrolet Volt Cargo Space The Volt has a rather slim 10.6 cubic feet of trunk space, but its wide hatchback makes it easy to load and unload items. I fully expect that number to fall. You can convert that number to be equal to per 100 miles driven to see how your driving efficiency compares to the EPA's. This mpg-friendly and, crucially, carpool-qualifying economy car has proved an excellent daily driver, serving faithfully as a commuter, errand runner, grocery getter, what have you. What you see here is the back of the steering wheel. But here's what we've observed so far: Average lifetime mpg: 37.2 mpg Best fill mpg: 45.1 mpg EPA combined mpg rating: 42 miles, Average electric range: 52.8 miles Best electric range: 75.0 miles EPA electric range rating: 53 miles, Best range between gasoline fills (electric fills + gasoline): 681 miles Current odometer: 19,377 miles. Josh Sadlier, senior manager, content strategy, Miscellaneous "I continue to recommend the Volt widely to people who ask me for shopping advice. It's hard to pinpoint the exact source of the squeak, but it sounds like a rubber bushing that is slightly out of tolerance. The lower anchors are recessed deep into the seat, and you'll need to apply a good amount of force to attach the anchor. You can find us at 16550 IH 35 NORTH in SELMA, TX 78154-1460, only a short drive from San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Seguin. fit safely in the Volt's rear cargo area, ready for transport. Neither alternative is particularly convenient so I have to tough it out. Chevy also added a new backup camera for 2019, and I am geeked. Mike Magrath, Content Strategist. New 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer from Carr Chevrolet in Beaverton, OR, 97006. Brent Romans. Each day I arrived at work with 11 miles remaining, recharged and arrived home with 20 miles in reserve. We'd planned to celebrate at one of the swankier places inside Disneyland, so we drove the Volt to the Magic Kingdom and managed to obtain the last open spot among their 20 Chargepoint 240-volt Level 2 charge stations. 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV, EUV Will Start Under $30K Range, Charging, and Battery Life All Bolt EUVs come with a 65.0-kWh battery pack that the EPA estimates will provide 247 miles of range. A lower kWh number means less energy consumed and therefore better efficiency. Abigail Bassett, senior director, video & social media, "I drive the Volt in D (rather than L) because I have a long (all of 17 miles), mostly highway commute from where I live to the office. So to rest a bag on the lip and slide it down would break the bag. The connection, literally, comes in the form of the Fiat's 120-volt Level 1 power cord. A dead 12-volt battery left us hanging for the third time during our test, though we eventually limped it to the dealer for replacement. and up and down Tilt the seat cushion and seatbacks Also includes 4-way power lumbar; Power windows, One . In other words, stay tuned the Volt's best mpg may be yet to come. The Volt's wide hatch makes it easy to load and unload cargo. Our Volt's "drip" manifests in the form of a squeaky brake pedal. They're cheap, plentiful, and most new releases have abandoned crappy plastic jewel boxes for the cardboard "digi-pack," which lends some nostalgic analog to vinyl records. Nor is the Volt spewing undesirable pollution out its tailpipe under electric power. Across across each one the Chevy remains compliant. --, "Front seat comfort is fine, but the lack of a power-adjustable driver seat and a cramped backseat that lacks both headroom and legroom is a drawback, especially for a car in this price range. Logically, this car makes a lot of sense. Regardless of which version you get, the Volt's interior has hard plastic panels for the dashboard and doors. It may look like a Cruze/Civic mashup on the outside that's the biggest weakness, in my opinion but the driving character is appropriately upscale. I can't live with that." With 70 miles on the EV odometer, the car was projecting 80 miles, but history tells me these things fall fast. So I drove around the remainder of the weekend on the Volt's 101-horsepower gas engine and was very impressed. My first stop for learning more was fueleconomy.gov. With the Volt's small, 8.9-gallon fuel tank, Chevy claims a potential EV/gas range of 420 miles. Gone is the 84-horsepower, 1.4-liter engine that required premium fuel and returned middling fuel economy. A Volt-owning friend does this, plugging his car into a 120-volt outlet via extension cord at around 7 p.m. How could that be? It seemed disappointing, but a reminder of how to reframe expectations in the electric car era." Once I was out of the messaging screen, the climate control went back to full strength until the target temperature was reached. Deserves so much more attention than it gets." Fast forward a mere five years, and our new 2016 Chevrolet Volt test car doesn't feel so foreign anymore. The unfortunate result of accumulating so many miles was that almost all of our time was on the freeway. 5) Voice controls and media interface. (VDA) standard, 5-door hatchbacks featured 175 litres (6.2 cu ft) of cargo space with the rear seats in their upright positions and 735 litres (26.0 cu ft) with the rear seats folded down, with a maximum payload rating of 495 kg (1,091 lb). As you can see, the Volt, when it's running in pure electric mode, is right in the mix with the dedicated EVs like the Leaf and 500e in terms of energy efficiency. Everything helps, I suppose. With a handsome interior design, the 2017 Chevy Volt's cabin is very quiet, especially when driving in electric mode. Third, the run between my garage outlet and the house's electrical panel has an effect on charge time and losses. Unlike the electric-only runs, there is some benefit to brief power braking, which ensures the engine is on and revving slightly before releasing the brakes. It's the design of the cargo area. Andrew noticed that our car's VIN was flagged for a service update to correct the potential for an engine misfire. Like Magrath explains, I'm not sure the Volt is the right car for me either, but I like several things about it. It's a function that takes some adjustment initially, but makes complete sense in practice. So we didn't. However, the Chevy Bolt offers 16.9 cubic feet of space, and the Toyota Prius Prime takes the cake with 19.8 cubes. January was a quiet month for our 2016 Chevrolet Volt. But for now, I'm the champ and know exactly what to do (fewer burnouts, no coffee stops, ditch the highway section) to get 80. 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