#New chevy volt range generator#
#New chevy volt range full#

For a while, it looked like I was going to get through the whole week without using any gas at all, since I have a Level II electric charger at my house. I drove a Volt for a week in LA, where it’s neither cold nor snowing. We tell them the Volt’s lack of range anxiety and general overall pleasantness makes it one of our top picks for people looking for an EV or hybrid. People are asking us about this new EV and are going to ask you, too. The styling is a big improvement, but mostly I like how Chevrolet updated the interior and moved away from the Star Wars design ethic.” “The Volt no longer feels like a prettified science experiment but a real car meant to do real car stuff. The Chevy is also quiet in terms of wind and road noise and we think it looks much better than the outgoing one - inside and out. Sixty mph arrives in 8.4 seconds, if you care. No, it’s not a hot hatch - no one around here expected it to be - but it feels fairly lively, more fun to drive than we all thought it would be, and more fun than the new Prius we had in the fleet at the same time (gotta take that with a grain of salt though: The Chevy is something like $10K more expensive than the Toyota).

It accelerates briskly and there’s an overall light-on-its-feet feeling.

That’s important: The car does indeed benefit from the weight reduction. The 1.5-liter four is new, smaller and lighter than the outgoing car’s four cylinder, with total power unit weight down 100 pounds.

#New chevy volt range generator#

Electric mileage suffers some in the cold temperatures – when I first got in the car it was fully charged and the in-dash indicator said the generator would kick in after 37 miles.

#New chevy volt range full#

In this, the second-gen Volt, the all-electric range is now 53 miles (compared to the old car’s 38) and with a full charge and full tank of gas the car can go about 420 miles in total. Why’s that? Because it eliminates the range anxiety that - right or wrong - people say they have with a straight EV. That’s a shame, really: Many of us at Autoweek HQ think the Volt’s powertrain – an electric motor and 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine acting as a generator – is the smartest EV solution on the market. How ‘bout the Chevrolet Volt? Not so much you say? Us either. When you think of green cars - EV or plug in - what are the first names coming to mind? Toyota Prius certainly, Tesla probably, maybe the Nissan Leaf.