- 2015 Chevrolet Volt
- Interior / Exterior »
The lines of the Volt are chunky, with a low roof, a high cowl, a high tail with a blunt back end, and slab sides–all in the service of aerodynamics, since reducing wind resistance is paramount in electric cars to reduce energy use. The narrow glass openings appear taller due to glossy black trim panels on the doors just below the windows, a visual trick that gives the impression of larger windows–especially on light-colored Volts.
The front of the Volt carries a front “grille” with textured silver blanking plates whose function is to direct air turbulence around the car. Like the well-known shape of the Toyota Prius, the Volt has a vertical second glass panel in its long, high tailgate, to improve rear visibility. There’s no visible exhaust pipe at the rear, either; when the engine switches on, its exhaust exits under the car–underscoring the car’s primary electric drive.
The production Volt has little resemblance to the concept car shown in 2007 (which proved to produce less aerodynamic drag running backwards than forward), and some of its lines are based on reusing parts of the structure of other GM compact vehicles like the Cruze compact sedan. But the Volt’s lines are unique, and distinctive. Starting in 2013, the liftgate and roof panels were painted in body color, rather than the previous black–making the Volt less distinctive in our eyes. A range of alloy wheels offers options for dressing up the car’s look.
When it was launched in 2010, the Volt’s interior was the most futuristic interpretation of the classic Chevrolet twin-cockpit interior design. One dash treatment offered glossy white plastic, just like an iPod of the day. Interior trims can be mixed and matched with graphic panels and a variety of upholstery options in a very un-Chevy-like way. The standard cloth upholstery can be replaced by leather, complete with suede inserts, in a number of different colors.
The capacitive touch switches on the console were avant-garde then, but they’re less so today and require some practice before the driver knows exactly the right touch for them. The Volt continues to have some of the very best information-display graphics of any electric vehicle, though.
Even after four years, no one has quite matched the clarity and intuitive nature of the Volt’s graphic displays of vehicle information (also used in almost identical form on the Spark EV). Ford’s hybrids and plug-in hybrids come close, but Chevy’s are just that much better. Users can configure the operating information the car delivers both to the center display and the display that replaces old-style gauges in a cluster behind the steering wheel.
- Performance »
For 2015, the Volt’s lithium-ion battery pack got a slight boost in capacity, from 16.5 kilowatt-hours last year to 17.1 kWh today. Only about two-thirds of that capacity actually powers the vehicle, meaning that Chevy offers a substantial margin for battery degradation over a long vehicle life. The EPA ratings for the 2015 Volt remain the same: 38 miles of electric range, and 37 miles per gallon combined when running in range-extending mode with the engine on. In the real world, though, drivers may see an extra mile or two of range over an otherwise-identical 2014 Volt running the same route.
Chevrolet’s marketers for the Volt tend to recite over and over that more than 75 percent of U.S. vehicles cover less than 40 miles per day. In practice, owners who drive 40 miles or less each day and recharge their Volts every night may not burn a drop of gasoline for months on end. Of the hundreds of millions of miles covered by Volts since December 2010, GM says 62 percent were powered by grid electricity–and that the average Volt owner goes about a month and 900 miles between visits to the gas station.
The front wheels of the 2015 Volt are powered by a 111-kilowatt (149-horsepower) electric motor. When the battery is depleted after 35 or 40 miles, the Volt’s 1.4-liter four-cylinder range-extending engine switches on, to power a 54-kW generator that produces electricity. That electricity continues to run the electric motor that powers the car.
If you’re not watching the energy display in the instrument cluster, you may not even notice the engine switching on–it’s that quiet and well insulated. You’ll only hear it under maximum load, when it speeds up to its maximum revs. But engine speed is disconnected from the road speed, so from the driver’s seat, the Volt always runs as an electric vehicle–regardless of whether the electricity comes from the battery or the range extender.
In its standard state, a Volt operates just like a regular car with an automatic transmission. That includes idle creep at intersections. Experienced electric-car drivers who like “single pedal” driving with more aggressive regenerative braking can pull the drive selector back to a “Low” mode that boosts regen to the point where lifting off the accelerator produces noticeable slowing–and friction braking is needed much less. Those who want to mimic the driving experience of a Tesla can keep the car in Low and then push the Sport mode button, which provides peppier acceleration at the cost of a bit of range.
Two other powertrain control settings are Mountain Mode–which recharges the battery more aggressively and increases regenerative braking for best performance on hilly routes–and a Hold Drive button that conserves battery charge for later usage and switches on range-extending mode for primary power.
While it’s a heavy car for its size, the Volt has its weight mounted low in the car. That gives it good roadholding and flat cornering. The electric power steering, suspension, and braking–both friction and regenerative–all are well integrated.
This first-generation Volt remains a low-volume car, with roughly 23,000 sold in each of the last two years–or just slightly more than the number of Cruze compact sedans Chevy sells in a single month. Popular in states and regions with electric-car incentives, including California, the Volt remains a rarity in other regions. Both those facts contribute to continuing confusion over how the Volt works–and the myth that still crops up that it can only go 40 miles at a time. Whether it’s been bad marketing, bad reporting, or the brand-new powertrain concept, many buyers simply don’t “get” the Volt–or why its owners would be so astoundingly passionate about it–and many dealers make no effort to help them along.
Along with the battery-electric Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt pioneered the market for modern plug-in volume cars back in December 2010. It hasn’t changed much since then, and this may be its final model year before a revised Volt appears next January at the Detroit Auto Show, going into production next summer as a 2016 model.
The shape of the 2015 Chevrolet Volt remains the same: It’s a squat, slab-sided five-door hatchback with a high tail and relatively small side windows. The tailgate is almost horizontal and, like that of the Toyota Prius hybrid whose proportions it somewhat echoes, has a pair of windows: one long but almost horizontal, the other small but vertical to increase rearward visibility. Inside, the four seats are well-bolstered but low to the floor, meaning occupants sit deep inside the car and peer out through the narrow windows. The Volt’s center console is finished in high-gloss plastic and offers an array of touch-sensitive switches that felt advanced in 2011 but could use some rethinking by now.
It’s what’s under the hood that makes the Volt special, of course. The 2015 Volt remains one of a pair of GM vehicles using the Voltec range-extended electric powertrain (the other is the very low-volume Cadillac ELR coupe). Using a gasoline engine as a backup for longer distances makes the Volt different a battery-electric car that can only be “refueled” by plugging it in to recharge–closer to that of a hybrid. And while its 38 miles of rated electric range may seem very low, it’s enough for almost 80 percent of the journeys made by U.S. vehicles. For the rest, the engine gives unlimited range at the cost of a 10-minute fill-up. But Volt owners report that they cover 65 to 80 percent of their total miles on grid electricity–and, on average, visit the gas station every 900 miles, or just once a month.
The Volt’s lithium-ion battery pack, shaped like a giant T, is mounted in the large tunnel between the front seats and extends underneath the rear seats. For 2015, it holds incrementally more energy–17.1 kilowatt-hours–than last year’s 16.5 kWh. While its EPA-rated range of 38 miles remains the same, owners may find it can go slightly further on battery power in real-world use than the 2014 model. Once that range depletes the battery, the 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine switches on to power a generator that produces more electricity to keep the Volt going for another 250-plus miles.
But unlike plug-in hybrids, the range-extended electric Volt’s battery must be depleted before the engine turns on–its electric motor is powerful enough to run the car under any circumstances until then. That contrasts to plug-in hybrids–including the Ford C-Max and Fusion Energi models and the plug-in Toyota Prius–which turn on their engines under maximum acceleration regardless of battery state.
This setup is also known as a “series hybrid,” though in the Volt’s case there’s an asterisk: Once the engine has switched on, under some high-speed conditions, it can be clutched directly into the transmission to provide torque to assist the electric motor. At high speeds, the car calculates the most energy-efficient way to propel itself–and that may be using the engine to assist the electric motor driving the front wheels. Either way, the Volt’s rated fuel economy running on gasoline is 37 mpg combined. While not quite as good as the Prius hybrid’s 50 mpg, that’s better than the Chevy Cruze that sits next to the Volt on showroom floors.
Meanwhile, a Volt can be plugged in for 8 to 10 hours to recharge its battery on standard 120-Volt household current. If you use a 240-Volt Level 2 charging station, it takes about half that time.
On the road, a Volt accelerates briskly (and quietly), rides and drives well, copes with corners adeptly due to the low position of the heavy battery pack. The electric power delivery is seamless, with no steps as the transmission shifts, and like any electric car, the Volt is quiet on the road, with tire and wind noise more apparent when engine noise is absent.
The 2015 Chevy Volt remains at a base price of $35,000, including the mandatory delivery fee. Accessories can take the bottom-line total over the $40,000 mark. It’s eligible for a $7,500 Federal tax credit and a variety of state, local, and corporate incentives as well–including state purchase rebates of $2,500 in California or $5,000 in Georgia. Those Volts sold in California and New York carry a special emissions package that qualifies them for permits that allow their drivers to use carpool lanes with only a single occupant–a very valuable privilege during California’s epic rush-hour traffic.
Volt shoppers may consider the Toyota Prius and its plug-in model. Chevy has said in the past that the Prius was the most commonly traded-in car for a new Volt. There is also the all-electric Nissan Leaf, whose sales are surging after two years of U.S. production, as well as Ford’s pair of C-Max and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids. The Chevy Volt has the highest customer satisfaction rate of any car GM has ever built. More important yet for GM is that a majority of Volt buyers are new to the Chevrolet brand–a huge win for its highest-volume brand.
Every buyer will need to calculate payback for the specific circumstances, including lower cost of electricity. That averages 12 cents per kWh nationwide, but can be as low as 3 cents or as high as 25 cents depending on location. Running the Volt on grid power generally costs one-fifth to one-third as much per mile as running a conventional car on gasoline.
Photo Gallery: Chevrolet USA
0 Response to "2015 Chevrolet Volt"
Post a Comment