![]() Whatever the complexity, it's simply not as electric as anticipated. The complex powertrain and 198-kg battery pack contribute to a 1,715 kg curb weight, some 300 kg more than the Cruze. The suburban seemed our playground, and the electric power the equivalent of the best slide in the park.īy late afternoon we found ourselves agreeing, though, that in normal highway cruising with the gasoline engine intruding the Volt felt less like the car of tomorrow and more like an overweight Chevrolet Cruze, the new compact to which it is related: less responsive, not as nimble, falling short of Cruze's exceptional ride and road-holding. We'd tried normal, sport and mountain modes, mind you, not best for conserving electricity, but learning in the process that 'sport' brings a little more life to the accelerator pedal. Keeping up with traffic the next day, however, Montreal colleague Jacques Duval and I only completed 36 miles before the gasoline engine fired up. (Your reporter wasn't a participant, arriving from Toronto in his gas-burner.) The best result in a competition among invited journalists arriving by air was 45.8 miles completed with 12 miles of power remaining in the 16-kWh lithium-ion battery - indicating 57.8 miles. GM now claims an electric range of 25 to 50 miles (40-80 kilometres) depending on driving style and conditions. The ability to commute to and from work, after an overnight charge, was the premise mentioned most of the hype during the Volt's three-year development from its debut as a concept vehicle in 2007. How far it's good for between plug-ins will matter most to anyone hoping to kick the gasoline habit. ![]() Believing an electric-only car wouldn't sell due to "range anxiety" felt by typical American drivers, GM created a Volt that is heavier, more complex and pricier than such all-electric competitors as Nissan's Leaf - but equals conventional vehicles in range. The noise and vibration of the engine generating juice for the battery and helping power the front wheels are all the more noticeable because of the initial, enticingly near-silent electric operation.Ī cruising range of up to 560 km is the payoff of this hybrid powertrain. Utter tranquillity gives way to an ordinary compact car's sound track when the Volt's fossil-fuel burning, 1.4-litre four-cylinder automatically comes into play as the lithium-ion battery drains to a certain point. ![]()
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