Perhaps best of all, the Volt is a “real” car in every sense, though its electric motor makes it eerily quiet. The EPA says a Volt owner will save $3,250 in fuel costs, even at today’s going rate, over five years as compared to the average new vehicle.Īnother plus is that unlike many EVs, which are limited to sales in California and perhaps a few other states that adhere to its stricter emissions standards, the Volt is offered in all 50 states.
What’s more, the new range extender runs on regular unleaded gas rather than premium, which is another money saver at the pump. The EPA says the Volt will obtain the electric equivalent of 106 mpg in combined city/highway driving, and a combined 42-mpg once the engine engages both are improved from last year's 98/37-mpg ratings. The Volt is ultimately limited only by the amount of gas in the fuel tank – it can go for around 420 miles with a full charge and a full tank of gas – which enables the car to be used for longer road trips without having to plot a course based on where public charging stations are located.
#CHEVY VOLT RANGE HIGHWAY DRIVER#
Of course the great advantage with an "extended range" EV like the Volt is that it will never strand an owner at the side of the road with a depleted battery as might a full EV, nor will it ever send a driver searching for a public recharging station, or counting the miles back home when the battery starts running low. As it is we had to go out of our way to deplete the battery over the course of a week’s testing while running errands around town and taking modest excursions. Still, 53 miles should come close to covering most daily commutes, and we’d guess a large percentage of buyers will rarely visit a gas station.
Now that’s still lacking compared to most pure electric cars that can run for 75-100 miles on a charge (not to mention the longer-range Teslas), and it’s far less than Chevrolet’s own Bolt, which is expected to deliver a 200-mile range when it arrives by year's end. The original could initially muster only around 35 EV miles on a charge.
#CHEVY VOLT RANGE HIGHWAY GENERATOR#
Thanks to a new two-motor electric drive system, a lighter (by 100 pounds) curb weight, a larger battery capacity using a third fewer cells, and other improvements, the Volt can now run for an estimated 53 miles solely on battery power (depending on the ambient temperature and other variables) before a new 1.5-liter gasoline engine kicks in to run a generator that, in turn, motivates the motor. General Motors kept what was good about the first-gen car and made it better, with cleaner styling, a far upgraded interior, and – most importantly – a noteworthy boost in its all-electric operating range.