VOLT VASTLY IMPROVED
Quieter, quicker, smoother plug-in hybrid raises its fun-to-drive quotient
SAUSALITO, Calif. This seaside village on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge was the ideal setting for the first drive of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt. Of the 80,000 or so Volts sold since 2011, nearly half were to Californians. In Canada, the Volt has been the country’s bestselling plug-in vehicle for four consecutive years.
After spending a few hours zipping around in the all-new, second-generation extendedrange vehicle, I’d bet the Volt will continue to capture the hearts, minds and dollars of the green conscious in Northern California. But will that affection for the Volt translate to the rest of North America in a substantial enough way for the compact sedan to be more than a niche vehicle?
The second-generation Volt improves in many areas. First, and most critically, its all-electric range has gone from just over 60 kilometres to just over 80. That may not seem like a game-changing jump, but GM says owners of the first-gen Volt do 80 per cent of their driving in EV-only mode. That 20-km increase will likely raise that percentage and is also beneficial for the Volt’s operation in cold weather. The estimated fuel economy is 5.7 L/100 km.
The battery pack has been redesigned and is now lighter and more powerful, though slightly larger, pushing the 240-volt charging time from four hours to four-and-a-half, and the 120-volt time to 13 hours. It maintains the original Volt’s T-shape and while efforts were made to put a middle rear seat in the second-gen model, that seat is really nothing more than a cushion. There is a seatbelt, but that passenger’s feet must share leg space with the other two rear passengers. Manageable with three children back there, but not three adults.
A good new feature for those back-seat passengers is optional heated seats. Other optional cold-weather features include a heated steering wheel and heated outside mirrors.
And the updated battery pack adds punch to the new Volt’s acceleration, particularly from a standstill and at low speeds. GM reports a zero-to-50 km/h time of 2.9 seconds — a 19 per cent improvement — and a zero-to-96 km/h time of 8.4 seconds. The new two-motor drive unit is up to 12 per cent more efficient and 45 kilograms lighter than before.
The gasoline engine is new, too. One of GM’s new global engines, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder runs on regular fuel and, when combined with the electric motors, produces 149 horsepower. To give the driver more ability to recharge the batteries, there’s a steeringwheel mounted paddle that activates regeneration of the battery using the car’s braking system.
There’s a marked move away from the first-gen’s futuristic exterior and interior design, which tried a little too hard in the “Hey, look at me, I’m different!” department. The new model has much more traditional, albeit sporty, exterior lines, while the inside is more in line with Chevrolet’s newest design language.
On the functional side are allnew active automatic shutters in the front grille to improve both efficiency and handling. Inside, the Volt retains its signature dual digital colour displays, with an eight-inch configurable screen in the instrument cluster to relay information to the driver. An additional eight-inch touch screen in the centre of the instrument panel controls the Chevrolet MyLink system. Both screens have been cleaned up, with fewer icons. Separate climate-control knobs and buttons below the centre display are easily accessible and easy to use.
GM relied heavily on feedback from many first-gen Volt owners in designing the 2016 model and new additions reflect this. One detail drove many owners crazy: After charging the first-gen Volt, if the charge door is left open, the driver is only reminded of this once back in the car, when trying to engage the transmission. At that point, a prompt will come up on the dash screen saying the charge door is open. In the new model, if the charge door is left open, the driver will be reminded by three audible beeps when the driver’s door is opened. A little thing, but an improvement in the day-to-day living with the Volt.
Also, first-gen Volt owners who program their cars to charge at home during off-peak power-usage hours have to reset the charging protocol every time they use a charging station not at their home. The new Volt uses GPS to know where the vehicle is plugged in, therefore eliminating the necessity to program it each time it is charged away from home. Again, it’s a little thing, but an effective improvement.
That really sums up the second-generation Volt: There are many improvements, none of them that major, but they all add up to a much better vehicle than the original.
The drive route in California took us north into Marin County, where some tight, twisting and undulating roads really highlighted the improvements to the Volt. The improved acceleration was noticeable when we came upon groups of the many cyclists who travel the two-lane Pacific Coast Highway, while the regenerative-braking paddle provided a kind of hill-descent control, enabling the driver to gear down, in effect, all the while recharging the battery. We managed to go 81 km before the gas engine kicked in, though some in our group exceeded the 100-km mark on electric power alone. The 2016 Volt is also quieter and smoother, and really does rival its all-electric vehicle competition in these areas.
Is the new Volt the muchanticipated game-changer that GM promised the original would be when it was first announced nearly a decade ago? That can’t yet be said. However, the 2016 Volt is a capable, fuel-efficient and even fun-to-drive compact sedan, and that in itself should be considered a victory for GM.
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt arrives in Canadian dealerships later this month. Pricing, before government incentive rebates, starts at $38,390. In Ontario, after the full provincial incentive of $8,500, the price drops to $29,890; in Quebec, with an $8,000 rebate, the price starts at $30,390; and in B.C., with the full rebate, it is priced from $33,390.