Chevrolet Volt 2010 Review - International

Chevrolet Volt

Price guide (in USA): US $40,000 approximately
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): TBA
CO2 emissions (g/km): TBA
Also consider: Toyota Prius, Mitsubishi i-MiEV

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Shock news! The electric car that is like no other before it, the Chevrolet Volt, drives just like every electric car before it.

Until, that is, the petrol generator comes to life to charge the battery.

As I hit the start button (there's no key) the Volt comes to life with an eerie silence.

That's because the car is running on the energy stored in its T-shaped battery that lies beneath the floor, between the front seats and under the back seats.

But because we were last in the line of global media to drive the Volt, we got to sample the Volt late in the day, as it shifted between electric and petrol power. This was a golden opportunity to see the Volt in its element. It took a while for the battery to get to this point: the Volt can travel 64km on its battery alone without using a drop of fuel.

Indeed, GM predicts more than 80 per cent of customers may only fuel the car once every few months, given the 64km range will cover most people's daily commutes. It's such an issue that the car will be programmed to automatically start the engine after two months of inactivity to make sure the fuel doesn't go stale and to keep the engine well lubricated.

For the record, in case you're wondering, the Toyota Prius, the world's biggest selling hybrid, can drive a maximum of 2km on its battery alone (if conditions are ideal) and the plug-in Prius can travel 20km before its petrol engine comes to life.

We'll get to the differences in technology between the Volt and Prius shortly. But first, let's get to how the Volt drives. Our test drive at GM's tech centre in Warren, Michigan, just half an hour from downtown Detroit, is limited to a short five minute drive on campus. It's by no means an extended road test but it is perhaps the most significant first drive of the year, and perhaps the decade.

The Volt, which is due on sale in North America at the end of 2010 and in Australia as a Holden in 2012, has turned the hybrid electric car concept on its head. The Volt's front wheels are driven purely by an electric motor. When the battery runs low, a 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine automatically comes to life and begins running a generator that charges the battery pack.

Once the 64km worth of battery power is depleted there's a further 480km range from the petrol engine charging the battery pack. This is less than half the maximum driving range of the original concept, which was said to be able to travel more than 1000km between refills. But GM decided to halve fuel tank capacity to save weight.

"Why carry around all that fuel when most people won't need it?" one engineer asked.

In Australia it will take between two and four hours to recharge the battery from a household powerpoint, giving you up to 64km of petrol-free driving. This amounts to less on your home energy bill than the refrigerator

By comparison with the Volt, the Prius front wheels are driven by a 1.8-litre four cylinder engine with power supplemented by an electric motor. The Prius electric motor can move the car from rest up to about 40km/h before the petrol engine kicks in.

But the Volt can reach 160km/h on its electric motor -- and that is because the speed is governed. Versions of the Volt sold in Germany, where there are high speed autobahns, will not be speed-restricted. GM is testing in Germany and wouldn't say what the likely top speed will be, but it's expected to be in excess of 200km/h. Not bad for an electric car...

So, with the aircraft-style gear lever shifted to 'drive', we set off with Martin Krueger, the program manager for Volt, on our lap of GM's tech centre. We're not shooting for top speed today. V-max was about 60km/h. Not exactly exciting but, let's face it, this is how most Volts will spend their lives.

The first impression is how normal the Volt feels to drive (after all, it shares its underpinnings with the Holden Cruze sedan). The second is how much urge it has from the electric motor.

There are two modes -- normal and sport -- although engineers at GM hinted there may be a third mode on the production car. A launch mode for quick getaways perhaps?

On the icy, snow-covered pavement we tried a few standing starts and were able to spin the front wheels. That wasn't supposed to happen. Not because electric cars don't have grunt (electric motors make peak power almost instantly, from low revs) but because GM engineers had detuned the power output so we didn't get up to any shenanigans.

GM won't say what the 0 to 100km/h time is but one engineer hinted that it was less than nine seconds. It certainly felt quicker than that -- even with four burly blokes in the car. And that was in the 'slow' setting programmed for the media drive...

The prototype cars we were driving were drivetrain cars, not chassis cars, so the ride felt a bit firm over cracks in the road, but at least the steering felt good. The steering had more weight and more of a normal feel than, say, a Prius.

The brakes were less aggressive and more progressive than Prius -- and the super-regenerative braking mode was more subtle than it is in other pure electric cars I've driven.

The other point of interest was the transition from electric to petrol power. It was noticeable on the cars we drove, but not intrusive.

The test cars we sampled were at an early stage of development. Apparently the switch from petrol to electric power has been improved further on subsequent prototypes and you can barely notice the transition.

You certainly wouldn't call the engine loud. My guess is that it's quieter than a Prius, perhaps because the engineers have limited the engine's rev range to between 1000 and 4000rpm.

Comfort-wise, the Volt has the same roominess as the Cruze, which shouldn't come as a surprise given they are twins under the skin. But there are only four seats in a Volt, the Cruze has space for five.

The Volt will likely be a revelation when it goes on sale and ends up in customer hands. But it won't be for everyone. The price alone will see to that. Early estimates put the price tag close to $US40,000 in North America and $60,000 in Australia.

But really, its true value in the gradual electrification of the motor car will no doubt go down in history as being priceless. For the Volt is an electric car that isn't limited by the length of a cord, or the availability of electricity.

This is a first report. Check back later for more details on the Volt first drive.

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