First Drive: Chevrolet Volt, pre-production model

2011 Chevrolet Volt. Click image to enlarge

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Review and photos by Greg Wilson

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Chevrolet Volt pre-production model

Vancouver, British Columbia – It’s coming to a GM dealership near you in the summer of 2011: the much talked about Chevrolet Volt electric car. Mass production will start at the end of 2010, but so far, only two road-ready Volts have been built, both hand-built prototypes using a modified Chevrolet Cruze platform. Though there’s still development work to be done, these Volt prototypes are close to production specs, and Autos was lucky enough to get behind the wheel this week in Vancouver.

Since the unveiling of the Volt concept car at the 2007 Detroit auto show, the Volt has played a key role in GM’s future plans. GM’s financial troubles and last year’s government bailouts conditional on the production of more fuel-efficient vehicles have raised the Volt’s profile to the point where it has now become a sort of saviour for the company. The Volt has probably received more publicity in the past few years than any car that’s never been in production. While it’s certain the Volt alone won’t save GM, it should help GM regain some of the environmental and technological high ground from Japanese hybrid cars.

The Volt is not a hybrid, and it’s not really an electric car either: it’s a battery-powered electric car with a small gasoline engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery when the charge gets low. GM calls it an “extended range electric vehicle”. The Volt’s gasoline engine never actually drives the front wheels – that function is performed by an electric motor. This is different to a full hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, which has a battery/electric motor and a gasoline engine which can individually or jointly drive the front wheels.

2011 Chevrolet Volt. Click image to enlarge

On electric power alone, the Volt can travel up to 64 kilometres, which is farther than most Canadians drive in a typical commute, according to GM. The key difference between the Volt and other electric cars is that drivers don’t have to worry about the battery running out of power. GM calls that “range anxiety”.

“With the Volt we have 64 km of range with the full charge, and even with something less than that, you don’t have that feeling of range anxiety because you always know that you’re going be able to get home,” said Tom Odell, Product Manager, Chevrolet Volt, General Motors of Canada. “The advantage it offers is that you’ll actually use the capacity: when shopping for an EV, people will ask for a 150-km range battery – so they’ll tow around all that weight and expense and not utilize it because it’s only there for insurance. Our insurance is the internal combustion engine (generator).”

While the Volt’s electric-only range is 64 km, the 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine adds up to 500 km more driving range, notes Odell.

2011 Chevrolet Volt. Click image to enlarge

Production Volts will come with a charging cord that connects from a standard 110-volt outlet to a receptacle on the left front fender of the Volt. The Volt’s lithium-ion battery can be fully recharged in eight hours, usually overnight. An optional 240-volt charger and wall-mounted device will be available that can recharge a Volt in just three hours. But this will require homeowners to install special 240-volt chargers in their garages at extra cost, and those who don’t own a garage won’t have that option – at least for the time being. Odell says GM is working with condo associations and commercial builders to advise on charging facilities and some governments have already enacted legislation requiring multi-unit dwellings and apartment buildings to install charging outlets – as was recently done in Vancouver. BC Hydro recently created electric vehicle infrastructure installation guidelines for buildings.

One thing’s for sure: the cost of filling up a Volt with electricity will be less than the cost of gasoline for a standard vehicle or hybrid vehicle. At a cost of about 50 to 80 cents a day for a full charge, the Volt will be less expensive to recharge than purchasing a daily cup of java. At an estimated 10 cents per kilowatt hour, GM notes that an “electrically driven” mile in a Chevy Volt will cost about one-sixth compared to a conventional gasoline vehicle. As most Volts will be recharged at night, when electricity rates are lower, the costs could be even less.

2011 Chevrolet Volt. Click image to enlarge

One unique feature is the ability of the Volt owner to check the Volt’s remaining battery charge on their smart phone or computer. Using OnStar to “talk” to the vehicle, and an application that works on Blackberrys, iPhones and Droid smart phones (others to follow), the Volt owner can check the status of the battery charge and the remaining range. The Volt owner can even warm up the vehicle remotely by activating its electric heater before getting in.

Apart from all this technological wizardry, the Volt is also a practical hatchback with seating for four, adequate headroom and legroom for four adults, a roomy cargo area and fold-down rear seatbacks. GM was smart to create a practical electric sedan: a stylish, futuristic, two-seater electric car may have gotten better mileage, but GM wouldn’t have sold very many of them.

2011 Chevrolet Volt. Click image to enlarge

According to Tom Odell, the Volt is the second most aerodynamic vehicle ever built by GM, after the EV-1 (dare I mention, “Who Killed the Electric Car”?). Note the Volt’s very low front air dam, the solid upper grille and the rakish profile. In person, the Volt is a handsome sedan with few obvious styling irregularities. Like the Prius, the Volt’s rear hatch has a vertical rear window which provides better visibility when reversing. I like this feature because it makes backing into a parking space so much easier. The Volt also has front and rear parking sensors and a rear camera in the dash-mounted screen. The driver’s visibility all around is pretty good with some obstruction at the right rear C-pillar.

As mentioned, the Volt’s electrical charging port is located on the left front fender while the gasoline filler is at the right rear, where you typically find fuel doors on conventional cars.

To start the Volt, the driver puts their right foot on the brake, releases the electric handbrake via a button on the dash, and presses the Power button on the centre console. The digital instrument cluster illuminates showing how many kilometres are left under battery power alone, and how many more under gasoline power. A bouncing ball on the right side of the cluster glows green when the car is driven economically and turns yellow and rises when driven more aggressively.

Acceleration from a standing start is instantaneous and brisk. And quiet too! There’s hardly even a whine from the electric motor – the Prius whines more than the Volt does! GM claims a zero to 100 km/h time of nine seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h – probably slower with four people on board. The electric motor peaks at 111 kilowatts which Odell says is equivalent to a 250-horsepower V6 engine. But the electric motor is designed to operate with 90 kW most of the time, holding 20 kW in reserve for those times when extra power is needed. By pressing a Sport button on the dash, the extra 20 kW is released and the Volt leaps forward, even under hard acceleration, providing maximum acceleration for passing or hill climbing. Odell confirmed that its 0 to 100 km/h time of nine seconds is with the Sport mode engaged.

Tom Odell, Technology Planning Manager at GM of Canada, demonstrates how to insert the electrical plug in the receptacle on the Volt’s left front fender (bottom). Click image to enlarge

The Volt’s 16 kilowatt-hour battery uses only half its capacity – from the 30 to 80 per cent range – in order to avoid under- or overcharging and to keep the battery in good condition. Expected battery life is 10 years and the Volt will come with an eight-year/240,000-km warranty on its electrical components, says Odell.

Under braking and while coasting, the Volt’s regenerative brakes turn waste heat into energy to help recharge the battery. As well, the gear selector includes an M5 position which increases regenerative charging while coasting and braking – but it also has the effect of dragging the car to a stop while coasting.

I found the electric power steering light and the turning circle acceptable if not extremely tight. Still, the Volt’s compact size and good visibility go a long way to making it a practical urban vehicle.

The first Volt prototype built, the grey one, had a rougher ride than the lighter-coloured Volt. Odell explained that neither of these Volts are representative of the final production models, which will have improved body rigidity, suspension tuning, performance, and finish.

Like most electric cars, the Volt is so quiet that pedestrians often don’t hear it coming, and walk right in front of it without looking. For that reason, GM incorporated a “pedestrian-friendly” horn, that gives a non-aggressive chirp to let bicyclists and pedestrians know you’re coming. It also lets people know that it’s a car rather than something else like a bus or a bicycle. Odell says GM doesn’t think electric vehicles should add artificial engine sounds as this contradicts one of the pleasures of driving an electric vehicle, “silent running”.

About 178 cm (five feet, ten inches) tall, GM Technology Planning Manager, Tom Odell, has adequate legroom and headroom in the rear seat of the Chevy Volt (bottom). Click image to enlarge

Silent running does require the driver to relearn their driving habits however. I was astounded to find two pedestrians walking away from the Volt in the middle of the street as I drove towards them. Why didn’t they get out of my way, I wondered? Then I realized, they couldn’t hear the Volt coming.

When the lithium-ion battery has run down to about 30 per cent of charge, the 53-kW 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine starts automatically to recharge it. I experienced this transition and am pleased to report that it can barely be felt in the cabin, and the engine emits a dull buzz that’s non-intrusive. After only five minutes the engine/generator automatically shut off, and the Volt resumed running on battery power. I had expected it to keep running until the battery was fully charged, but apparently it’s programmed to charge to a certain level, depending on the circumstances. As I mentioned, there is no direct connection between the accelerator pedal and the gasoline engine – the engine is there to recharge the battery, not to drive the wheels. Engine revs do increase when accelerating, but that’s only to keep up the necessary battery charging.

The lithium-ion battery is located in a T-shape lengthways down the centre of the vehicle from behind the instrument panel to the rear seats. As a result, it’s protected from any frontal, rear or side collisions. However, in a collision, the battery’s high voltage connections are automatically disconnected for safety, while the 12-volt battery continues to operate the power steering and power brakes. Odell claims the Volt will receive “a five-star crash test rating” when it’s tested by the NHTSA later this year. The interior includes eight airbags: two front, side, curtain and knee airbags.

The lithium-ion battery can be replaced if it’s defective, but it is not designed to be “swapped out” because it is an integral part of the Volt’s chassis, says Odell.

A major concern for Canadian Volt owners will be the Volt’s cold weather performance, and in this respect, the Volt has a leg up on pure electric vehicles. If the Volt’s battery is not fully charged due to cold ambient temperatures, the gasoline motor will automatically start to recharge it and heat the cabin.

The prototype Volt’s interior finishings weren’t quite production-ready, but the 2011 Volt will have the same iPod dash appearance and touch-sensitive controls as the prototypes, and the large illuminated display behind the steering wheel.

If GM can bring the Volt to market next year at a reasonable price, I expect it will be very popular. The concept of an electric car with an onboard generator that eliminates “range anxiety” by extending driving range when necessary, is an appealing one. Add to that its low operating costs, low emissions, and practical body style, and you have a car that Canadians should get a real “charge” out of. (Sorry, I had to get that in).