The 2011 Chevy Volt is here at last, and it’s a very real, very nice car—and a surprisingly pleasant one to drive. Based on the same platform as Chevy’s all-new 2011 Cruze sedan, it’s about the same size and looks a little Cruze-like, though its Chevy-signature twin grille ports are filled with aluminum-look bars. Its high-tech interior is also completely different, and its two-passenger rear seat is a bit less roomy due to the centrally located, T-shaped battery pack.
That 435-lb. water-cooled pack holds 16 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy in 288 lithium-ion cells. It’s designed to last 10 years in normal service and warranted for eight years/100K miles, and it can be fully charged in four hours on 240 volts, overnight on 120V house current.
The “Voltec” (formerly “E-Flex”) propulsion system begins with a 111 kW (149-hp) electric drive motor that generates a healthy 273 lb.-ft. of torque from zero rpm for very strong launch response from rest. There’s no transmission shifting or powertrain noise—just smooth, swift, silent acceleration. At higher cruise speeds, a smaller 55 kW (73-hp) motor/generator helps out to keep the drive motor operating in its most efficient range.
When the battery runs down, the 84-hp 1.4-liter Ecotec gas engine fires up (almost undetectably) and operates in its most efficient speed range to drive the motor/generator that keeps electricity flowing to the drive motor. At higher speeds with the battery depleted, both the motor/generator and the gas engine assist the drive motor through the complex and clever planetary gearbox for best efficiency, though the engine can’t power the car on its own.
After 35.8 city/suburban miles, we had four miles of EV range remaining for a projected total of 39.8 miles. The fuel economy meter still said “250+” mpg (essentially infinity), since we had consumed no gas at all to that point. About four miles later, when the range-extender gas engine finally started, it was all but imperceptible.
We stopped for lunch after 53.1 miles and had 240 miles of gasoline range remaining. The system said we had burned 0.3 gallons of gas and achieved composite gas/electric fuel economy of 112.7 mpg. After lunch, we drove 48.1 gas-only city/suburban miles, and our whole trip (counting the first 40 on electric) came in at a very impressive 81.5 mpg.
“The Chevrolet Volt is an electric vehicle that is capable of being your only car,” says Marketing Director Tony Disalle. “You have the freedom to ‘fuel up’ at home, yet you’re not tethered to a charge station. You can’t always plan your day around charge opportunities.”
The only downsides are big ones: the engine, complex gear-set and sophisticated controls add a major cost increment over a battery-only electric; and the limited availability of vehicle-size lithium-ion battery packs will limit Volt production for the first few years, at least. We’re talking just 10,000 units for the 2011 model year and maybe 50K the following year. Available in limited markets at first, it will eventually be available nationwide.
Visit our Chevrolet Research Center for pricing, specs, photos and reviews and late-model Chevrolets, and check out our early drive of a Volt prototype, Driving a Chevy Volt Test Mule.