Interactive Review: 2011 Chevrolet Volt

[Drew Dowdell]

This Just In:

2011 Chevrolet Volt

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt joins us for a week long interactive review. The Volt was delivered to me with a completely depleted battery because the hotel where it was plugged in over night cut power to the outlet it was using. Still, on a 30 mile round trip run to the airport, the Volt was able to recharge via regenerative braking and the onboard regenerator so that much of the return trip was using electric only. According to the onboard energy meter, I got 77.3mpg out of the Volt despite the depleted battery. So gear up your questions for this week's interactive review of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

Related:

Chevrolet Volt named 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year

The Volt: Still not a Hybrid

[Paolino]

Do you feel the engine kick on and off while recharging?

How easy have you found it to actually connect/charge the car at home? Are you charging with a 110 or 220V?

Do you like the touch-sensitive center console?

What would you have improved on interior design?

[Robert Hall]

Some thoughts...how is the drivability, how's it feel in daily driving as far as NVH, steering feel, ride, compared to a 'normal' car of similar size like the Cruze..

How are the ergonomics..the center stack controls look rather unique from the pics, how do they work in the real world?

How is the seating position, adjustment, visibility?

[Drew Dowdell]

Do you feel the engine kick on and off while recharging?

just... barely. At highway speeds it's transparent enough that you need to look at the energy management display in order to see what is really going on.

How easy have you found it to actually connect/charge the car at home? Are you charging with a 110 or 220V?

I'm charging on 110v. If you can plug in your laptop, you can plug in the Volt.

Do you like the touch-sensitive center console?

the touch sensitive center stack is fine... it's the layout of the controls that I'm still learning. It doesn't feel like the same layout as other vehicle.

What would you have improved on interior design?

Will get back to you.

[Drew Dowdell]

Some thoughts...how is the drivability, how's it feel in daily driving as far as NVH, steering feel, ride, compared to a 'normal' car of similar size like the Cruze..

Well I've only had 30 miles behind the wheel so far, but as far as how it drives... it drives like a normal car. It's got really good "kick" when you need acceleration around town. NHV is less than the already quiet Cruze.

How are the ergonomics..the center stack controls look rather unique from the pics, how do they work in the real world?

As far as reach, everything is good there. I'm not yet convinced about button layout, but again, my time so far has been limited.

How is the seating position, adjustment, visibility?

Seats are right out of the Cruze right down to the stupidly located seat recline lever. However, once you're in and adjusted, the seat is seems VERY comfortable. I plan to do some longer distance driving this weekend, so I'll follow up with you again. Visibility is excellent. The center rear view mirror is oddly small.

[regfootball]

hatchback utility, rear seat and cargo space...

does it feel porky?

make sure you use premium!!!!!!!!!

[CSpec]

Is it worth paying double the price of a Cruze for it?

[Drew Dowdell]

For a silver 4-door hatch back, it certainly turns a lot of heads. I get people slowing down to pace me. I had 3 Pittsburgh police stop what they were working on and watch me drive by saying "That's the new Chevy". People know the car.

[pow]

This Just In:

2011 Chevrolet Volt

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt joins us for a week long interactive review. The Volt was delivered to me with a completely depleted battery because the hotel where it was plugged in over night cut power to the outlet it was using. Still, on a 30 mile round trip run to the airport, the Volt was able to recharge via regenerative braking and the onboard regenerator so that much of the return trip was using electric only. According to the onboard energy meter, I got 77.3mpg out of the Volt despite the depleted battery. So gear up your questions for this week's interactive review of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

Are you sure the battery was completely depleted? The EPA rating for the Volt in extended-range mode is 35/40 MPG; the highest I've ever seen anyone get was close to 50 MPG. Did you reset the trip computer?

Also, the Volt is supposed to maintain its SOC in extended-range mode, not recharge it with the engine-generator. It's more efficient to recharge with electricity than gasoline.

[Drew Dowdell]

There was 0% left on the battery indicator. I understand that GM builds in a reserve under that as well... but as received, I had no EV range left when I got in it the first time.

Still, the engine ran for about 5 miles out of the city and after climbing the last big hill, it would start to cycle off on the downhills and on climbing back up hill. Half way back from the airport, it cycled on and off a few more times till about 5 miles out of downtown where is cycled off and I was in regen mode from inertia for the rest of the trip in. It didn't cycle back on for the remainder of the trip.

Yes, I did reset the trip meter. I'm using the "A" trip meter for single trips and the "B" trip meter will measure my over all mileage during the eval.

When I plugged the Volt in this evening at 7:30, the battery registered 4% and 0 miles of EV range.

GM included a Verizon Droid with the MyOnstar app installed and connected to this car so I can monitor the vehicle remotely.

[SeanLoh]

So the car is a celebrity to the general public. What kind of celebrity is it? Do you feel like people are just curious or is it like an American super hero?

[Robert Hall]

So the car is a celebrity to the general public. What kind of celebrity is it? Do you feel like people are just curious or is it like an American super hero?

Is it perceived to be as badazz as the Prius? or the Leaf?

[Drew Dowdell]

So the car is a celebrity to the general public. What kind of celebrity is it? Do you feel like people are just curious or is it like an American super hero?

Lots of questions about how it drives. Does it feel like a normal car? What kind of fuel economy am I getting.

People know what this car is. They recognize it very quickly and they know it by name. There are no questions of who makes it.

Most telling quote so far: "Not something I'd ever expect from a Chevy"

[Drew Dowdell]

Is it perceived to be as badazz as the Prius? or the Leaf?

General perception seems that this is a step above the Prius in technology. (which I think is true) I'm guessing there is a bit of a "New Star" status as people here in Pittsburgh are seeing it in the wild for the first time. Pruis is "just another car" and there is nothing perceived to be special about it. No one has brought up the Leaf yet.

[balthazar]

I would agree that the prius is 'old hat' at this point- certainly it's luster is greatly diminished from when it commanded big dealer mark-ups.

I don't think the leaf is on anyone's radar yet- it really hasn't had much of the general hoopla either the prius initially got, nor that the Volt is getting now.

[Drew Dowdell]

End of first full day with the Volt:

106 miles traveled

47 mpg

28 EV miles

Today was a typical Saturday for me. I did some work at one of the places I do consulting at, rewiring part of their network. Before arriving at work at 11am, I stopped at Lowes to pick up some supplies. Part of the way through the job, realized I would need to make a another run out, stopped at Target and Best Buy then back to the job site. After completing work at 2pm, I raced back to my house to pick up Albert. Along the way is when the regenerator kicked on for the first time.

Now, Albert likes to keep his heated seat set at broil and he was stealing my Em Pee Gees. Every time he wasn't looking, I would shut his seat off to get my Em Pee Gees back. He caught on to this fairly quickly and I gave up trying.

We stop and pick up two friends to go out to a late lunch/early dinner at Cheesecake Factory near downtown. Have a nice long meal with them and then head back to their place to play with the cats and give our friend his belated birthday gift. We leave their house at around 6:30pm. Albert doesn't want to go home yet and says he want to go to IKEA. So it's back through downtown and out towards the airport. After spending about an hour at IKEA we head back home getting in around 8:45.

Total miles for the day: 106. As I said, this is a typical Saturday for us... and a Saturday that we couldn't have done in a vehicle like the Nissan LEAF.

Thoughts so far:

• Driving for MPGs becomes a bit of a game. Due to my scheduling, I was rushing during most of the day, so I wasn't hypermilling, but you're easier on the throttle and top speed.
• I wish the DRLs wouldn't come on by default.
• The quality of the materials is very high. It wouldn't have taken GM much more to let this car wear a Buick or Cadillac badge. The seats are the first thing that come to mind that would need improvement. They're not bad, but Buick's and Cadillac's are both better.
• LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that it has a boot up sound and and a shut down sound. This was something I complained about with the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. In that car there was no affirmative signal that all systems were go for take off since the engine doesn't start when you start the car. The Volt has that signal.
• I wish there was a charge door release button on the keyfob. DOH! VOLT: 1 - Drew: 0.... it helps if you actually read instructions guys. The Volt DOES have a charge door release on the keyfob.
• I'll repeat that the center rear view mirror is too small. The hatch glass offers more viewing area than the mirror can cover top to bottom. Rear visability is excellent.. so good that I find myself turning around to back up rather than use the rear view camera. Turning around gives a much better view than either the mirror OR camera can offer.
• I would have liked some sort of cargo cover for the rear hatch area.
• It drives very well so far. I haven't put it through any handling paces, but spending a long distance in the Volt isn't anything to be scared of.

[ocnblu]

Sounds decent so far.

[smk4565]

Big question is, if you aren't a Sierra Club activist, would you buy a Volt over any other $35,000 car? The environmentalists will buy it (and the Leaf), but will regular people?

[Satty]

Big question is, if you aren't a Sierra Club activist, would you buy a Volt over any other $35,000 car? The environmentalists will buy it (and the Leaf), but will regular people?

For once a valid point. Would you pay $40k+markup for it?

[Robert Hall]

For once a valid point. Would you pay $40k+markup for it?

I wouldn't pay over $25k for a 4cyl econobox...for a $40k Chevy I'd buy a loaded Camaro SS.

Edited February 20, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Drew Dowdell]

Big question is, if you aren't a Sierra Club activist, would you buy a Volt over any other $35,000 car? The environmentalists will buy it (and the Leaf), but will regular people?

I'm not a Sierra Club activist and I would totally buy this over a CTS because a CTS, while nice and handles great, doesn't suit my day to day needs like a Volt does. The Volt is comfortable for long distance drives, it's very very very very quiet. It has a nice interior. Handles plenty good enough, has a highly useful cargo area that only the CTS Wagon could compete with, and for 95% of my driving and commuting, I wouldn't use very much if any gas at all.

One doesn't need to be a Sierra Club activist to see the $4.25 a gallon writing on the wall.

Step one is being realistic about what you use your car for on a day to day basis. No one commutes to work via the Nurburgring. There isn't a single place here in Pittsburgh where you can use the capabilities of...say a 330i... to even 50% of it's maxiumum for more than a second.

Step two is not being a brand snob.

[ocnblu]

Moltie has my vote, sry.

[Drew Dowdell]

And that's why Chevrolet makes both. I like the Camaro a LOT......I've never been a Camaro kinda guy and you all know that. But I could totally drive one daily. But for the same amount of money, the Volt is a more useful vehicle, still has enough scoot, and can be driven gas free.

I've finished my errands for the day and the Volt is back on the charger.

32.1 miles traveled

32.1 EV miles

0 gallons of gasoline used.

Averaging 60.1 mpg since I got the car on Friday.

Edit: Further updated below.

[A Horse With No Name]

And that's why Chevrolet makes both. I like the Camaro a LOT......I've never been a Camaro kinda guy and you all know that. But I could totally drive one daily. But for the same amount of money, the Volt is a more useful vehicle, still has enough scoot, and can be driven gas free.

I've finished my errands for the day and the Volt is back on the charger.

32.1 miles traveled

32.1 EV miles

0 gallons of gasoline used.

Averaging 60.1 mpg since I got the car on Friday.

Fantastic!

[ZL-1]

I've finished my errands for the day and the Volt is back on the charger.

32.1 miles traveled

32.1 EV miles

0 gallons of gasoline used.

Averaging 60.1 mpg since I got the car on Friday.

Very interesting! I'm very curious to read your final writeup regarding the Volt.

[caddycruiser]

I'm not a Sierra Club activist and I would totally buy this over a CTS because a CTS, while nice and handles great, doesn't suit my day to day needs like a Volt does. The Volt is comfortable for long distance drives, it's very very very very quiet. It has a nice interior. Handles plenty good enough, has a highly useful cargo area that only the CTS Wagon could compete with, and for 95% of my driving and commuting, I wouldn't use very much if any gas at all.

One doesn't need to be a Sierra Club activist to see the $4.25 a gallon writing on the wall.

Step one is being realistic about what you use your car for on a day to day basis. No one commutes to work via the Nurburgring. There isn't a single place here in Pittsburgh where you can use the capabilities of...say a 330i... to even 50% of it's maxiumum for more than a second.

Step two is not being a brand snob.

PERFECT review of why this is a great package. Price is one thing, but the true use, comfort, capability, etc. of a vehicle are another. The fact you can get a Camaro, CTS, etc., etc. for the same $$ means nothing, but useless "so?".

I want to drive one. Cool tech. Real world useful.

Edited February 20, 2011 by caddycruiser

[ocnblu]

Out of the three major eco-weenie modes of transport... Prius, Leaf and Volt, Volt wins every category. Hands down. It's just not for me, even if I could afford it.

[Drew Dowdell]

Remember guys. This is just version 1.0 for the Voltec. As the technology continues to grow, it will filter into other models. Electric gives awesome low end torque. It would work very well as a sporty car.

[Drew Dowdell]

Remember guys. This is just version 1.0 for the Voltec. As the technology continues to grow, it will filter into other models. Electric gives awesome low end torque. It would work very well as a sporty car.

not that it hasn't been done already.....

[Drew Dowdell]

Update on day 2 with the Volt:

After sitting on the charger for 3 hours, Albert and I leave to go to his brother's house for his niece's birthday party. In those 3 hours of charging, the EV range has moved from 1 mile range to 9 miles range. His brother's house is 8 miles away, so I expect we'll be back into regen mode by the time we get there. Thanks to the topology of Pittsburgh, most of the trip to his brother's is downhill. When we arrive, EV range is listed as 6 miles. The regenerator never kicked on.

Coming back, we managed to make it all but the last 1.5 miles without using the regenerator. We used 0.1 gallons of gas for the entire 48 miles we traveled today for an effective rate of 480 mpg. If we had the 220 volt charger installed in the house, that 3 hour charge time would have brought the Volt a 3/4 full charge and we wouldn't have used any gasoline at all for the day.

48.0 miles traveled

46.4 EV miles

0.1 gallons of gasoline used

[pow]

not that it hasn't been done already.....

Or this. 403 hp and 981 lb-ft of torque. Coming to dealers soon.

[ocnblu]

vaporware, not ready for prime time

Back on the Volt, what is it doing to your electric bill? Not sure how you can figure on your own experience with this. Citing sources won't do. I think this should be a part of your report.

Edited February 21, 2011 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

vaporware, not ready for prime time

Back on the Volt, what is it doing to your electric bill? Not sure how you can figure on your own experience with this. Citing sources won't do. I think this should be a part of your report.

I'm not sure it is something I'll even be able to notice on the bill as I'll only have the car for a week.

FromWikipedia entry on the Chevy Volt:

To extend the battery's life span, GM plans to station charge the lithium-ion battery to a SoC of approximately 90%. Then, once the battery depletes to a low set-point (ca. 25%), the on-board ICE powered generator maintains the state of charge between the lower setpoint and an upper set-point above the 30% SoC level (see figure 5 of reference

^[2]

). So, its charge state actually varies between 25% SoC and 90% SoC. This translates to the following analysis of battery capacity:

theoretical capacity 100% 16.0 kW·h (not realized under normal conditions) highest recharged level 90% 14.4 kW·h (after being plugged in) charge sustaining level 25% 4.0 kW·h (after ~40 miles of driving) Empty 0% 0.0 kW·h (not realized under normal conditions)

My total utility charge for electricity is about 13.25 cents per kWh. Which means that every full charge will cost me $1.378 = ( (Highest recharge level - charge sustaining level) * cost per kWh)

After one week, it would cause my electric bill to fluctuate by only $9. My Bill already fluctuates by more than that, so any change will likely get lost in the noise. I'll try to remember to post any difference in my next bill, but I doubt there will be any noticeable difference.

Keep in mind that recharging the Volt from empty is equal to running one of those 1000 watt oil filled space heaters for about 10 hours a day.

[ZL-1]

Keep in mind that recharging the Volt from empty is equal to running one of those 1000 watt oil filled space heaters for about 10 hours a day.

This is an interesting bit: pretty much the same impact as just adding a new heater at home.

[G. David Felt]

Sadly, while the Volt is an awesome Auto, it was built for people 6' tall and under. Having gone to my local Chevy private show of the Volt and able to check it out and sign up if I wanted to test drive it, the DEAL fell dead once I found the limited amount of room for us 6'6" tall people. No one can sit behind me and I am cramp and legs rubbing due to the small space.

I wish everyone the best if you end up buying one, I truly think they are a quality product and will be the new Standard that other car companies will try to beat. Yet they forgot the rest of America in doing the small man dance just like all Asian auto's. Built for people under 6' tall.

Over all, congratulations on a good review so far.

[Drew Dowdell]

Sadly, while the Volt is an awesome Auto, it was built for people 6' tall and under. Having gone to my local Chevy private show of the Volt and able to check it out and sign up if I wanted to test drive it, the DEAL fell dead once I found the limited amount of room for us 6'6" tall people. No one can sit behind me and I am cramp and legs rubbing due to the small space.

I wish everyone the best if you end up buying one, I truly think they are a quality product and will be the new Standard that other car companies will try to beat. Yet they forgot the rest of America in doing the small man dance just like all Asian auto's. Built for people under 6' tall.

Over all, congratulations on a good review so far.

To be fair, the Volt chassis is based on the same platform as the Cruze, which is in the compact class. Compact cars really aren't meant for non-compact people.

*cue Reg ranting about rear seat room in Cruze and how wonderful the rear seat room in the Hyundai _______ is for the same money while ignoring all the other interior foibles*

[Satty]

I'm 6'3 and didnt have a problem driving mom's Cruze, even on a long, boring highway stretch. There certainly are roomier cars, but not in that price range. If its that big of a deal, for under $20 grand you can easily get a horse and buggy with plenty of leg room. My point is, its a compact and compacts aren't built for outliers. If they were it would be more difficult for the rest of the population to drive them.

[Drew Dowdell]

Only drove 11.5 miles today. No gasoline used.

[smk4565]

I wouldn't pay over $25k for a 4cyl econobox...for a $40k Chevy I'd buy a loaded Camaro SS.

I wouldn't buy a 4 cylinder econobox at any price. But at $40k, as you stated the Camaro SS is there, or the 3-series, C-class, G37, Genesis, MKX Hybrid, CTS, a Prius with $10k to spare, etc. A lot of good cars. I think for any of these Eco cars to really catch on, price has to come down a lot.

[Justin Bimmer]

In the Great State of California, gas where I live is almost to $3.60 a gallon. If you are telling me that I can drive around for a week to and from work for about 3 bucks a day, ummm yes!

To ride the bus to and from work to home would cost me 2.50.

[Bimmer325]

vaporware, not ready for prime time

Back on the Volt, what is it doing to your electric bill? Not sure how you can figure on your own experience with this. Citing sources won't do. I think this should be a part of your report.

Vaporware?

That's the production Fisker Karma.

[ocnblu]

Bimmer, that is a time-honoured Volt troll word I was using there.

[aaaantoine]

My total utility charge for electricity is about 13.25 cents per kWh. Which means that every full charge will cost me $1.378 = ( (Highest recharge level - charge sustaining level) * cost per kWh)

So for the cost of a full charge, and considering that the driving distance on the full charge is about equal to a gallon of gas, you can travel up to 3 times further on the same dime if you only use the grid.

Now, the Cruze starts at $17,000, and the Volt starts at $33,000, making for a difference of $16,000 between them (yeesh).

Assuming $4 per gallon of gas and $1.50 for a full charge, both granting you the same distance -- with a difference of $2.50 between them -- you'd break even after 6400 (16000/2.5) charges. Hmm... So if a charge gets you 40 miles, that's 256,000 miles.

This point may be old-hat, but the Volt is definitely not an economy car. Here's hoping future iterations have better returns on them.

[Drew Dowdell]

If your goal is purely least cost per mile, you're better off looking at a low mileage 2008 Cobalt XFE rather than anything new.

[pow]

The Volt doesn't feel like an econobox. It looks like no other vehicle on the road, its doors close solidly with a thunk, and in electric mode, it provides for an unmatched smooth, silent driving experience. Consumers make decisions based on how much "value" they see in a vehicle beyond cost-per-mile, and to me, the Volt is easily worth its $33,500 price after incentives.

[Satty]

I haven't kept up on things, how long does the tax credit on the Volt run? People keep calling it a $33 thousand dollar car when really its $40 grand with an end of year subsidy that's going to run out when GM hits the quota

[pow]

I haven't kept up on things, how long does the tax credit on the Volt run? People keep calling it a $33 thousand dollar car when really its $40 grand with an end of year subsidy that's going to run out when GM hits the quota

Ally will give you a 0% loan for $7500 until tax time.

[Satty]

Ally will give you a 0% loan for $7500 until tax time.

Cool, didn't know that. But I still want to know the sales cap on the tax credit. It seems it was only available to Toyota hybrid buyers until they hit 150k units.

[Drew Dowdell]

Day 4 with the Volt:

22 miles driven

21 EV miles

So little gas used that it didn't register on the meter.

Trip computer says 212mpg for the day.

77.5 mpg since the Volt was dropped off.

The regenerator kicked on when I first left because it was only 19 degrees outside.

Awesome thing about the Volt is that you can Remote Start it while it's in your garage and plugged in to warm up the seats and interior without draining your EV miles.

[SeanLoh]

Interesting you should mention preheating the car because Inside Line just posted about heating draining the battery but it appears they, or at least this certain writer, don't know how to preheat the cabin.