Chevrolet Volt takes electric vehicles to next level

Bloomberg Nov 6, 2010, 03.30am IST

NEW YORK: Next month, General Motors will begin selling its electric car, the Chevrolet Volt. It's costly for a mid-sized vehicle — $41,000 — and only about 10,000 will be produced next year. So, is GM serious about the Volt? Should we even care? The answers are yes and a resounding yes.

This unassuming four-passenger car speaks both to the future of the automobile and to whether US-made cars still matter. It's revolutionary and clever, and it drives really well. It's made in Michigan. I'm still kind of in shock.

Here are the nuts, bolts and batteries. The Volt runs on electric motors powered by a 435-pound lithium-ion battery pack. That battery power will propel you some 25-50 miles down the road and to a top speed of 100 miles per hour. When the charge is depleted, a small gasoline engine kicks in, turning generators which power the electric drive system. Just like any 21st-century car, the only range limits are gas money and rest stops.

The Volt delivers on its promise of the best of both worlds — electric power with no tailpipe emissions while driving short distances, and the ability to motor cross-country when the need (or urge) arises. Unlike the Nissan Leaf, which is also being released in December, the Volt isn't a pure electric car. The inclusion of a 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine and 9.3-gallon tank means that it is a hybrid, though the gas engine is not used to primarily drive the wheels, unlike a Prius. The electric system is key to its movement. Chevy calls it an extended-range electric vehicle.

I call it semantics. Until we get an infrastructure of quick-charge stations, pure electric cars will be severely hindered. It's no fun to constantly keep an eye on the range indicator, terrified that a sudden drop could mean getting stranded. All kinds of stuff affect range, from temperatures below 60 to blasting up a hill.

A Volt owner could recharge every night, and not use a gallon of gas for months. (Gasoline does get old, so the engine will eventually turn on to cycle out the tank.) Alternatively, you could never plug it in and get along fine, though that would be asinine. On gasoline alone, the Volt gets mpg in the mid-30s. But with a full charge you'll get many miles on electric power, so figuring out exact mpg involves fuzzy math.

Those two figures have to be mixed in a way that becomes meaningful. Remember GM's oddball early claims of 230 mpg? The Environmental Protection Agency is currently wrestling with its definition, but expect the numbers to be conservative.

The short answer is the more often you recharge, the better mileage you'll see. If you run only on electric power and recharge on off-peak rates, you'll probably spend somewhere between $1 and $1.50 a day. GM is selling a 240-volt in-home unit for $490 that recharges the car in four hours.