Listen up, haters: The Chevrolet Volt rocks, and General Motors deserves tremendous credit for building it.
Rarely has a car carried so heavy a burden as the Volt. GM has bet the farm on this car, which has been hyped and hated in equal measure. The Volt has its flaws. It's expensive, for one, and you can argue all day about how cost-effective it is. But doing so overlooks an important point: The Volt is a landmark automobile. It bridges internal combustion and electric power, combining the flexibility of a conventional car and the efficiency and zero tailpipe emissions of an EV.
It also happens to be a remarkably refined vehicle with some of the most sophisticated engineering to ever come out of Detroit – or Japan, for that matter. There isn't anything else like it on the road.
What makes the Volt unique is operates as an EV, a series hybrid or a parallel hybrid, all depending upon how far and how hard you're driving. It uses the battery alone for short trips of 35 miles or so. Once the 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack goes kaput, a small gasoline engine drives a generator to keep the juice flowing.
Complex, yes, but there's nothing at all unusual about driving the Volt. Push the power button and it starts. Put it in gear and it goes. It couldn't be more ordinary. The Volt isn't a rocket, but ample torque makes it feel faster than 149 horsepower and a zero-to-60 time of around 9 seconds might suggest.
The EPA pegs the Volt's range under battery power at 35 miles. We averaged 32 during three days of Bay Area commuting and back-road blitzing. GM says you'll get 25 to 50, depending upon how you drive, and we would have done better had we been more mindful of the dashboard nanny's suggestions for increasing efficiency.
When the battery's toast, the transition to the gasoline assist – GM calls it "range-extended mode" – is anti-climactic. The engine simply turns on. A display on the somewhat cluttered LCD dashboard switches from showing remaining range to showing how much fuel remains in the 9.3-gallon tank. The engine is utterly smooth and eerily quiet, even when you're pushing the car hard.
This car is hefty, weighing 3,721 pounds. Most of that's down low, though, so the Volt is nimble enough in traffic. The chassis is sure-footed and the tires have decent grip, so you can have a little fun on back roads. The electric power steering and regenerative-braking system don't provide much feedback, though.
General Motors took a lot of heat for the Volt's styling, which is more pedestrian than the wild concept we saw in 2007. The do-over disappointed many early fans. The changes were made to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and eke every last mile from the battery.
Frankly, we've always thought the Volt is a looker. Ours came in the Volt's iconic "Viridian Joule," but crystal red metallic is the color to get.
