2017 chevy volt range review driver#
2017 chevy volt range review manual#
2017 chevy volt range review upgrade#

The battery-only range is 57 city miles or 49 highway miles. A range-extending 1.5-liter gas motor kicks on when the battery gets nearly depleted, so you never have to worry about the Volt 'bricking' on the side of the road.

The Volt is built around a Voltec electric drive unit powered by a lithium-ion battery that produces 18.4 kilowatts per hour.

2017 chevy volt range review manual#

Having said that, it's the only $40,000 car we've tested in recent years that has manual seat adjusters. The Volt Premium features some standard features you'd expect from a high-tech car: Apple Carplay, an 8-inch telematics screen and heated seats, for example. In any case, the contrast gives the cockpit a 'something different' aura that's missing from the exterior design. Were I naming the colors - a job I aspire to one day - I'd call the colors Maxwell House and Cappuccino. GM calls the colors Jet Black and Brandy. Our tester gets a two-tone interior color scheme. Inside, the Volt has considerably more spark than the first generation. I'd peg the design theme as 'generically modern.' The black bumper in the back prompted one observer to ask: 'Did something fall off there?' Our bullet-shaped, Silver Ice Metallic tester has a Chevy bow-tie badge on its nose and a sculpted hood that rakes into a low roof line that looks great, but may offend backseat passengers with mohawk haircuts.ДЄ prominent shoulder line and deep recesses in the rocker panels give the Volt's exterior a shrink-wrapped look. But that's part of the mission of Volt 2.0, to not look like a design outlier. Its swept body lines and functional hatchback design help it blend into commuter traffic. More than one automotive journalist has compared the Volt's profile to the ubiquitous Honda Civic. Purchasers qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit. The list price of our test Volt is $39,950. There's something cool and refreshing - like spearmint gum - about crossing gas prices off your worry list. Stories abound of Volt owners who commute less than 50 miles a day round-trip and go months between fill-ups. Still, the Volt can be a compelling bargain for people who commute short distances to work and only occasionally need to tap the 1.5-liter, range-extending gas engine to create more juice. As long as sub-$3-a-gallon gasoline is available nationwide, it's hard for cars like the Volt to get market traction. While the the Volt is still a niche vehicle, GM clearly hopes it joins the mainstream with plug-ins and hybrids from Toyota, Nissan and Ford.Д¬learly, the cheap-gas era is crimping the market for plug-in cars, which glide into the spotlight every time oil prices spike and then retreat to the shadows when gas prices sink. That's in the same ballpark as the fleet Tesla Model S.ДЄ web check of local car stores shows that two, Integrity Chevrolet in Chattanooga and Ed Kirby Adventure Cars in Dalton, Ga., had 2017 Volts in their inventories earlier this week.

2017 chevy volt range review driver#

Car and Driver magazine clocked the Volt in under three seconds for the zero-to-30-mph dash. We never tired of launching the zippy little compact. Originally a highly-engineered low-volume piece, the new Volt is a rollicking runabout that happens to be easy on the environment.ДЄfter a week of commuting to work in the Volt, we found it both Earth friendly and fundamentally fun.

2017 chevy volt range review upgrade#

The iconic plug-in, introduced by GM in 2010 as a 2011 model, got a second-generation upgrade last year highlighted by more aggressive body styling and a class-leading 53-mile range in all-electric (EV) mode. Fuel economy is estimated as 106 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent). The success of the 2017 Chevy Volt relies on a simple formula: EV equals EZ.ДЄ plug-in hybrid, the Volt is designed as a commuter car that can travel 1,000 miles between fill-ups. Fuel economy: 106 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) Engine: Lithium-ion electric drive, 1.5-liter gas engine