

Thus, because these cars are driving in gas or hybrid mode more often, real-world fuel consumption will be 42 to 67 percent higher.
Volt chevy 2020 drivers#
The study found that drivers use electric mode 26 to 56 percent less often than assumed in EPA calculation. The low average fuel economy told me that the Volt had been driven hard, solely in hybrid mode.
Volt chevy 2020 full#
Even if we generously round up to 40 miles average per EV charge, that would mean only 2,000 of the Volt’s 138,000 miles had been done on full electric power. Two different developer tools, an OBDII dongle, and an old Google Pixel Phone informed me that my Volt had only done a mere 50 charge cycles in its 138,000-mile lifetime. It had driven at least 1,200 miles on gas power since its last charge. When I finally got my broken Volt to power on, its lifetime fuel economy rating showed a dismal 25.6 MPG. The Volt was perfectly usable like any other regular car when not plugged in. The Volt was so easy to use in hybrid mode that for many there was no real incentive to plug the thing in. But, I suspect that the Volt’s biggest strength was also a curse. The vehicle will be limited to however fast its onboard scooter-derived two-cylinder engine can sustain the vehicle’s (now limited) rate of electric draw.Ĭhevy really had something here. A similar vintage BMW i3 REx is positively hateful to drive when its gas engine is running. It flew in the face of comparable PHEVs of the time. Switching from one mode to another was seamless, automatic, and unnoticeable. The result was a powertrain that had nearly identical performance numbers whether it was in EV or hybrid mode. Therefore, the ICE could generate electricity, or directly drive the wheels if needed. The MGA is connected to the internal combustion engine via a clutch, and the computer can easily alter the power input split between MGB and MGA, or MGA when completely clutched to the ICE.
Volt chevy 2020 generator#
The Volt's primary large electric motor (MGB) can be assisted by the electric motor generator (MGA). Surely the trend of plug-ins not being plugged in wouldn’t stick.īut, outside of the electric range, the Volt’s real trump card was how easy it was to drive. I shrugged it off, figuring it was just one dumb guy. I was dumbfounded that someone had paid $40,000 in 2011-era dollars for such a high-tech piece of transportation and still couldn’t be bothered to use it correctly. It’s not worth it, I don’t think.” So, aside from his initial charge from the vehicle’s first purchase, he drove the Volt like a regular hybrid car, and its theoretical near-infinite 230 MPG ( that got GM terrible press) was never realized.

Excitedly, I asked him, “Oh, do you charge your volt? How far can you go on a charge?” I remember a customer that came in for a mild mechanical issue with his Chevy Volt, and I was assigned to truck him back to work, in the company courtesy shuttle. It was a plug-in hybrid marketed as compromise-free EV, in an era where the Model S was pie-in-the-sky vaporware, and the Nissan Leaf was a city-only affair.īut, as much as GM seemed to hit all the right notes, it didn’t feel like its clientele understood what the hell was going on. It had a nifty little new car on the market, the Chevrolet Volt, that promised to out Prius the Prius. The Camaro was out, and the Ferrari-chasing C7 was just over the horizon-it seemed like GM was finally firing on all cylinders here. The crappy Cobalts and Cavaliers of yore gave way to the mighty fine and very competent Cruze and Sonic. This was post-bailout, “new GM,” which was in full swing circa 2011. I was 18, fresh out of high school working at one of the most exciting jobs a teenager could get-a lot porter at a Chevrolet dealership.
