Previously, the Volt automatically allocated its electric power depending on driving mode and style. The 2013 Volt gets some improvements and additional features. However, its sticker price makes it a pricey investment up front, even after federal and state tax credits. The Volt's four-seat, hatchback design makes it a very good all-purpose vehicle, and its electrified powertrain makes for very low operating costs. So unlike fully electric cars, it won't leave you on the side of the road wishing for an extension cord. The Volt can run on pure electricity, but it carries its own gas-powered generator, so when it runs out of juice, it can keep going. The car qualifies for a $7,500 Federal income-tax credit, a California electric-car purchase rebate of $1,500, and a variety of other state, regional, local, and corporate incentives.įollow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.Plug-in hybrids such as the Chevrolet Volt offer the efficiency of an electric car and the certainty of a gasoline engine. They were the Premium Trim Package, at $1,395, which not only covers the seats and steering wheel in leather but adds heated front seats and a rear-seat armrest a navigation and MyLink radio, at $895 a Bose premium speaker system at $495 and the striking Crystal Red Tincoat paint, at $495.Ĭhevy has also sporadically offered generous dealer incentives to help Volt sales, so if you're interested in a Volt, do your research to see what lease or purchase deals are out there. Our 2013 Volt test car had four options, which brought the base price of $39,995 up to a bottom-line sticker price of $43,275. We can't yet compare our real-world 2013 Volt efficiency to the plug-in Prius just launched this year by Toyota that's this weekend's test, though our routes won't compare identically.īut based on having driven both cars several times, we can confidently say the Volt was nicer inside and more fun to drive than the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid.Īnd many, many Volt owners who confine their use to shorter trips report lifetime gas mileage of "250+ mpg," which is the most that will show on the Volt's in-dash display. That gas would have cost us roughly $20, whereas our multiple recharging sessions cost less than $3. It is, frankly, the amount of gasoline (5.3 gallons) we used to cover 360 miles. While some readers feel we shouldn't derive overall gas mileage from blending the two modes, we think it's fair. The overall gas mileage for our 360 miles, combined between electric and gasoline modes, was 67.2 mpg.įor the record, that's better than a conventional Toyota Prius hybrid will deliver it's rated at 50 mpg. In weather from about 50 degrees F at night to a mild 65 degrees in the day, a full battery gave us from 33 to 39 miles-especially when we were able to recharge at the top of the hill. The maximum electric range projected in the Volt's dash display with a completely full battery rose from 36 to 41 miles after a long downhill stretch (the projection is based on recent driving).Īnd after covering 25 miles, we had used 19 miles of that "range," leaving us with 22 miles remaining (which is when we plugged into the Level 2 charging station during lunch). We recharged overnight at home on 110-Volt power, all but refilled the pack at a theoretically-closed but perfectly functional Chargepoint Level 2 charging station nearby, and then twice more at home. Heading out of New York City, we were able to travel 33.1 miles electrically before the engine switched on, almost imperceptibly. The bottom line is that temperature and driving style mattered vastly more than the slightly bigger battery, which raised this year's Volt range to 38 miles from the 35-mile rating of the 20 models. The EPA says the 2013 Volt's electric range is 38 miles, and it rates the gas mileage at 37 mpg in gasoline mode-which adds 342 more miles per tank. That's not an ideal duty cycle for a Volt, which can run electrically for weeks on end if you keep your trips between recharges to 30 miles or less.īut it's probably reflective of why many owners buy a Volt it's the electric car that you can jump into and drive a few hundred miles.Īfter the 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack is depleted, the Volt's range-extending 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine switches on to generate electricity that keeps the car running indefinitely.
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