#Chevy volt range 2012 generator#
#Chevy volt range 2012 plus#

However, the engine can turn on at any point during this process, which means you need to power it up in a ventilated space.

If you want to precondition the cabin of your Volt in cold weather, it is recommended that you do so while still charging so you can pull the energy you need off the grid. That also becomes an issue if you want to use the remote start function. Finally, the Volt comes with a 20-foot charger cord, which is slightly short if you haven’t designed your home around EV charging.

#Chevy volt range 2012 plus#

This plus the super-low ground clearance–the same as a ZR1 Corvette!–and that low air splitter with rubber flap at the front equal a car for paved roads, plain and simple. We noticed a number of occasions when moderately hard braking on gravel surfaces, or even gentle braking while heading into a pothole, resulted in a loss of traction and a slight skid. Second, the Volt is designed with special, lightweight, low-rolling resistance wheels and tires that help boost the efficiency of the car, but these same tires have a hard time gripping dirt roads. First, the power is throttled by a computer to give you maximum efficiency, so while you have plenty of power to get on the highway, if you really floor it, there is simply no additional power there (but as mentioned before, your estimated EV range will drop by several miles since you angered your vehicle). You occasionally hear the engine turn on and wonder if you’re driving a traditional car, but there is no laggy hybrid switch from EV mode to engine mode since the electric motor is always driving the wheels. The Volt is quiet, has plenty of power to get you up to speed on the highway, and generally behaves like a hybrid, except for the fact that it has smooth electric power all the time powering the wheels. The Volt is well-built, a nice carryover from other new Chevy models, and it feels well worth the asking price of nearly $40,000 (though $7,500 federal tax credits may still be available in your area to bring that number down). We got used to the range quirks and found that after a week of driving, we had only used 4 gallons of gas–including during our 24-hour experiment of not charging the car at all.

#Chevy volt range 2012 generator#

The thing about the Volt is that it will never leave you stranded, as its gas generator can give you an extra 300 miles of range, so even if you live too far from Trader Joe’s to make the trip without engaging the engine, you’re still doing it with 90% less gas than in your traditional engined car. We averaged 37 miles estimated total range (the estimate sinks by up to 3 miles if you suddenly hit the gas), and were a little annoyed at first when we discovered that the Volt couldn’t make it round-trip from our country test site to town and back without engaging the generator – until we realized we were traveling 30-40 miles at a time without using any gas. What we noticed first when driving the Chevy Volt is that the range of the battery pack varies from charge to charge.