A few months after General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced the launch in 2016 of their Chevrolet Volt, some people got the opportunity to do the first test drive.

Vincent Nguyen, from Slash Gear, said after testing the car that the Volt’s ability to boost its fuel-efficiency, using the two-engine technology, it’s what makes the car so appealing. He adds that Chevy improved the 2016 Volt in every dimension, making it better than its predecessor.

The modern design of the car may trick you: it looks like a sport car but it happens to be a 4-door sedan with preference for space, not for speed. Darin Gesse, Volt Product Manager, said that the sporty look comes from some things they took from the new Corvette.

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2016 Chevrolet Volt (second generation) unveiled at the January 2015 North American International Auto Show. Wikipedia

According to Nguyen, Chevrolet says that with “with the rear seats folded down into their near-flat position, rear cargo space will fit an entire bicycle with the front wheel removed”.

Nguyen pointed out that the inner space is comfortable whether you are travelling with kids using baby car seats, or three people in the back seats. In the front, there are two eight-inch displays, fully functional and with an “iOS-style touch”. The displays give you the chance of choosing whether to use CarPlay from Apple, or Android Auto from Google.

The mixed engine, using electricity and gas, lets you choose which one you’ll use while driving, and also works perfectly fine when used together. If you run out of power, the gas engine starts to work. Nguyen highlighted the fact that the engine is very quiet.

According to Andrew Farah, Volt chief engineer, “what it comes down to, with the new higher-compression, direct-injection, large-displacement engine, is that we can get the same amount of power at any point we want with lower rpm. And lower rpm translates into lower noise.”

The battery lets you drive up to 53 miles, but you can go higher if you go easy with the accelerator and brakes, according to Nguyen.
Chevrolet also introduced a “low mode” on the Volt that uses the engine to stop after you lift the gas pedal, very useful when you have to stop very often. There is also a “drive mode”, to use it when driving on open roads to get more speed.

Vincent Nguyen concludes that the Volt “delivers the best of most worlds with little to no compromise demanded”. The car allows you to use it as a pure electric car, but if you need more power and speed you can just turn up the gas engine to go on a road trip.

“It’s rare to encounter so few compromises in a ‘green’ car. The 2016 Volt gives you the surge of torque EV owners love, the eco-credentials of a capable electric drivetrain, and at the same time the reassurance that – while you may seldom really need it – there’s a tank of gas waiting to bail you out when the batteries are flat”. Nguyen added.

Experts say that the Chevrolet Volt has enough capacity to compete with other electric cars like the Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf, being a complete EV model to be soon released this year.

Source: Slash Gear