With the second generation of the popular hybrid electric model, the golden bowtie manufacturer is trying to up the ante on eco-conscious motoring without compromising the buyer with the range anxiety we deal with on full electric vehicles. But does it change the game so much to deserve the “Next Generation of Electric Hybrid Cars” tagline?
No. Simple as that. Despite this video’s title, Chevy insisted to fill up the description with other mumbo-jumbo, including “allows you to travel 1,000 miles (1,600 km) between fill-ups, on average.” Well, well, well, aren’t we a little generous and idealistic? We’re not buying into this blatant pomp and circumstance.
Oh, one last rant. What’s with the pseudo synth pop music used in the clip attached below? If you really wanted to make a memorable ad, why not use Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue from 1982? The background of the song is the 1981 Brixton riot and a poor man, but the “We’re gonna rock down to Electric Avenue and then we’ll take it higher!” chorus in a PHEV ad is proper advertising bread & butter all things considered.
Still, despite the way-too-generous and enthusiastic words used by Chevrolet to describe the 2016 model year Volt, we can’t argue that the second generation is better in every way than its venerable predecessor. The ol’ internal combustion unit has been replaced by a 1.5 range extender that runs on regular unleaded and is able to return an estimated 41 mpg (5.7 liters of gasoline for every 100 kilometers driven).
As for the EV side of the PHEV mix, the 18.4 kWh 192-cell battery is able to offer 50 miles (80 km) of pure electric range. With zero to 30 mph (48 km/h) doable in 2.6 seconds, what more do you want? A proper five-passenger seating layout with heating for the rear seats? That useful feature is available as well.
Now we only have to wait patiently for the 2016 Chevrolet Volt to go on sale in the second half of 2015.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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