Pros
- Fuel economy
- Throttle response
- Control layout
- Noise
Vehicle Highlights
The 2012 Chevrolet Volt gets expanded feature and retail availability following its introduction for the 2011 model year. GM calls this 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback an "extended-range electric vehicle," because it has, in effect, two different drivetrains: an all-electric one (battery and motors) that drive the car for the first 40 or so miles after a full plug-in recharge, and a gas-powered hybrid system (with gas engine and fuel tank) that automatically takes over after that to give about another 300 miles of range. At that point, the fuel tank can be filled just as in a normal car to give another 300 miles of range. If the car can be plugged into a wall outlet, the battery can be fully recharged in about 10 hours on normal 120-volt household current, or four hours with a special 240-volt charging station. The gas engine is an 84-horsepower 1.4-liter 4-cylinder, but whether the electric motors are running by themselves or in combination with the gas engine, the combined total is 149 horsepower. Safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, front-side airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags. Among the available features are a remote-charging and vehicle-control program that owners can download and run from various data-plan-enabled cell phones. Among other things, it allows the owner to pre-heat or pre-cool the vehicle before getting in. Previously standard, a navigation system and hard drive for storing digital-music files are optional. Leather upholstery, heated front seats, front- and rear-obstacle detection, and a rearview camera are optional. The 2012 Volt is slated to be available for purchase in all 50 states by November 2011. This report is based on evaluations of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com
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