There’s been a lot of talk regarding the 2011 Chevy Volt. Car Coach Lauren Fix took a test drive in the car and has a full report on the features.
The 2011 Chevy Volt is a first plug-in, hybrid gas/electric vehicle. According to GM, the Volt can travel 25 to 50 miles on its lithium-ion battery. It has a small nine gallon gas tank that needs to be fueled every once and a while. A test run showed about 34-37 miles per gallon. After the volt battery has dropped battery life, a small 1.4-liter 4-cylinder engine with approximately 80 horsepower, burns premium gasoline.
The suggest retail price is $40,280 before the $7,500 federal tax credit and additional incentives.
Other options for the car include the luxury package that consists of leather seats, a backup camera, navigation system, premium paint and park assist, standard keyless entry, OnStar turn-by-turn navigation, and 17-inch alloys with black inserts.
You could travel up to 50 miles per day without using a drop of gasoline. However, my test drive didn’t allow me to go future than 25 miles before the gasoline engine kicked in.
There were plenty of likes and dislikes such as the seating for only four people, the standard household outlet that took 10-12 hours to recharge and the tiny trunk of 10.6 cubic feet. The $41,000 price tag is also steep for a small non-luxury sedan that is a hybrid.
There a lot of cool things about the Chevy Volt. The design is fantastic, but it needs to not be a plug in hybrid but rather a regular hybrid.
During my week test drive, the Volt impacted my electric bill by a $100. That gave me an average fuel economy of 34 miles to the gallon plus the cost of electricity. Make sure to do all your homework before considering a plug in hybrid.
Based on where you live in the country, a hybrid may make more sense than if you’re in the cold climates because it will affect battery life.
The Chevy Volt competes with the Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius, Ford Fusion Hybrid and many other midsize hybrid cars.
Remember, when shopping for a new car, test drive as many vehicles in the class you are looking at in order to make sure you find the car that is best for you.
Courtesy of YNN / Time Warner Cable
Aired: 7/28/2011
His Turn - Her Turn™
What the Heck is Paul Eating on the Road?
Follow “What the Heck is Paul Eating Now” for mini episodes of whatever hilarious, dubious, delicious or disgusting road food Paul consumes during their test drive.