2016 Chevy Volt's 53-Mile Range Means It Will Be A Pure Electric Car For Many
forbes.com
General Motors next-generation Chevy Volt will be a pure electric vehicle for many drivers, as the EPA-estimated battery-only range jumps to 53 miles, the car maker said Tuesday.
That’s a hefty 40-percent improvement (just shy of 40 percent, to be exact) over the first-generation Volt, which has an estimated 38 mile range. “ Chevrolet expects many next-generation Volt owners will use power solely from their batteries for more than 90 percent of trips,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. That compares to 80 percent in the current version of the Volt, GM said.
That’s not an idle boast. I drive the first-generation Volt in Los Angeles and 80 percent is actually low for me: it’s closer to 90 percent. So the additional EPA-estimated 15 mile range would be just tacking on a bigger buffer in my case and getting it closer to 100 percent.
“This means the average Volt owner could expect to travel well over 1,000 miles between gas fill ups, if they charge regularly,” GM also said. Again, already true in my case.
Remember, the beauty of a plug-in hybrid is the elimination of range anxiety. When the Volt’s battery runs out, a gas-powered generator kicks in. For the 2016 Volt, the driving range is now 420 miles on a full tank. That’s 40 miles better than the 2015 Volt’s 380-mile range. And the 2016 Volt’s new 1.5L range-extender is designed to use regular unleaded fuel (the 2015 Volt and all first-generation Volts require premium) and offers a combined EPA-estimated fuel efficiency of 42 MPG.
The redesigned 2016 Volt boasts a new 18.4-kWh lithium-ion battery, rated at a combined 106 MPGe, or gasoline equivalent. The 2016 Volt is priced around $34,000 (before tax credits and incentives), putting it close to the average price of a new vehicle, according to Kelley Blue Book. |
