Driving the Chevy Volt

I test-drove the Chevy Volt today. I've been following the story of this car and its technology on the gm-volt.com web site for about three years now, and am excited to have the opportunity to finally see it in person.

The Volt is an electric car with a gasoline engine. It's not like the gas/electric hybrids currently available; the gas engine exists to charge the battery, not to drive the car. It's more properly known as an Extended Range Electric Vehicle. The battery will drive the car for about 40 miles before the gas engine kicks on into "charge-sustaining mode." The electric engine is still driving the car; at some higher speeds, the rotations from the gas engine help drive the car a bit, but never on its own. With a full tank of gas, the total range of the car should be about 250 miles.

The car itself was pretty nice looking; it had that new-car appeal. Under the hood there are what look like individual modules; the gas engine is in there, as well as a computer system, and containers for various fluids (brake, coolant, wiper, etc.). The back is a hatch-back, with a small open space behind the back seats; I worry a bit that things might fly forward out of there if you stop suddenly. Lifting up the "floor" of the hatch space, you see access panels for the battery terminals, and space for a charger cord. Not until later did I realize I hadn't seen the spare tire; there may be one under the vehicle.

There are four bucket seats in the car; the two seats in back are separated by what I believe is part of the T-shaped battery. The back seats fold down, to allow more cargo space. Someone remarked "that's plenty of room for camping gear!" but I thought "only if you don't take your kids with you." This is not a cargo car; it'll move groceries around, and take you and a friend to the airport, but maybe not more.

Overall, this is a practical electric car to have. It will take you around town on the electric charge, and take you on a longer trip with the gasoline engine as an extender. If you have a family, your second car should have some hauling space, and probably seat at least five. Houston won't likely have any available until next year or so; I just hope the $7500 tax break is still around when I'm ready to buy my Volt.