2012 Chevrolet Volt Overview Change Vehicle

2012 Chevrolet Volt overview with specifications, fuel economy data, safety information, reliability ratings, a photo gallery, and The Vehix View.

Chevrolet calls the Volt an “extended-range electric vehicle” rather than a hybrid car. A hybrid car uses an electric motor and battery pack to assist a gasoline engine. In the Volt, a gasoline engine assists an electric motor and battery pack, and directly powers the front wheels only under extreme circumstances, such as when driving in the mountains.

For 2012, the Chevy Volt’s base price drops to $39,995 because navigation is now optional. Replacing it on the standard features list is a passive keyless entry system. Other changes for 2012 include improved backlighting and gauge displays for better visibility, and the traction control system can now be defeated. New colors include White Diamond Tri-coat and Blue Topaz, and the interior can be equipped with Green/Jet Black or Spice Red/Jet Black two-tone perforated leather.

Chevrolet sells the Volt in a single level of specification, with only a few options. Standard feature highlights include the expected power windows, power mirrors, power door locks, cruise control, tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, and cloth seats. Additionally, every Volt is equipped with Bluetooth, automatic climate control, a hard-drive navigation system with storage for music files, and a premium Bose audio system with satellite radio, pause-and-play radio functionality, real-time traffic and weather reports, an auxiliary audio input jack, and a USB port. A five-year subscription to OnStar Directions and Connections service is also included, along with automatic headlights, LED running lights, LED taillights, and LED ambient cabin lighting.

That’s not all. The Volt is also equipped with futuristic touch-panel controls, configurable displays, and a MyLink mobile application allows smartphone users to program or adjust charging schedules, and remote “start” the vehicle to run the heater or air conditioner prior to driving. Other Volt features include keyless entry and push-button starting, a HomeLink universal remote, heated side mirrors with turn signal indicators, and lightweight 17-inch forged aluminum wheels.

Understandably, the Volt’s option menu is short. The Premium Trim Package adds perforated leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, premium door panel trim, and polished aluminum wheels to add a touch of luxury to the car. Buyers can also specify a Rear Camera and Park Assist Package, which adds front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

The Chevy Volt is equipped with a rechargeable 435-pound lithium-ion battery pack that powers a 111-kilowatt electric motor that makes the equivalent of 150 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to that healthy torque number, and the fact that it’s available the moment you step on the accelerator, the Volt can accelerate to 60 mph in less than nine seconds, according to Chevrolet. Using a standard 120-volt household power outlet, the Volt’s battery completely recharges within 10 hours. If you get the optional 240-watt charger installed, it can recharge in four hours.

An 80-horsepower, 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine is also on board. Unlike in a regular car, however, the Volt’s gas-burning engine rarely provides power directly to the drive wheels. Instead, power generated by the gas engine is inverted and delivered to the Volt’s electric drive system to maintain the battery in a minimum state of charge, and the electricity generated by this process is then directed to the front wheels.

The reason the Volt has a gas engine is to eliminate a phenomenon known as “range anxiety,” which is commonly felt by electric car drivers. It’s similar to the feeling you get when your low fuel light comes on and you’re out in the middle of nowhere without a gas station in sight. In pure electric cars, when the battery dies, you’re not going anywhere until you find a plug and wait for charging to complete. With the Volt, you don’t need to worry about this problem because when the battery dies the gas engine serves as a generator for the electric drive system. This simple difference between the Volt and other electric cars makes the Chevy a car that can serve as your only mode of transportation. You can get in the Volt right now and drive across the country, no problem. Try doing that in a pure electric.

The gas engine requires premium fuel, and when the Volt is using it for propulsion the car is rated to get 35 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. Chevrolet warrantees the gas engine for five years or 100,000 miles, the battery pack for eight years or 100,000 miles, and offers a five-year/100,000-mile roadside assistance program with courtesy transportation tossed in for free.

The Volt is equipped with eight airbags, including knee airbags for the driver and front seat passenger. Additionally, the car comes with regenerative four-wheel vented-disc antilock brakes with brake assist, traction and stability control, and five free years of OnStar telematics service, which includes Automatic Crash Notification. Automatic Crash Notification activates when the Volt’s airbags deploy, putting a live OnStar operator in touch with the car to see if everyone is OK. Even if nobody inside the Volt can respond, the OnStar operator can send rescuers to the Volt’s exact location to speed medical assistance.

Chances are excellent that you’ll survive a crash if you’re in a Volt. In the new, more difficult crash tests performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Volt earns a 5-Star overall rating, thanks to a 4-Star frontal-impact and 5-Star side-impact performance. The Volt also gets a 5-Star rollover resistance rating, helped, no doubt, by the heavy T-shaped battery pack residing underneath the middle of the car.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is also impressed with the Volt’s crashworthiness. In 2011, the Volt received a Top Safety Pick award for its top-rated performance in frontal-, side-, and rear-impact crash tests, combined with a strong roof crush strength result. Given that the 2012 Volt is structurally identical to last year’s model, it is likely that the rating will be carried forward to the 2012 model.

When you buy a Chevrolet Volt, you can get an income tax credit as high as $7,500. A $1,000 income tax credit, valid through the end of 2011, is also available for installing a 240-volt charger, which Chevy says provides a full battery charge in four hours.

Chevrolet says the Volt’s total range is 379 miles on a single charge and a full tank of fuel. Regular recharging, of course, extends that range and, theoretically, a Volt owner could operate solely on electric power.

The Volt’s top speed is 100 mph. Of course, driving that fast has a significant negative effect on available battery range. At lower speeds and at intersections, the Volt features a driver-activated horn chirp to alert pedestrians that the car is nearby and approaching.

Chevy allows Volt owners to schedule delayed battery charges to take advantage of lower electricity rates, and can use an OnStar MyLink smartphone application or MyVolt.com to monitor and manage a Volt from a remote location.

Random specifications of note include the Volt’s 9.3-gallon fuel tank, 3,781-pound curb weight, 0.28 coefficient of drag, and 10.6 cubic-feet of trunk space. That last figure is for the amount of room behind the rear seats. The seats fold to create a much larger cargo area with a flat load floor, but Chevrolet does not offer a volume measurement with the Volt so configured.

The Volt is built in Hamtramck, Michigan.

The Chevy Volt is surprisingly fun to drive. Because the Volt’s torque is available instantly, the car feels quick right off line, even if this 3,781-lb. Chevy isn’t fast. The electric steering is well tuned and exhibits none of the numb, lifeless, artificial response that has plagued such systems in the past. The suspension provides good feel for the road combined with favorably compliant ride quality, successfully masking the extra weight of the battery pack unless you toss the car around on a curvy road.

If there’s a flaw in the Volt’s dynamic recipe, it’s with the regenerative brakes, a system with a split personality. Sometimes, it is very easy to bring the Volt to a smooth, controlled stop. Other times the brake pedal feels utterly numb and the brakes unresponsive, like when trying to stop a car that has stalled and is no longer supplying power to the brakes. Our test Volt displayed an unsettling inconsistency in this regard.

When the battery pack is depleted of power, the gas engine kicks in and it does so seamlessly. You can’t even tell except that the dashboard displays switch over to gas-engine mode, and you can sometimes hear the engine revving from behind the firewall. When coasting, decelerating, and braking, the Volt captures the energy from these activities and converts it into additional battery charge.

Drivers will appreciate the Volt’s excellent driving position, its firm and supportive driver’s seat, and its small-diameter thick-rimmed steering wheel with thumb rests. With the optional perforated leather upholstery, this Chevy smells like a Cadillac inside.

The rear seat is tight on legroom, and people need to watch their heads getting into and out of the car. Once adults are settled in, however, the softly padded front seatbacks, supportive individual bucket seats, and decent foot space provide more comfort than expected. We also found that installing forward- or reverse-facing child seats is not a problem, however, to accommodate the latter the front seats need to be moved up a bit.

A small stroller will fit into the Volt’s rather cramped trunk, but it’s easy to slide long items into the car thanks to the full-length center console over the T-shaped battery pack. Fold the Volt’s rear seats, and the resulting load floor is flat except for the center console residing between them.

The Volt comes standard with a touch-sensitive control panel, where everything looks the same and it’s hard to find what you want to use. We’re not fans. The gray metallic trim on it also looks cheap.

Charging the Volt is more difficult than it needs to be. The charge port is on the left side of the car, which dictates parking to some degree. The charging cord resides under the trunk floor, which is inconvenient if you have stuff in the trunk and want to access it. The cord is also attached to a plastic holder that’s designed to be mounted to a wall next to an outlet, but it’s heavy and bulky and requires the use of an outlet near the ground if you’re not mounting it to the wall. Plus, we never did figure out how to wrap the Volt’s power cord up and get it stowed so that the cargo floor would be flat.

The Chevy Volt is an electric car you can live with. Thanks to its range-extending gasoline engine, which serves as a generator for the electric drive system, you can drive a Volt as far as you want, whenever you want. That means the Volt can serve as your only car, rather than as a second car for local-use only. This flexibility, coupled with an interior that’s comfortable for four, a handy hatchback design, excellent crash-test scores, and a combined 37 mpg fuel economy rating when operating on the gas engine, makes the Volt especially compelling. Of course, all of this technology isn’t free, and even with the hefty income tax credit the price might be the single deterrent to owning this otherwise impressive automobile.

By Christian Wardlaw