Just like its Cruze platform mate, the first-generation Chevy Volt is nearing the end of its model cycle. And given that the all-new D2XX-based Volt is one to two model years away from reaching the market, General Motors is giving the 2015 Volt a handful of slight changes to keep it relatively fresh (not that it’s in any way outdated).
2015 Chevrolet Volt in Iridescent Pearl Tricoat
The 2015 Volt adds OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, a new package that bundles navigation with Bose Premium Audio, and replaces the White Diamond Tricoat color with the extra-cost Iridescent Pearl Tricoat OnStar 4G LTE.
Here are all of the RPO-level changes.
Deletions
- Exterior color (GBN) White Diamond Tricoat
New Features
- Exterior color (G1W) Iridescent Pearl Tricoat (extra cost)
- (VV4) OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi Hotspot
- (PCY) Navigation and Bose Premium Audio package
Comments
Too bad one of those changes isn’t a better looking car.
WHAT!??! A red 1st generation Chevy Volt is 1 of the sexiest vehicles out there! If only it had more horsepower.
Also, the red interior trim available on a red Volt. That was never as option. Only red interior on the door panels, seats, dashboard shoulder pads on non-red painted Volt.
BTW, article does not mention the 17.1KWh battery pack instead of 16.5KWh.
I think there’s nothing wrong with the car’s looks. Maybe new wheels and more colors, but no problem with that either.
The Volt is a great car. My 2012 Volt has gone way past my expectations in quality and performance and works so well for me, that on May 16 I ordered a 2015 to have the exact Volt I wanted back in 2012. Although in 2012 I didn’t know an awful lot about the Volt then, I did the math based on what GM was showing back then and I determined a Volt would allow me to commute between two ranches my wife and I own here in Texas (45 miles apart) and I’d be able to ween myself off of Jihad Juice for the most part (Jihad Juice is a term I coined when we invaded Iraq… As an 18 year old kid in 1970 I joined the Army to serve in Vietnam and now that I am in my 60s, I am very repulsed that our military has to act as “cops of the world” to ensure crude oil flows out of the middle east through the Gulf of Hormuz as oil tankers sail to our oil refineries here in the USA… The burden to our young servicemen and women is too great and many fine people have died in the process for the sake of “crude” not to mention the staggering toll to U.S. taxpayers to fund our military co oil can come here.)
GM lied to us! They suggested a Volt could get me 35 miles down the road to my other ranch (those sneaky devils at GM) and after my first year of driving back and forth to the other ranch, I discovered I could easily make the entire trip (on most commutes) entirely on a single charge from “ranch A” to “ranch B” where I installed a second 240 volt charging system that allowed me to drive back to “ranch A” again on a single charge of after 3 hours or so.
My Volt is now approaching 26,000 miles and has needed less than 40 gallons of gas as I submit this comment 25 months after driving my Volt off the dealership’s lot when I bought it. And prior to buying my original Volt, I had test driven one that they had on their lot about a month earlier and was totally impressed from that experience that I decided I’d buy the next Volt that came into the dealership. It was black and had all the whistles and bells with the exception of an onboard GPS which I didn’t need. My 2015 Volt should be here in a month or so.
In my “book” GM gets a failing grade for not being a very good story teller about this remarkable car. I still get comments like “Nice looking car! What is it”” and when I answer “A Volt” about 99% of the time people then say “What’s a Volt?” Several months ago, I was filling up my gas-thirsty pickup near a hospital and another driver dressed in surgical garb was fueling a Prius. I commented on his car and advised I had rented one in 2007 on a trip in San Francisco where we spent a week touring the wine country. I told the doctor I was impressed with the Prius and how little it cost to operate, but I decided to buy a Volt instead. The doctor looked at me and said “I thought they stopped making the Volt?” This was an educated man, whom I’m sure stays on top of things and he was under the impression GM quit building Volts.
Three weeks ago, I dropped my Volt off at the Chevrolet dealership to have an oil change and a tire rotation. The dealership has a retired guy who will drive customers home when their car needs service. As this driver is taking me home, I stated I left my Volt there for service and I tell him how surprised I am about the quality of my Volt and how little it costs to drive one on electricity. He then says “I thought they quit making the Volt?”
GM to me stands for “Gawdawful Marketing!” Nobody ever sees a TV commercial about this astounding car and have you ever seen an advertisement in a magazine?
Unethical “journalists” at various “news” organizations have slammed this car so hard when it was released, that people still believe they “catch on fire” and are (in the words of Neil Cavuto) a “piece of $hit” (You can find his rant on YouTube using the real word.) And as a Republican myself, and as a war veteran and an Emmy Nominated broadcaster myself (now retired) I strongly resent bias like this, be it by Cavuto and especially on the left by Rachel Maddow (although I have not heard her say anything about the Volt…) The bias, lies and slanted “yellow journalism” I’ve seen (as someone who has a degree in this business) is beyond my belief and have done great damage to this car.
From my perspective as a Texas land owner having two ranches that no longer have oil underneath them (my grand parents 6 square mile ranch near Fort Stockton is depleted of oil also) I believe buying a Volt is probably the most patriotic thing I have done, since I was 18 years old and joined the Army and swore in, going off to Vietnam (one of our greatest blunders) and I proudly have a bumper sticker on my 2012 Volt (which will go on my 2015 Volt) reading “Hey OPEC. Kiss My Gas Cap! I drive a Chevrolet Volt.”
We are in the process of buying a Volt and so I was happy to see that 1) you’ve had such a good experience, and 2) you’re buying a 2015. We’re deciding between the 2014 and 2015. The dealership has slightly better deals on the 2014 and it doesn’t seem that the 2015 is much improved. I would love to know why you decided to go with the 2015.
Amen, Luke Warm. I thank you for your service and agree totally about what our military has become. I believe the oil companies own a chunk of GM stock and are telling them to “slow down” with these electric cars. They suck their profits out of our pockets while taking tax money on top of that. They don’t like it that we don’t need them for much anymore.
In terms of improvements, i’d love to see the following
1) Plugs out inverter rated for 3 KW.
2) Second charging port, preferably on the right rear quarter panel or near the tail.
3) Modular plug to increase the battery.
4) LED screen to display lifetime MPG on rear window panel.
Great comment Luke Warm! Well done.
My wife and I love our Volt out here in California, and totally agree that this is a great car. Why GM doesn’t market this car is beyond me. Must be that they and their friends the oil companies aren’t quite ready yet to tell everyone to start driving electric. Going to gas stations now seems “dirty” to us, but we still enjoy the ability to use gasoline occasionally for long trips.
Pat B, I love your idea of a LED screen on the rear window showing lifetime MPG! How fun that would be. We’re at about 102 mpg lifetime right now, which I know isn’t nearly the best among Volt owners. But still to think that “average” Volt drivers are getting 100 mpg would be powerful marketing on its own.
Tony… I bought an LED screen to place in the back lower window of my 2012 Volt to provide a read-out of my mileage, but the display was too dim to penetrate the dark tint of the lower glass (GM calls it a “liftgate glass”) and I’m probably going to buy one from a source I found and modify it so that a clear portion can be inserted where my programable LED sign can be placed inside the liftgate glass and when my 2015 Volt gets here, I’ll have a “driving billboard” to enlighten traffic behind what a Volt can do. My MPG seen on Voltstats under the name “Dusty” shows around 665 MPG and 85 MPGe… I’ll make a video and post it on Facebook when I do the mod. I’ll probably also re-install a rear viewing camera in the back glass to see if I get any gawkers with jaws dropping.
The 2015 Volt will be on Voltstats as “Dusty Too.” Working on my wife to trade her 2013 Malibu ECO in on a 2016 Volt when they come out, which would be named “Dusty Tres.”
These Volts are entirely too much fun for a guy with too much free time on his hands… stay tuned.
665 MPG? You must’ve meant 665 miles extended range on a single tank.
Good comment, Lukewarm. I’m surprised you are Republican and still show common sense. 🙂 Although many of my friends are Republican, for some reason most Republicans are very anti-conservation and very anti-Volt anti-Prius (I think to a large part because Rush hates electric cars in any incarnation).
I like the sense that buying gas is a good thing to avoid if possible….I have felt that way for quite a while.
This weekend I am going to purchase a Volt, which is a car I’ve lusted after for a while now. I was driving a Prius, which I’ve sold to my brother. Man, I can’t wait. I’m quite excited. I still have a Dodge truck which, although very useful and fun to drive, is one thirsty sumbitch. It mostly sits in my driveway until I need it.
@Tom
I guess technically (politically that is) I’m an old school Republican. Nixon signed into law the EPA and OSHA, Teddy Roosevelt started the preservation of wilderness areas (Glenn Beck hates Teddy Roosevelt) and in this political climate today, I doubt any extremist on the deep right would do something positive for the environment, so I probably should describe myself as a “hybrid” 🙂
we always respected the real conservatives–when the revolution was necessary we always needed sensible people to remember where we parked the car, oh and thanks for your service..really!
My 2014 Volt is the best car I have ever owned and I have owned many vehicles in the last 40 years of driving. We do not baby this vehicle and are still averaging 156 mpg. with our 50 mile daily commute. We are typically averaging 40-45 miles all-electric range per charge which uses 11 kWhr of energy from the 16.5 kWhr battery (this is only 67% D.O.D. which will allow the battery to last many years). I am looking forward to the 2016 Volt because the only improvements I would like to see are some additional miles of battery range and a more efficient internal combustion engine. The upcoming 20 kWhr battery should give a useful all-electric range of well over 50 miles, while getting a more Prius-like 45 mpg. once shifting over to the new three cylinder “range extender.” I also own a generation III Prius, and the Volt is clearly the superior vehicle with better handling, acceleration, ride, and economy of ownership.
The Volt is overall a great car but a couple of “options” need a major tweak. Firstly the Nav system. I can purchase a stand alone in the $100-200 range easily. Why in hell do I have to purchase the $1000 radio upgrade to get navigation. Since I can get turn by turn from OnStar there’s obviously built in GPS, there is a touch screen already, all that is required is the software. This is a BS marketing ploy! Secondly, the rear camera is almost always not useful as it is dirty or covered by snow. A cover that pops open when needed and closes to protect the camera at other times is required. Updates for improved driving should also be available as they are with Tesla.