The 2016 Chevrolet Volt is good, and that was apparent from our first drive impressions. It’s lighter, more fuel efficient and can travel greater distances on a single charge while eliminating range anxiety.
To the pedestrian-trained eye, things are much the same. But, it takes a 2016 Volt engineer to really explain how the car has transformed into a world-beating PHEV.
Charged picked the brains of a few engineers responsible for the 2016 Volt’s transformation, and there’s a lot of technicals to swallow, but we’ll try and break it down.
The T-shaped battery pack looks nearly identical to the outgoing generation’s battery pack but, inside, it’s all new. It’s 20-pounds lighter, and its slimmer dimensions create extra interior space. This optimizes performance to squeeze every bit of energy out of the cells which, by the way, have only reported two problems per one-million applications.
Two motors allow for smoother and quieter transitions between petrol and electric power, but efficiency also increases. The 2016 Volt’s entire powertrain system is 20-percent smaller and 40-percent lighter, a win-win. And, premium fuel is no longer required, as the 2016 Volt adopts a more layman’s diet.
But, the 2016 Volt’s new engine is actually larger than the outgoing one. Clever packaging actually reduces weight, however, and great care has gone into reducing the amount of connectors, which save on volume, weight and costs, especially in the power electronics.
Be sure to read the entire lengthy dissection of the 2016 Volt at the link here.
Comments
Grreat job, GM!
Well this is all well and good until your new 2016 Volt breaks down on the dealer lot and sits there for 10 days while they figure out how to fix it. Thanks GM.
Because it hasn’t happened before and you’re talking nonsense?
AND YOU ARE A BULLSHIT! THANKS GM!!!!!!!!!
It astounds me how fast and furious the naysayers rush in to critize and put down any and everything that has gotten ahead of them… and that’s most everything. Never mind they don’t know the first thing about their target. They lurk under every rock and spew their idiotically conceived ramblings. I get tired of them and wish they would just shut the hell up and let progress pass them on by as they sit and bark like an old dog on a porch.
The Volt is miles ahead of anything I’ve ever owned and I WILL own this car before I’m gone. I’m in my late 70’s and I want a car I can drive as far as I wish without permission from the Arabs.