First hands-on Volt impressions

[440Magnum]

A co-worker bought one 2 weeks ago, and I now more fully understand why they charge a premium for it. Its a *nice* vehicle, and very, very solid. Its badged a 'Chevrolet,' but its more like 'Cadillac' material. I guess they just are still smarting from the last 2 attempts at a small Cadillac (Cimarron and Catera) or they might have badged it as such. My impression was that it was much tighter, handled better, and was quieter than the other plug-in hybrids. The quiet and tightness kicks the Prius into the dustbin, frankly, and I can't see why anyone would go for a pure-electric with all the "range anxiety" issues that brings.

The engineering plant is interesting to look at. Huge power distribution center above where a normal FWD would have a transaxle, big power cables feeding into the motor/generator/planetary unit. Electric AC compressor tucked down low beside the mini-Ecotec DOHC engine (all-in-all most heavy stuff was way down low). Separate DexCool tanks for the engine and battery cooling systems. It'll be interesting to see how it holds up over the years.

Still too pricey for what it actually is purely as a transportation appliance, but seeing it in person takes off some of the sting. I was expecting Cruze-like look-and-feel, but as I said it was more like a small Cadillac in feel.

 

[CMMeadAM]

"Cadillac Material !" You GOTTA be kidding !The interior is nothing but hard plastics, wide seams, and misalignments galore. The driving position is very narrow and if you're over 6 ft tall your knees hit the hard console. It's high sills ultra thick pillars help to impede visibility.
The back seat is an abomination. You can hold a match in front
of your mouth and blow more warm hear than what comes from the
woefully inadequate heater. And....the PRIUS price. performance and VALUE totally blows the Volt into the garbage dump.

Considering the MANY Volt inadequacies, it probably IS very GM and Cadillac like !

 

[A_Harman]

I have read in the auto industry trade magazines that Cadillac is planning to market their own version of the Volt.

 

[cchase]

From what I've seen (and briefly glanced inside one) the interiors look very nice. I like the concept as a transitional technology. Now all we need is the gas engine only powering the motors, like a train.

 

[jmsjags]

i got a chance to test drive a volt a this past summer and it seemed very well put together and solid. the changeover from electric to gas is seamless. my favorite feature was the heads-up display, wish my cars had that!

i do agree it is still a bit overpriced (as are all electric cars), but it would definitely be on my short list in a couple years if the price drops

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: CMMeadAM
"Cadillac Material !" You GOTTA be kidding !The interior is nothing but hard plastics, wide seams, and misalignments galore. The driving position is very narrow and if you're over 6 ft tall your knees hit the hard console. It's high sills ultra thick pillars help to impede visibility.
The back seat is an abomination. You can hold a match in front
of your mouth and blow more warm hear than what comes from the
woefully inadequate heater. And....the PRIUS price. performance and VALUE totally blows the Volt into the garbage dump.

Considering the MANY Volt inadequacies, it probably IS very GM and Cadillac like !


I think someone just wants an excuse to bash GM.

Just stop. The Volt is very well put together, and the interior is very high quality. It's no BMW 7 series, but then it isn't meant to be. The narrow driving position doesn't bother some people. The driving position in the cruze is similarly narrow, and I personally like the cozy, comfortable feeling it gives.

Also, I'm 5'11", and 220lb and I fit perfectly fine in the driver seat of the volt. I have plenty of room, no knee problems once you adjust the seat properly. Didn't need to use the heater, so I can't comment on it.


The volt is new technology, of course it's expensive. How expensive was the prius when it came out? Quite a bit more expensive than what it currently cost, if memory serves.

 

[jigen]

Originally Posted By: Nick R

Just stop. The Volt is very well put together, and the interior is very high quality. It's no BMW 7 series, but then it isn't meant to be.


Maybe so, but is it Cadillac quality like the OP says? I think that's what CMMeadAM was getting at. It might not be poorly built or constructed, but not up there with a new Cadillac.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: CMMeadAM
"Cadillac Material !" You GOTTA be kidding !The interior is nothing but hard plastics, wide seams, and misalignments galore. The driving position is very narrow and if you're over 6 ft tall your knees hit the hard console. It's high sills ultra thick pillars help to impede visibility.
The back seat is an abomination. You can hold a match in front
of your mouth and blow more warm hear than what comes from the
woefully inadequate heater. And....the PRIUS price. performance and VALUE totally blows the Volt into the garbage dump.

Considering the MANY Volt inadequacies, it probably IS very GM and Cadillac like !


I haven't said "plonk" in years, but the above post certainly deserves it.

I might have exaggerated a little saying that the Volt could be directly marketed in the Caddy lineup, but its certainly far better than the average Chevy, and WAY better than a Prius. Maybe a Buick, but that's hardly a compliment anymore.

But calling a Prius better? C'mon, but that thing's underpinnings are so outdated it might as well be called an electric Tercel.

 

[Cujet]

I enjoyed my test drive in the Volt. My only "beef" is the nice version will run you $50K out the door. That's steep for that class of car. As mentioned above, it's no BMW 7 series.

I'm thrilled with the technology, and the promise it holds. It's really too bad GM could not hold the price down. Even with $7,500 tax rebate, it's still too expensive.

You can't fool me. Mass production is what reduces the price of vehicles. When I can purchase an F150 Lariat with a monster double overhead cam, variable valve timing V8, 6 speed automatic transmission, 4 wheel drive-shift on the fly, with electronic locking hubs, and all the technology and manufacturing required to produce such a complex vehicle,,, for well less than a Volt, something is wrong.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Originally Posted By: CMMeadAM
"Cadillac Material !" You GOTTA be kidding !The interior is nothing but hard plastics, wide seams, and misalignments galore. The driving position is very narrow and if you're over 6 ft tall your knees hit the hard console. It's high sills ultra thick pillars help to impede visibility.
The back seat is an abomination. You can hold a match in front
of your mouth and blow more warm hear than what comes from the
woefully inadequate heater. And....the PRIUS price. performance and VALUE totally blows the Volt into the garbage dump.

Considering the MANY Volt inadequacies, it probably IS very GM and Cadillac like !


If the Volt interior is junk, how do you feel about the interior of your ZR1? You could buy three Volts for the price of that Corvette and every one would have a better interior.

 

[strongt]

Originally Posted By: cchase
From what I've seen (and briefly glanced inside one) the interiors look very nice. I like the concept as a transitional technology. Now all we need is the gas engine only powering the motors, like a train.


The Volt is like a whats used in a train. The Volt is a series hybrid or a parallel hybrid depending on the battery's state of charge or operating conditions. When in gasoline mode the Volt operates similarly to conventional diesel-electric railroad locomotives, which use the combustion engine only to produce electricity to drive the electric traction motors.

Now they just need to have a option for a diesel engine in the Volt.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Originally Posted By: strongt
Originally Posted By: cchase
From what I've seen (and briefly glanced inside one) the interiors look very nice. I like the concept as a transitional technology. Now all we need is the gas engine only powering the motors, like a train.


The Volt is like a whats used in a train. The Volt is a series hybrid or a parallel hybrid depending on the battery's state of charge or operating conditions. When in gasoline mode the Volt operates similarly to conventional diesel-electric railroad locomotives, which use the combustion engine only to produce electricity to drive the electric traction motors.

Now they just need to have a option for a diesel engine in the Volt.


Right you are. The gasoline generator does provide some minimal juice to the batteries to maintain a minimum state of chage to ensure proper battery conditioning, but it does not "charge" the battery when the gasoline engine is running.

+1 to the diesel.

How about this though: HCCI. One of the major setbacks for HCCI has always been transitional throttle events. That is, controlling the combustion event when accelerating or decelerating the engine.

Now, the Volt doesn't hold the engine speed at a single RPM; it will go up and down as vehicle speed increases and decreases. However, the RPM spread is much less than that of a conventional car. When a conventional car may run from idle to 6,500 RPM, the Volt may run somewhere between 2,500 RPM at low speed and 4,500 RPM at it's maximum speed. Even then, engine speed is held pretty constant in steps and doesn't waver much.

This would be an ideal stepping stone into HCCI, since you only need to control the conbustion event at defined engine speeds and loads.

Of course, there's always hydrogen fuel cell, which would replace the engine and generator with a fuel cell to handle the generation of electricity. Neat idea and very do-able.

Beyond the hydrogen fuel cell, I read and article earlier this month about using a solid-oxide fuel cell that operates using gasoline, diesel, natural gas... pretty much any carbon-based fuel. This would eliminate the required hydrogen distribution network, which is a major setback for hydrogen fuel cells, or at least give a buffer for that network to be developed. Heat is the killer for solid-oxide fuel cells, as they operate at about 900 C. The article was about developmental cells that only operate at about 650 C. This is much closer to the 350 C that they want to see before they go into a car. Even cooler: A solid-oxide fuel cell designed to power a car would only need to be about 10 cm tall.

 

[cchase]

I thought I read that the Volts gas engine is connected to the transmission still, to drive the wheels at times? Does anyone have a schematic of the system?

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: strongt
When in gasoline mode the Volt operates similarly to conventional diesel-electric railroad locomotives, which use the combustion engine only to produce electricity to drive the electric traction motors.



Close but not quite. The Volt's logic tries to keep it in series hybrid mode when the engine is running, however there's a planetary differential gearset in there that combines engine, motor/generator, and motor torques. The Volt, like the Prius, is able to couple engine torque directly to the wheels in combination with motor torque if the need arises.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: strongt
When in gasoline mode the Volt operates similarly to conventional diesel-electric railroad locomotives, which use the combustion engine only to produce electricity to drive the electric traction motors.



Close but not quite. The Volt's logic tries to keep it in series hybrid mode when the engine is running, however there's a planetary differential gearset in there that combines engine, motor/generator, and motor torques. The Volt, like the Prius, is able to couple engine torque directly to the wheels in combination with motor torque if the need arises.


I was trying to sum it up more simply but okay, that's what I thought.

That's not how a train works.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: cchase


I was trying to sum it up more simply but okay, that's what I thought.

That's not how a train works.


Right- nothing mechanical connects a locomotive diesel engine to the wheels. Just wires to the electric motors that drive the wheels, and there's no battery for energy storage at all. Modern locomotives uses variable frequency AC to drive the wheel motors.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
But calling a Prius better? C'mon, but that thing's underpinnings are so outdated it might as well be called an electric Tercel.


I know Priuses have their staunch defenders, but every time I get into one I'm shocked at how poorly they are put together and just how chintzy they feel. I haven't been in a Prius newer than a 2009 however.

 

[Nick R]

The only time the gasoline engine directly drives the wheels iirc, is at speeds above 70mph.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
The only time the gasoline engine directly drives the wheels iirc, is at speeds above 70mph.


It seems like removing that would help the efficiency overall and make the system simpler.

 

[hattaresguy]

The Volt is an extremely cool car and I really like them.

But IMHO they are to expensive, for the money I rather buy a diesel BMW 3 series or a Mercedes CDI.