2016 Chevrolet Volt: First Look

Competes with: Toyota Prius Plug-In, Nissan Leaf, Audi A3 e-tron, Ford C-Max Energi

Looks like: A little last-gen Volt, a little current-gen Honda Civic

Drivetrain: Two-motor electric-drive unit; 101-hp, 1.5-liter gasoline range extender; 18.4-kwh lithium-ion battery pack; front-wheel drive

Hits dealerships: Late 2015

The second generation of GM’s most advanced vehicle has been revealed, and while it looks considerably more mainstream than the outgoing model, the 2016 Chevrolet Volt is still a remarkable and unique vehicle that has been refined with significant input from previous Volt owners.

More 2015 Detroit Auto Show Coverage

The first Volt was created in something of a customer vacuum — GM really didn’t know who would buy it, how they would exactly use it, or if people would be satisfied with the range-extended electric vehicle’s abilities. Now after 73,000 have been sold, GM quizzed owners on what to improve and used that feedback to create the 2016 model. The resulting car is designed to bring Volt customers back to the showroom once their leases are up while broadening the car’s appeal to a more mainstream crowd.

Exterior

Part of that broadened appeal will come from the new Volt’s more conventional styling. Longer and lower, the Volt is decidedly more attractive than the outgoing model, which owners tended to love despite its quirky “Look, I’m a hybrid” appearance. Standard LED headlights flank the solid grille (all of the car’s cooling airflow comes in under the bumper) that features active aero shutters for better efficiency, while the sculpted hood carries its lines into the sculpted roof. Out back, a single glass hatchback window replaces the current model’s split-level one, while the LED taillamps are completely redesigned with a decidedly Honda Civic coupe look to them.

Interior

The Volt’s interior got even more attention. “If it looks a lot like the Impala in here, that’s intentional,” said Andrew Farah, the Volt’s chief engineer. The current Volt’s space-age dual cockpit is redone in a more luxurious, contemporary style that’s similar to the Buick Verano; it would not look out of place in the next Chevy Cruze. The touch-sensitive center stack with its randomly scattered control buttons is gone, replaced by a split multimedia upper and climate control lower button panel. An 8-inch touch-screen featuring GM’s next-generation MyLink system is standard, and another 8-inch display sits in the gauge cluster. It features a new and updated electronic gauge package meant to be simpler to read at a glance; it’s similar in layout to the Cadillac ELR’s. Paddles sit behind the wheel but they’re not for shifting — there’s no transmission to shift since the Volt uses a special electric drive unit. Instead, they operate a “regen on-demand” system pulled from the ELR that uses the motor to slow the vehicle instead of the brakes, allowing you to recapture braking energy usually lost as friction heat.

In the backseat, a third set of seat belts ostensibly turns the Volt into a five-passenger vehicle, but that center seat occupant has to straddle the still-present battery pack hump. It’s a similar layout to the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, but given how tight the Volt’s rear seat already is, it’s suitable only for children, and only briefly. Even GM admits that it’s really only there for use in emergency situations. There’s more content in the new Volt, however, as those rear seats can now be heated, as can the steering wheel.

Changes to the hatchback sealing and better sound insulation have helped dramatically improve interior cabin noise at highway speeds, creating a much quieter interior, according to GM.

One new option that is the direct result of customer feedback is the light-up charge port door, which indicates state-of-charge status in how many segments of the ring light up. That charge door will now set off an alarm if you leave it open and get in the car. The same kind of charge status indicator now appears on the top of the dashboard too, instead of just a single light to indicate whether the car is charging.

Under the Hood

The new Volt uses a larger capacity 18.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack that is 20 pounds lighter than the outgoing car, uses fewer lithium-ion cells (192 versus 288) and has a 20 percent higher capacity. This battery feeds a completely redesigned electric drive unit that features two significantly smaller electric motors instead of the one large, one small motor setup in the current vehicle. GM says the electric drive unit is 12 percent more efficient than the old one, weighs a significant 100 pounds less and uses almost no expensive and scarce rare-earth magnets in its motors.

When that battery runs down, a new, larger 1.5-liter gasoline direct-injection range extender engine fires up to spin a generator and keep the car going. A totally redesigned traction power inverter module is now integrated into the drive unit, eliminating the huge and heavy orange cables under the hood of the current Volt. The whole electric drive system is rated at producing a combined 149 horsepower and a significant 294 pounds-feet of torque, 21 more pounds-feet than the outgoing car. Best of all, it does this on regular unleaded gasoline — no more premium fuel requirement.

So what does all of this mean in terms of performance? Here are the numbers: GM says electric-only range is up from 38 miles to 50 miles, and when the gas generator kicks in, total range has improved to 420 miles. In gasoline mode, fuel economy is rated at 41 mpg, with an overall 102-mpg-equivalent rating when factoring in the electric miles as well. Zero-to-60 mph happens in 8.4 seconds, a 7 percent improvement, while zero-to-30 mph now takes just 2.6 seconds, a 19 percent improvement. Credit some of that to the improved torque numbers, as well as the 243-pound overall weight reduction. When it comes time to stop, the 2016 Volt uses a totally redesigned brake system with completely new rear calipers.

Safety

Automatic park assist is available, as is forward collision warning with automatic braking, lane departure warning, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert and semi-automatic parallel parking. A backup camera and 10 airbags now come standard.

Manufacturer images