2011 Chevrolet Volt: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt makes its debut as General Motors' first plug-in gas/electric vehicle. It is expected to see limited production in calendar 2010, with availability only in California, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC. Nationwide sales are slated for late-calendar 2011. GM calls this 4-passenger, 4-door hatchback an "extended-range electric vehicle," because it has, in effect, two different drivetrains: an all-electric one (battery and motors) that drive the car for the first 40 or so miles after a full plug-in recharge, and a gas-powered hybrid system (with gas engine and fuel tank) that automatically takes over after that to give about another 300 miles of range. At that point, the fuel tank can be filled just as in a normal car to give another 300 miles of range. If the car can be plugged into a wall outlet, the battery can be fully recharged in about 10 hours on normal 120-volt household current, or four hours with a special 240-volt charging station. The gas engine is an 84-horsepower 1.4-liter 4-cylinder, but whether the electric motors are running by themselves or in combination with the gas engine, the combined total is 149 horsepower. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain-side airbags, front-side airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags. Among the available features are a remote-charging and vehicle-control program that owners can download and run from Blackberry and Apple iPhone cell phones. Among other things, it allows the owner to pre-heat or pre-cool the vehicle before getting in. A navigation system is standard, as is a hard drive for storing digital-music files. Leather upholstery, heated front seats, front- and rear-obstacle detection, and a rearview camera are optional.

COMPETITION

Consumer Guide Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. Compact Cars comprise popularly priced sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons with wheelbases 99.4 inches or longer.

Our Best Buys include the Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Nissan Versa, Volkswagen Golf, and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen. Our Recommended picks are the Chevrolet Cruze and Scion xB.

New or significantly redesigned models include the Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Volt, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Leaf, and Volkswagen Jetta Sedan.