Chevrolet Volt (2012 – 2014) Review

Chevrolet Volt (2012 – 2014) At A Glance

Range extended electric car that can go up to 300 miles. Good looking with four seats. Unique interior. Comfortable and refined. Can potentially return 235mpg and 27g/km CO2.

Too expensive at £28,545 even after Government £5,000 grant, which led to its demise.

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Chevrolet Volt (2012 – 2014) handling and engines

• Readers report Real MPG to be between 182–235 mpg

While the Volt may be very different from a conventional car underneath, driving it is very straightforward. You press the start button on the dash, put the gear lever into into D and off you go. It's incredibly smooth and does feel very strange when you move away with no engine sound, but apart from that it's very much like driving a standard petrol car with a CVT automatic gearbox.

The most noticeable different however is performance. As the Volt is powered by an electric motor rather than a conventional engine it has plenty of torque. In fact its 370Nm is the same as a Porsche Cayman S and in the Volt it's available from zero revs which means impressive performance away from a standstill. Accelerating from 0-62mph takes 9.0 seconds and it performs well when you want pulling power, such as overtaking or joining a motorway.

As well as the Standard driving mode in the Volt there are several other modes including a Sport mode which makes the accelerator pedal more responsive and a Mountain mode which holds battery energy for driving on steep inclines. There is also a Hold mode which means the Volt runs off the petrol engine even if the battery is fully charged. This is useful if you're heading into cities with restricted emissions zones.

Running from the battery the Volt will cover between 25 to 50 miles. Like any car, the more efficiently you drive the longer that range will be but in everyday driving you can easily achieve 40 miles without any changes to your normal driving style. Once the battery runs out of charge, the electricity is generated from the 1.4-litre petrol engine but there's no change in the way the Volt drives. This adds a further 250 miles to the range.

What does take some getting used to is the way the engine works. As it's not directly powering the car, the revs and engine noise bear no direct relation to when you press the accelerator pedal. It's quite odd at first, almost as if there's a time delay between the throttle and engine, but once you get used to it you soon begin to ignore the engine noise altogether.

The Volt is enjoyable to drive with responsive steering and neat handling. The battery is mounted in the floor which means a low centre of gravity so it corners neatly and with little body roll. There's good front end grip and overall it feels relaxed and smooth, making it very comfortable on long journeys.

Charging the Volt is straightforward. There's a six metre long cable that's kept under the boot floor and using a standard power socket the battery can be fully recharged in six hours. There are three modes for charging - an immediate mode, a delayed mode where charging is completed in time for a set departure time and lastly a mode where the Volt charges using the cheapest electricity rate available (you do need to have the various rates from your electricity provider) by the time you need it.

Chevrolet Volt (2012 – 2014) interior

• Boot space is 310–1005 litres
• Euro NCAP rating of five stars

Echoing the cutting edge technology under the bonnet, Chevrolet has given the Volt an equally modern interior design. The first thing you notice is the white high gloss finish on the doors and centre console making it feel more like a high end stereo than a car. It's certainly different and the touch sensitive buttons work well.

There are no conventional instrument dials either. Instead the driver gets a single screen which gives you all the key information like speed and remaining range. Like any standard trip computer there are various menus you can scroll through for different information but you're more likely to keep an eye on the charge left in the battery and then the fuel left in the tank. There's also a useful gauge on the right with a moving ball that shows you how efficiently you're driving.

In the middle of the dash there's another colour screen which displays all your infotainment details along with the sat nav, climate control and power use. The Volt is very well equipped as standard with sat nav, Bluetooth, heated seats and even a reversing camera - features which are rarely standard on cars that cost considerably more than this.

But while it's very modern, that hasn't come at the expense of practicality or comfort. The Volt is a genuine four-seater with good room for all passengers, although the high central tunnel that runs the length of the car does make it feel a little cramped in the back, especially for taller passengers. There's a useful boot though with 310 litres of space and the rear seats can be folded flat to increase this to more than 1000 litres. The only slight disappointment is the absence of a proper parcel shelf. Even though the Volt is a hatchback, it gets an odd fabric cover that is hooked on in four corners and feels a little cheap.

Refinement is impressive though and the Volt is quiet and comfortable to travel in. The absence of engine noise when running on battery power means it's near silent, helped by that aerodynamic shape which helps reduce wind noise, especially noticeable at higher speeds where you'd expect it. The quality of the interior is impressive too with plenty of soft touch materials and a good finish.

Standard equipment from launch (May 2012):

Heated front seats, height and reach adjustable steering, daytime running lights, rearview camera, cruise control, electric parking brake, automatic air conditioning, DAB radio, Bluetooth, steering wheel mounted stereo controls, a Thatcham Category 1 alarm, 17-inch alloy wheels, ESP, Isofix child seat mounting points, automatic headlights, front and rear parking sensors, eight airbags, a leather steering wheel and leather seats.

Chevrolet Volt (2012 – 2014) models and specs

On sale until June 2017

On sale until September 2014