With the all-new 2016 Volt upon us and very few 2015 models left, this review will serve as a farewell to the impressively innovative

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

first-generation car that, at least to my eyes, has aged quite well, both from a design and driving perspective.

In fact, this outgoing model is even more uniquely penned than the incoming one, or at least it looks much different than the 2015 Cruze it shares much of its underpinnings with, whereas the new Volt and upcoming 2016 Cruze have had a stylistic coming together, especially when viewed from the front quarter.

The 2015 Volt’s patterned metallic grille inserts offer a nice take on Chevy’s usual bisected body-colour design, while attractively shaped headlamp clusters still look fresh after all these years, not to mention the hook-shaped DRL/fog combinations below these, which deliver some visual drama to the design. Continuing rearward, the thick black shadow line under the greenhouse remains a thoroughly unique element that no one else has even tried to copy, melds into the Volt’s unorthodox rear

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

section, with its sloped liftback, high-mounted taillights centered by a narrow strip of glass, and interesting diffuser-style matte black valance down below, with its centre-mounted backup light that looks as if it could be a landing beacon from an interstellar aircraft.

Now that I think of it, the Volt should really be the official car of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, especially when done out in stormtrooper white like my tester. It carries the Galactic Empire theme into the cabin too, with additional white detailing on the steering wheel spokes, around the primary instrument binnacle, and over to the all-white centre stack that could even make a classic Apple fan cringe from overkill. Yes, this is where the soon to be discontinued Volt looks dated,

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

especially the massive white and chrome-rimmed gear lever that could’ve been pulled straight out of a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, although the car’s dual graphic interfaces, the first one ahead of the driver in place of a conventional gauge cluster, and the second in the usual place atop the centre stack, are still up to lightspeed.

Yes, there are enough high-resolution displays and brightly coloured buttons to make R2-D2 feel inadequate and plenty of features to keep C-3PO busy fidgeting. I wouldn’t call the setup of touch sensitive controls nor the infotainment display particularly intuitive to use, others within GM’s lineup easier to figure out, especially

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when it comes to using the radio, but after some time spent fiddling I managed to find the screen that showed the station I was on, not necessarily a display of all available stations. That came later, so hopefully the new 2016 Volt will iron out some of these idiosyncrasies as effectively as it’s modernized the car’s interior design. Of greater interest are the various drivetrain graphics simulating energy flow, the Volt not infused with a 1.0 hyperdrive motivator, but still a very impressive gasoline-electric powertrain for its time.

The Volt Concept first arrived on the scene in the first month of 2007 at the Detroit auto show, with an early Voltec powertrain design in place and a promise to

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produce a production version by 2010. Surprisingly, production images first arrived in 2008, showing a very different four-door sedan than the sleeker, sportier looking concept, which then GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and some of the project’s designers and engineers standing and kneeling beside, the photos looking near identical to the car that would finally show up on GM’s stage in LA later that year, along with an E-Flex undercarriage that the automaker promised would underpin other models within the its range of brands. So far we’ve only seen the Cadillac Converj concept turn into the ELR, but not before this very Volt rolled into our lives exactly when GM promised it would, in 2010 as a 2011 model.

We tested every example we could get our hands on, with three of our writers covering the car on road and track from February through June of 2011, and we’ve

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

made sure to supply a review of each model year since, my first and only critique prior to this 2015 model covering a 2013 version, despite keen interest after being pulled into a small media gathering by Mr. Lutz and company way back in the very beginning, and having my eyes opened up to a concept that made such perfect sense that I couldn’t understand why hybrids weren’t made this way from the beginning.

I dubbed it a reverse hybrid, because the majority of motive power came from the electric motor instead of the gasoline mill, the latter used primarily for recharging the battery and providing extra oomph off the line or while traveling at highway speed. Like many who hadn’t experienced pure electric cars at that point, the idea of

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a failsafe best-of-both-worlds electric-gasoline hybrid made sense, and even though a number of pure electrics have seen strong success since, such powertrain duality is still more acceptable to the majority of would-be buyers when surveyed.

Where the Volt shines, even after four years of plug-in hybrid leadership, is in how effectively it takes care of real-world automotive duties. Where BMW, for instance, offers a wonderful city car in its perky little i3, its optional range extender engine was never intended for anything other than limping you over to the nearest charge station, whereas the Volt works as a real compact car no matter how far you’re traveling. Granted, its pure electric range is not as generous as the i3s or any

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100-percent EV competitor, with my fully charged tester’s range indicator showing an estimate of 69 kilometers (43 miles) after four hours of “refueling” via one of many free ChargePoint stations near my home. This is considerably less than my recent i3 test car’s 134-km (83-mile) projected EV range. Just the same, after that charge I drove five kilometers (three miles) home from the shopping mall that housed the charging stations and there was still 68 km (42 miles) showing on the EV range indicator and 4,529 km (2,814 miles) on the odometer, so who knows how far it would really go on a full charge. I drove it like I would a regular car, erring on the side of conservatism most of the time albeit putting pedal to floorboard on occasion when necessitated, which resulted in the fully

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

charge battery lasting exactly 68 km (42 miles) before the range extender kicked in, just as estimated.

Depending on how you drive 68 km can last quite a while, although some will bypass this distance in a single day’s commute, so you’ll need to figure out how much you’ll save based on your own requirements. Of course, the Volt acts like a fuel-efficient hybrid even when depleted of full EV power, using idle stop/start to minimize the engine’s use when in hybrid mode and brake regeneration to resupply to the battery so it can assist that engine when needed.

When

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my battery was drained and the Volt went into hybrid mode there was still a range of 372 km available, whereas my i3 could only offer an estimated 80 km of ultra-anemic travel, requiring me to get to a charger quickly.

Whether fully charged or running in hybrid mode the Volt drives like most other cars, other than near silent operation in all-electric mode. Its electric drive motor/generator motor combination puts out 149 horsepower while its 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine will boost that when needed, although the electric’s 273 lb-ft of immediate torque won’t need any assistance, the little gasoline mill only producing 83 additional lb-ft as it is. From the seat of the pants the Volt delivers smile-inducing acceleration, while I certainly can’t complain about how it handles. The ride isn’t Chevy’s smoothest, but comfortable enough, as were its seats, while its pleasantly quiet most of the time.

That

Photo: GM

in mind, after my weeklong test which included multiple charges, I only had the gasoline range extender engine kick in once, for the trip back to GM actually, and only because I needed to let the battery bleed dry to figure out EV range. Other than the noise from under the hood, any changes to the way the car drove were negligible. Unless you’re doing a lot of highway commuting, which the Volt performs very well, I don’t see that most commuters will need to feed much money to the local pump. As for its five-cycle EnerGuide fuel economy rating, you can expect 2.4 Le/100 km combined city/highway if you use it like most Volt owners.

I’ve compared the Volt to the i3 a number of times in this review, mostly because it’s one of a handful of plug-in electrics with a range extender, although the i3 takes the electric portion of the equation to much greater lengths, and vice versa for

Photo: GM

the Volt and its ability to drive long distances as a hybrid. This said it’s probably better to pick on a car that’s more its size, although just because the i3 is a subcompact doesn’t mean it’s small inside. I actually prefer its rear accommodations to the Volt’s cramped feeling back seats, but the Volt does offer more usable cargo space than the little Bimmer. We could also put the Volt up against the Prius Plug-in. The larger Toyota model easily wins the practicality contest when it comes to passenger and cargo space, but when factoring in the actual purpose of this car, which is to run purely on EV power for a reasonable distance, the Prius Plug-in comes up very short with a previous weeklong test resulting in just 24 km (15 miles) of EV range.

Like with any new car, it’s always about compromise. While the Volt handles quite well for a compact car, as mentioned, the i3 reacts like your average BMW and the Prius

Photo: GM

Plug-in, well, is certainly comfortable and once again very practical. The Volt splits the difference between these two when it comes to EV range, but it’s a car you can hit the road in on weekends, not matter how far you need to go. It’s a bit of a spaceship on wheels from an interior styling perspective, and its weak in some areas of fit and finish, particularly a cargo cover that’s mickey mouse at best, although there are useful available features like a rear armrest that benefits back passengers when in place and then can be removed to make more room for cargo.

After everything is said and done, however, the big clincher is how much you, the EV buyer, like it, and this can only be quantified when stacking it up against its peers on the sales charts. Does Chevy sell more Volts than BMW sells i3s, or Toyota purveys Prius Plug-ins, or any other plug-in hybrid for that matter? Porsche’s plug-ins are somewhat pricier so they don’t sell as many, whereas the Honda Accord Plug-in has never been sold in Canada, although I tested it and was duly impressed. Hyundai has just introduced a new 2016 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid, however, so it’s too early to count sales numbers. This model will go head-to-head with the Ford Fusion Energi, although it could also steal sales away from the Prius Plug-in as well as the similarly designed Ford C-Max Energi. So far, however, the Volt and its Euro-only Opel Ampera cousin are

Photo: GM

the world’s all-time best selling plug-in hybrids, with global sales that surpassed the 100,000-unit milestone in October of this year.

This must be exciting for GM, although they’re only too aware of the onslaught of plug-in hybrids that have arrived since the Volt made the majority of those sales (it enjoyed its biggest year ever in Canada last year with 1,521 sales and has managed 1,071 units for the 2015 calendar year-to-date as of October, although sales in the US have been tapering off substantially since eclipsing the 23k mark in 2012 and 2013, with last year’s total only 18,805 and this year’s YTD sales a mere 11,299 as of October), while yet more competitors are slated to arrive in the coming months and years. What’s more, despite overall range limitations there’s been a rise in pure EV sales too, with Nissan’s Leaf, for instance, hitting the 100,000-unit mark in January of 2014 and passing 150,000 deliveries just a year later in January of 2015.

Still,

Photo: GM

no matter how you look at the plug-in scenario, Chevy’s Volt has been a major success, boding well for the all-new 2016 model. I look forward to testing it, of course, especially considering it now provides more EV range at 85 km (53 miles), greater efficiency, and stronger acceleration. It might just be the perfect balance of electric and gasoline, and it owes it all to this outgoing first-generation Volt, the one that paved the way.

You want to know the best part? If this outgoing model meets your commuting requirements Chevy will give you a $3,442 discount off of its $38,395 base price without even asking, and that’s before any of the provincial government rebates that Ontarians, Quebecois and British Columbians enjoy. Such a car wouldn’t include my tester’s $1,135 Iridescent Pearl Tricoat paint, mind you, although the Volt looks good in its other colours, while my tester’s nav system added $795 to the tally, pretty reasonable I’d say. Its leather upholstery with suede-like inserts and removable rear armrest added another $1,210, while GM also tossed in a rearview camera, rear parking sonar and an auto-dimming rearview mirror for $705, plus front parking sonar,

Photo: GM

forward collision alert and lane departure warning for $625. Lastly, my test car’s seven-speaker Bose audio system sounded fabulous for just $685, pushing the price of my tester up to $43,650 before adding on $1,600 for freight and pre-delivery prep. And that’s on top of a car that’s already well equipped in base trim.

Worth it? Well that’s up to you, of course, but like I mentioned a moment ago, more than 100,000 owners can’t be wrong. I have to agree. While $40+k might be a lot to spend for a compact four-door hatch, there are a lot of Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Cadillac ATS buyers who won’t blink an eye at spending tens of thousands more, and none of those cars offer the cutting edge cool factor of being able to plug in, nor the ability to drive solely on electric power more often than not. That, my friends, is a priceless experience, especially when passing by gas stations advertising pump prices that are now about the same as they were before the price of crude dropped earlier this year, let alone to the ultra-low levels they’re at right now. Sticking it to big oil is wonderfully satisfying, I must say. Yes, I’m leaning towards a plug-in for my next new car. How about you?
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