Voltage Test: Behind the Wheel of the Car that Could Save Detroit

On Saturday, General Motors, invited me to test-drive a working prototype of the automaker’s potentially business-saving 2011 Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle. The company, an official 2010 Olympics sponsor, has wheeled a pair of the cars up to Vancouver for the biggest show on Earth.

GM cordoned off a generous section of the he HR MacMillan Space Centre parking lot and–with the car’s lead project engineer riding shotgun, plus my kids in the back seat–I ran about 15 laps around the perimeter. It felt a bit like a rat running around the outside of his cage, but since there are only about 80 of these cars in the world, I can hardly blame the company for keeping them on a tight leash.

Here’s a five-second drive-by to give you a feel for the styling. Earlier iterations looked far beefier; I recall seeing auto-show shots of a static Volt a couple years back, the front end was far more blocky, like a clunky muscle car. This new fairly mundane styling masks some serious aerodynamics–this is the most aerodynamic car in the General Motors fleet. Of all General Motors vehicles ever produced, only the company’s previous electric–the rather unfortunately all-crushed and extinct EV-1–was more aerodynamic.

The Volt is a four-seat electric sedan run off a 16-kWh, T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack that runs down through the full length of the car like a long central console (there’s no middle seat in the back). The battery pack powers an electric drive unit, and offers a range of 64 kilometres, or 40 miles. In researching the market, GM found that consumers were concerned they would potentially run out of juice in a difficult spot like, say, the middle of an Interstate, or center-span on a bridge. To get around this, the company included a backup system: An on-board gasoline generator kicks in before things start to dim and flicker. The gas engine never mechanically powers the wheels, it just provides juice to the battery, extending the car’s range for hundreds of kilometers.

Here’s a quick guided tour of the instrument cluster. Listen for the vaguely sci-fi sounding “takeoff” chime in the first second of this clip as I push the POWER button; it’s somewhere between flying-saucer sample and the Mac startup sound. Note the Prius-style energy indicator screen center-console, battery charge indicator, and a “sport” button (complete with a little–hello Nissan!–leaf icon) that gives one added torgue should one be feeling a little frisky.

Various readouts show total remaining range available from the battery, the gas tank, and the combination of the two. The operator also sees a green globe that dynamically reveals how efficiently he or she is driving.

Here are a couple exteriors, including the charging port. Charging takes about eight hours via a module that plugs into a standard 110 volt 15-amp household outlet. An optional 240-volt version will do the job in about half the time. Picture the large receptacle that your electric clothes dryer plugs into and you get the idea.

Kicking the tires.

GM has covered many bases with respect to the interface between the car and the grid. The “plug” that goes into the car is a standard with several pins, for the usual neutral, hot, and ground, but also for communication, so that the car stops charging when the battery is full. Also, if you plug the plug into the car, but somehow forget to plug the other end into the wall, the car will let you know with a few attention-getting horn beeps.

Charging Port by driver's side door.

You’ll also be able to schedule the charge, to avoid charging during peak load periods, which will be useful after your utility introduces smart metering and staggered rates based on the time of day. Also, you’ll be able to configure the car to send you a text message should you forget to plug it in at night!

We were shown under the hood briefly, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures. It was about what you’d expect, two sealed plastic boxes and a number of very heavy gauge cables.

So how was the drive? I was difficult to gauge based on the loop course, but the ride was smooth, stable, and of course silky quiet. Interior is comfortable, and fairly roomy, with intuitive controls. The Volt accelerates smoothly, and the sport button offers a nice healthy kick once selected. By design, this is no throw-you-back-into-the-headrest Telsa Roadster-style experience. It’s a basic non-intimidating runabout with sufficient trunk space for a big grocery shop, meant to appeal to millions of people.

Overall, I’m impressed. The styling is somewhat Saturn-boring, but I could care less. You don’t buy this for looks, you buy it to get (almost totally) off fossil fuels. You buy it to save a fortune on gas. The company says that charging the Volt daily will consume less electric energy annually than the average home’s refrigerator and freezer unit. At a cost of about .50-.80 cents a day for a full charge, for most owners the Volt will be less expensive to recharge than purchasing a daily cup of espresso.

And here, using British Columbia’s clean 92-percent clean mostly hydroelectric electricity, GM also says that the Volt will have less than 4 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions of the most fuel efficient hybrid on the market today. Your emissions will vary based on the carbon intensity of the juice in your region.

The Volt will be at dealers in the United States this fall, and in mid-2011 here in Canada. The company has not yet set a price.

It will be interesting to see how the Volt lines up against the Nissan Leaf, which will likely be its main competitor–albeit without the range-extending onboard gas generator. Hopefully that company will make an operational prototype available to bloggers and journalists soon.

Nice work, General Motors; I think you’re onto something here. Keep this up, and I’ll almost be ready to forgive you for the Hummer… And the EV-1 debacle… And maybe even that whole streetcar thing…