The improvements and innovations made on the 2016 Chevrolet Volt will enable the hybrid vehicle to go as much as 53 miles of distance on pure electric power before its gas engine power takes over from there to continue the trip.
This means that a short trip from the home to the office and back will no longer require the vehicle from utilizing its gas engine as the electric charge would suffice for the day.
The 53 miles distance on full electric power is an 18-mile distance improvement from the 2011-12 Chevy Volt and a 15-mile distance markup over the 2013-15 edition of the vehicle, notes the Motor Authority.
The reported 53 miles is actually up from the previously announced 50 miles. According to American carmaker General Motors (GM), the new mileage for electric power will be enough to cover 90% of trips that the 2016 Chevy Volt owners take on a daily basis, resulting to less fuel and more savings.
Once the electric power is used up, the gas engine of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt fires up to work in tandem with the electric drive system. The range in the fuel tank is about 420 miles.
According to the carmaker, most Volt owners will easily run 1,000 miles at a time between fill-ups, which is quite a remarkable number when gas prices are going up or even when it’s down.
Electric vehicles take over
The Providence Journal cited that the Tesla Model S, worth $100,000 can go as much as 265 miles on a full charge, which is almost five times better than the 2016 Chevy Volt can offer. But the price tag alone would make owners think twice of the savings that they will be getting.
There are also other electric vehicles which have better mileage than the 2016 Volt on a full charge. There is the Toyota RAV4 EV which can go up to a distance of 103 miles before its electric power is used up. There is also the Kia Soul EV which can do 92 miles.
The Fiat 500e, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, the Nissan Leaf, the Volkswagen e-Golf, and the BMW i3 Hatchback all can go 80 miles per charge while the Ford Focus Electric, the Smart Fortwo, and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV can also go from 60 miles to 80 miles before it needs to be plugged in again.
When price matters
While the 2016 Chevrolet Volt may not be in the top in terms of electric power mileage, its retail price when it comes out of the US market early next year remains unbeatable by any other electric or hybrid cars in the market today.
In fact, Chevrolet has announced that it will be selling the 2016 Volt at a price less than its 2013-15 model with a starting cost of $33,170. However, once federal and state tax credits are factored in, the vehicle price can be reduced by as much as $9,000 and end up at a very affordable $24,170.
With such pricing, it is expected that it could result to increase sales for the admired but not wildly popular hybrid vehicle. Chevrolet only managed to sell 1,300 units of the 2015 Volt last month.
The 2016 Chevy Volt, the second-generation model of the electric vehicle, will go into mass production beginning this month, to meet orders in the US.
GM has already made pre-ordering for the electric vehicle available initially in the state of California, its home state, where the vehicle shall also be produced.
Order books for the vehicle were opened as mid-July although there were reports that residents of Golden State were allowed to order the 2016 Chevy Volt as early as May 28 according to a Chevy dealer website.
But come August 27, pre-ordering of the vehicle shall also be made available to other American states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The electric vehicle won’t became available nationally for pre-ordering in the US until October 1, and it is likely to officially hit the American retail markets early next year.