The current Chevrolet Volt is not a pure electric car but it is almost being used by its owners like one as 80% of the trips being made by the hybrid vehicle are completed without the use of gasoline.
When the 2016 Chevy Volt rolls out later this year, it will give the vehicle an even wider range and according to a Chevrolet official, the upcoming hybrid vehicle can make more than 90% of its trips without using gasoline, making it almost near the status of a pure electric car.
This means that the next-generation Volt would also have better fuel economy, since it hardly consumes fuel at all; greener, since it would hardly have any emissions as it hardly uses fuel; and cheaper too in terms of its retail price, notes the Cheat Sheet.
The Chevy official said that the 2016 Volt can actually be obtained for a retail price hovering around $25,000, which is certainly a complete package for green car consumers on a budget.
It’s a price that was close to impossible when the first Chevy Volt was introduced several years back as a hybrid vehicle with all its impressive specifications and features. If technology has made the Chevy Volt possible, technology is also pushing its price to more manageable levels than ever before and it will become evident once the 2016 edition of the hybrid starts coming out of the retail markets.
Greener and more useful
The 2016 Chevy Volt is certainly a greener car compared to the current model because it has an even better range of 50 miles on its 18.4 kwh battery compared to the existing edition’s 38 miles which is currently the greatest range for any plug-in hybrid for a 17.1 kwh battery.
This became possible as advances in technology has allowed Chevy engineers to deliver more concentrated energy density while dropping the weight of the battery pack by 21 pounds.
With its better range, the 2016 Chevy Volt can actually go to a distance of 420 miles while improving the fuel economy to 41 miles per gallon which was just 37 miles per gallon with the 2015 model over a distance of only 360 miles. As a result, gas-electric consumption jumps to 102 miles per gallon combined.
The 2016 Chevy Volt has also taken on interior refinements and expansion. From the current two-plus-two seating design, the upcoming edition will have three seats in the back though it is very likely that a normal size adult will find comfort seating in the middle seat.
More powerful
The upcoming iteration of the volt shall be powered by a 1.7-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine capable of exuding 101 horsepower, which is better than the 2015 model’s 1.4-liter gas engine with 83 horsepower.
Combined with plug-in, the 2016 Chevy Volt can generate a maximum power of close to 150 horsepower and nearly 300 pound-feet of maximum torque.