Recently I created a blog post discussing some of the benefits of the Chevy Volt. I would like to expand on that a little with a product review. In this review, I will discuss 4 main categories; appearance, performance, warranty, and price. Before I go into these categories, I will very briefly go over the main benefits of the Chevy Volt. The Volt is an electric/gas powered hybrid where it runs off of the battery alone for the first 38 miles, then once the battery is nearly depleted, the gas powered generator kicks on which charges the battery. The generator runs the car at around 37 mpg. The Volt is better than all electric cars because of this gas powered generator because once the battery is dead on an all electric car, they are out of luck. The Volt is also more spacious than most electric powered cars. I will now go into the four categories.
Appearance:
The volt is a 4 passenger car with a sporty looking exterior. It comes in 8 main colors, mostly in grays and whites. There are several exterior modifications available for an extra cost including customized graphics, several wheel styles, and rear-view mirror covers. The interior is set up similarly in the front and back seats. They both have cup holders in between the seats as well as powered windows and power lock doors. There is also a middle counsel in between the front and rear seats for convenient storage. The interior has a few modifications available as well including several different types of floor mats custom to the car and customized interior trim. There is also a 7 inch color touch screen monitor which can be used for navigation, backing up and for SiriusXM Satellite Radio. The Volt has Bose speakers which can be used using XM radio, a USB port or MyLink which all come standard.
Performance:
The Chevy Volt is run by rechargeable Lithium-ion battery which can be charged from and outlet, a quick charge port or by the Volt's 1.4 liter gas powered generator. The Lithium-ion battery has a range of 38 miles before the gas powered generator starts up to give the vehicle an extra 380 miles. The generator has a gas tank with a capacity of 9.3 gallons and an average 37 miles per gallon combined city and highway. This generator has the option of programming the charger to only charge the vehicle for the programmed times to insure maximum range. For example, if you commuted to work at 8 am every morning, you would program the charger to only charge from 2 am to 8 am so when you left for work the next day, your car would have the maximum amount of power. And if things weren't easy enough, the Volt also has a remote starter built into every car as a standard option, so you can heat up your car and have it fully charged before you leave for work. As far as safety goes, the Volt has 8 air bags, 4 wheel ABS, traction control, low rolling resistance tires, and StabiliTrak Electronic Stability Control.
Warranty:
All Chevy Volt models come with a 2 year scheduled maintenance warranty, a battery warranty for 8 years or 100,000 miles, a warranty on everything for 3 years or 36,000 miles, a power train and road side assistance warranty for 5 years, and a corrosion warranty for 6 years. All of these warranties expire after the vehicle hits 100,000 miles. The 100,000 mile warranty comes standard for most Chevy models, but it is usually 10 year 100,000 miles instead of just 8 years. Most likely this warranty is a little shorter because the lithium ion battery is extremely expensive to replace. Besides this warranty, the rest seem to be almost exactly the same as all other makes and models. The 2 year scheduled maintenance is a nice feature too because it means for the first 2 years the only thing the vehicle owner needs to pay for is gas, electricity and the car payment because oil changes, tire rotations and air filter changes are all covered by the dealership. And if there is anything else that needs to be worked on, most likely it would be covered under warranty at this point.
Price:
The Chevy Volt two pricing options, buying or leasing. If you were to buy the Volt, it would be starting off around 35,000 dollars for a standard vehicle. This price would drop a little if you factor in government subsidies towards electric and hybrid vehicles and specialized Chevy pricing deals. The special pricing from Chevy automatically takes off 1000 dollars from the final price tag. And the Federal Tax Credit allows for a federal tax cut of up to 7,500 dollars. If all discounts were applied, you could purchase a Chevy Volt today for around 27,000 dollars. There is also another option available for those who don't have $27,000 or don't want to have to worry about replacing the extremely expensive lithium ion battery after 8 years.This option is leasing the Volt. Which can currently be done at most dealerships from $250 to $300. There is also a large initial amount due at signing. This amount is $2,700. Both of these options are fairly expensive, but in comparison to other cars in the same or similar categories, like the smart car, it is actually very reasonable.
I found all the standard features listed in appearance to be the same or better than most vehicles within its price range. As far as performance, the Volt may not be as quick as a Mustang or Camaro, but the convenience of the automated charging system, key less entry starter option and all of its safety options make up for what the Volt lacks in power. The warranty may not be as good as some of the other Chevy models, but compared to many other models, the warranty is still very good. And finally, the pricing options are a little high, but with federal tax breaks from buying a zero emission vehicle as well as the Chevy promotion pricing deal, the Volt is still affordable.
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