General Motors has begun allowing a handful of auto writers to test drive working prototypes of the much-hyped Chevy Volt, and early reviews say the vehicle that's meant to save Detroit shows promise. The prototypes aren't finished Volts. They are what the auto industry calls "mules" -- experimental parts of the Volt, built into a working example of a different car. In this case, the mules use the chassis, suspension, steering and body of the 2011 Chevy Cruze, with the Volt's electric drivetrain built in.
Motor Trend writes, "It is an exceptionally quiet drivetrain, with little or no audible whine or hum emanating from the motor and its single-speed planetary reduction gearing. (The Silverado 2-Mode Hybrid sounds more electric.)" The car accelerates from zero to sixty mph in "something over 9 seconds," typical of a four-cylinder midsize sedan, but the finished Volt may be a bit quicker because "The chassis tuning is not representative, and while the weight of these mules is reasonably close to production intent, it's distributed a little differently. Also, these first-generation mules are not equipped with the 'sport' setting that permits the motor to deliver its peak 150 hp" MT found the brake feel "quite natural as well, with no step-changes in effort to signal the handoff between regenerative and hydraulic retardation."
Autoblog returns from their test drive with a similar report. "We drove about ten miles in the rain on electrical energy only with plenty of accessories running and no significant problems," they write. "Power delivery is seamless and when the time comes to slow, lifting your foot off the accelerator yields a small amount of regen braking to simulate the coast-down on a conventional vehicle."
Neither reporter could test drive the Volt with its range-extending gasoline engine active.
Autoblog was pleased with the steering as well, writing "The electrically-assisted steering has a nice heft that should make the production version an entertaining steer." That may indicate that engineers are having success tuning the suspension to carry the weight of the electric drivetrain. The last time a reporter was allowed to test drive a Volt prototype, CNN published significant complaints about the Mule's handling.
Chevrolet promises a late 2010 production date for the Volt.
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