Chevrolet Volt nabs 230mpg rating
August 12, 2009 by George Skentzos
General Motors’ upcoming green flagship, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, has received an official fuel consumption rating of 230 miles per gallon or just 1.022 litres per 100km.
This makes the Volt the first car ever to receive a triple digit fuel economy rating, although this figure may not be as impressive as it sounds.
When calculating the efficiency of extended-range vehicles, the US Environmental Protection Agency had to develop a new methodology to consider the unique drivetrain arrangement of the Volt.
GM Holden plans to introduce the Volt into Australia in 2012 and will market it as the Holden Volt.
The official figure is based on combined electric only driving as well as the Volt’s charged sustaining mode with the engine running, calculated on the urban cycle.
To put this figure into perspective, the Volt’s lithium-ion batteries are capable of powering the car for around 40 miles or 65km.
The Volt’s small petrol engine kicks in when power levels are low, generating electricity which in turn powers the wheels for longer drives.
In this driving mode, the Volt uses around 4.7-litres per 100km, or about the same as a small diesel-powered car.
However by this stage the Volt has already travelled at least 65km using no fuel at all – so over a 100km trip, a distance of only 35km would have been covered with the petrol engine running.
Still confused? Well the bottom line is that if you keep your trips to below 100km between charges you can achieve the fabled triple digit fuel economy rating.
“Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy can and will be a game changer for us,” said GM CEO Fritz Henderson.
This latest announcement certainly represents a beacon of hope for GM which was perched on the brink of collapse just a few short months ago.
Print it: 
Cg, you don’t have any basis. As I wrote, it’s a completely new car in every way. All I’m saying is give it a chance before you ridicule it. It may be GM but every car company will make their first truly reliable car at some point. You’ve no reason to believe this won’t be it, especially considering the amount of engineering that’s gone into it.
Chev Trav,
Nice to hear your objective comment. Perhaps you could have researched a little more before posting spam on this forum. This is an Australian forum (the country with kangaroos, not the sound of music), the car you are promoting is not sold here. We are a cynical bunch that can spot bullsh*t a mile off. Unless you have a genuine personal opinion to share please spare us the Hype.
rant ends.
Alex your right. This is built on the Insignia platform, and should offer reasonable quality and reliability And mr 1000/2000/ whatever your name is, how can you speculate so much without having even seen a single panel of the car. Holden and Chevrolet have both confirmed this car will go into production. In 2010 BTW, and why would the Volt be 80k, the prius is an overpriced peice of junk. Holden have ssaid the car will come in under 50k, but that was a worst case scenario, so expect a 40 k price. Dont be such a spoil sport.
HEY CARADVICE, thx for REMOVING my comment???
And you guys were wondering y barely any of the ppl that visit ur site comment on articles..
Mind u my comment was on topic and I gave a personal opinion to what I thought about the ARTICLE, the car and its competition.
ONCE AGAIN THX !i!i!i!i!i!i!i!
Thats bs, 230mpg. The mpg rating should only be applied to when gallons are actually being used! Not when its running on electricity. It should be distance covered when the petrol engine is actually running. This is all marketing BS.
According to GM if the Volt gets 230 MPG, the Volt holds 12 gallons of fuel so its range is approximately 2800 miles (including first full charge).
This is marketing BS. So if they have built it with a battery large enough for 100km, they will have a 0L/100km car? This figure can be achieved with a Prius if it has plug in capablity for the same distance. I think a fairer test will be when both car operates away from the charge, or until Prius plug in is released. Until then, Prius vs Volt is not comparing apple to apple
Shak, the Volt is built off the Delta platform, not the Insignia’s Epsilon platform.
You are right Bob, its an Astra.
Why not compare it to a diesel Mini, the Volt will only seat 4 four people.
Its going to be too expensive, its going to have quality issues and good luck with the battery, after the warranty runs out, you are on your own. Lets not even talk about resale.
The Prius lost money for a quite a few years, so will the Volt. Wrong company building it sad to say, they can’t afford the losses.
Really, whats the big deal, I think the same about the Prius tbh. If you want one sure, go get one, if not, fuel numbers & options continue to improve.
GM have been on about this car for years, for those sick of hearing about it, you got another 12 months to go yet, sit back and listen to the BS.
NacaYoda Says:
August 12th, 2009 at 8:44 am
“Bloody Americans. No clues.”
If GMH and Ford Oz were left to stand on their own without the Americans or Aussie tax payers you wouldn’t have an industry left.
“Americans or Aussie tax payers you wouldn’t have an industry left”
Wow Realist that does sound very american, you should have added “you Australians are forgetting your place in this world without ..” before that line :)
“Always thought that full time electric drive with a ICE powered charger the way to go.”
A long long timeago when I was first told about the petrol electric car. That was exactly what was proposed. And I remember the article claming up to 300MPG.
Whats funny about the range extender is at the end of the day if you owned a volt, you would probably go to extreme lengths to avoid using petrol. So really the ICE is just a confort blanket. Apparently there is a feature in the car to make sure the ICE gets a regular workout to keep things lubricated.
According to this model, the Tesla roadster gets infinity mpg.
You can buy one of those right now as well…
this is perfect for my missus’ 50 kms daily drive to and from work plus 8 kms to and from the shop plus 7 kms morning school run = 65 kms! just make it affordable GM and i’ll take it
Well, the EV1 had a better range…. I am kinda wondering why the range on this one has been cut back???