Chevrolet Volt nabs 230mpg rating

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By George Skentzos | August 12th, 2009

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.

Alex

I’m personally hoping that hydrogen will be the future fuel of choice in the end, but there is no arguing with those figures. Prius owners are going to look so silly and passé in two years and Toyota and Honda are actually going to be upstaged in technology by GM!
Now all they need to do is get it on the market. I read a report yesterday that said it may not be a sure thing yet. I hope it is because this is a hybrid that I would consider buying. I’d keep it for the city, but it seems so cheap to run and many of my daily trips could be done on electricity alone. I think it looks great too and I am certainly no fan of GM.
Keep in mind that this isn’t imperial MPG though, it’s the weird American one. But I think the way they came up with measuring economy is quite simple to follow.
Jake02

Lol make that makes me smug towards the Prius! The Volt is somewhat attractive as well as cleverer! Great! This car cannot be released soon enough.

I love it how Nissan fired back by saying the Leaf does 367mpg, very cheeky and clever!
Tom

I’m happy to see another Prius beating car, but the rating system does seem a little arbitrary. I mean, why 100 km? The EPA already has separate testing procedure for normal electric hybrid, purely electric cars, and petroleum based cars. Making an all new procedure for electric hybrids with bigger batteries seems a little strange (and yes, I know the Volt is an EV car with a petrol generator, different to the Prius and Insight). They could have made the test 70km long, that way the Volt would have done 1200MPG.
http://caradvise.com.au Schah7

Typical G.M “attention seeking advertising” when really its
“false advertising”
Ya all ready bankrupt G.M dont make it any worse for youself through false claims.!
The “Volt” looks good but wont come near the Toyota Prius
for hybrid technology for a long while.!
Paulo

And the point of this car is … An EV that becomes a petrol car for long holiday road trips?

I’m hoping the Leaf is quite cheap so people can afford to hire petrol cars for longer trips, so they don’t have to buy two cars in one … Should be more economically efficient to only pay for the petrol engine when you need it?
Carl

Good for people in big cities but for people who live in country towns and travel long distances a turbo diesel does a cheaper and better job…….I just bought a Hyundai i30 diesel wagon manual for under 27,000 with cruise control drive away and in the real world should be more efficient and practical than these 40 or 50 thousand dollar hybrids!! Thanks Hyundai for giving people on a tight budget an affordable turbo diesel with decent room for a growing family like us!!!!
jon

I`d be more concerned with reliability than fuel consumption, it is a GM product after all.
Richo

Schah7 – this is an official rating, not what GM says it will do, its what the US Evnvironmental Protection Agency says what it will do. Maybe you should actually read the article before making stupid comments
NacaYoda

So if you make a hybrid with a big enough battery to get you 100km without using the petrol engine, you can say your car uses “0.0 litres per 100kms”?

This is farcical.
Bloody Americans. No clues.

I can see the headlines later in the year, “Infinity Miles to the gallon!”
Absinthe

So this car is only good for people who have a garage!? I live ia an apartment block with no facility to charge a car unless I run a 35m extension cord.
The article also stAted tht on longer trips the fuel condumption will b 4.7l/100kms, thts actually more than a mini diesel and/or prius!
Simon

NacaYoda, not bloody Americans.
Go to the USA and you might just learn they aren’t all idiots.
You are correct in pointing out the false ecconomy they are promoting. This is a discrepancy in their fuel consumption rating system which makes no allowances for electric cars. Of course GM has capitalised on this.
I’m still dissapointed with the range from electric only driving. The next generation of battery technology is promising so I hope it arrives sooner rather than later.
cg

this thing will have massive reliability issues when its released,will have nothing on a 3rd gen prius…tried and tested tech….gm will have a lot of catching up to do for years to come
DG

VW was going to come out with a diesel hybrid which would consume just over 3L/100km. makes more sense to use the current good fuel consumption of a diesel with a hybrid.
Current problems with 100% electric cars are, how do we create the electricity, coal power, burns fuel, creates pollution. the only way electric cars will be fuel efficient is if australia uses nuclear power……
Richo

fact of the matter is you cannot drive a toyota prius 100km without using any fuel, thats the point, you CAN’T DO IT in any other car, this is an innovation, its impressive and good on GM for bringing something new to the market and trying to fight out of the hole they are in with innovation.
Tom

To answer “Car – Enthusiasts” rather dumb question, the petrol engine only ever kicks in to recharge the batteries, unlike a prius the petrol engine in a volt never actually drives the wheels, so the power available doesn’t depend on whether the electric engine is running from the battery or from the petrol motor which is charging the battery.
Deco

It costs 40c to charge the car, which is a large amount cheaper then the running costs of similar sized cars today.
First Tom

Damn imposters (jk). In Oz the national average CO2 produced per kWh is 1kg (worse in Victoria, better in Tas and SA). The Volt has 16kWh batteries, which with the efficiency of chargers would require around 17kWh to charge, optimistically. Thus to go that 65km petrol free, it’d take 17 kg of CO2 for 65km, or the equivalent of 7.4L of petrol for 65km, which makes the Volt as energy efficent as a VE Commodore (pre-SIDI). At a CO2 level then, the Volt is better when its not running off batteries.

If we really want to reduce CO2, we have to focus on how we generate electricity. If we just want to use less petrol, then yes, the Volt is our saviour. But we’ll have to drop the ‘Volt will save the planet’ act.
http://carAdvice The Salesman

Do you think they made it 230 mpg just so they could use the nervous looking power point cartoon as the zero?
This is not the first time GM have produced a car that runs wholly or in part on electricity. Remember the EV1? All were leased and all were crushed and buried.
GM had a huge leap start on this technology. I hope they have learnt there lesson and we don’t see history repeat.
http://38026/chevrolet-volt-nabs-230mpg-rating/ Hans

1.022 litres per 100km is all well and good but how much is the Volt going to cost to buy up front?

Petrol as a running cost is a distant third in a new car compared to depreciation, insurance and maintenance.
Buck

The real question is, do the numbers stack up ?

When you look at what is likely to be a very high initial capital cost, expensive battery replacement every eight years or so, extreme depreciation due to advances in other technology and or superior batteries, who wants to pay a very high price to effectivly be a “lab rat” for GM, (of all companies), new technology ?

People seem obsessed with the fuel economy figure when they should be thinking of the overall cost of motoring.
lazybones

“Thus to go that 65km petrol free, it’d take 17 kg of CO2 for 65km, or the equivalent of 7.4L of petrol for 65km, which makes the Volt as energy efficent as a VE Commodore (pre-SIDI). ”

Tom your missing the Co2 emissions created for each litre of petrol produced. And also keep in mind the volt doesn’t use 100% of its 16Kwh battery to travel that 65km. The charger kicks in when the battery is about 30%.So running your example again.

Volt (EV Mode) = 12kg Co2
VE Commodore Omega (10.9L/100KM) @ 65km (7.0 ltrs) = 17kg C02

So without considering the carbon footprint of producting & getting the fuel to your local petrol station the EV mode Volt is 30% more efficient!
swampdawg

It looks like a Holden Cruzz(Phonetic) – oops cruze.

Yes Salesman, GM had their chance in 1996 to 99 with the EV1 and failed miserably with cancelling the EV1 leases and destroying most of them. The EV1 was called a ‘technological milestone and a complete business failure’ GM’s motto really.
I hope it has strong tow points, decent roadside assitance and large spatula to scrape it up after it melts on a 45 degree day out in the Hay plains.
Mexican made Delco electrics = Chinese Lucas electrics.
Duty Cycle rating of ?
Where is Holdens ecommodore we were told was so fantastic, revolutionary and would halve our fuel consumption?
absi

one of the comments above mentioned that “fact of the matter is you cannot drive a toyota prius 100km without using any fuel, …”

I think and hope that u mean petrol instead of fuel… coz how do u think that electricity is produced in most countries at the moment?

so esentially this car is just using a different fuel… instead of petrol it will be coal or whatever else is used to produce electricity.

Also, why would I buy this car, when relatively affordable full Electric cars that can carry 5 adults will be available before this even makes it to production? They both rely on charging stations.

The Volt’s economy would make perfect sense in inner city driving, but most inner city apartment blocks here in melbourne atleast either dont have parking, or if they do, its just undercover, with no facility for charging ur car.

All these cars are great in theory but in practical terms i would still buy a hybrid/diesel untill the infrastructure issue is solved, which seems like it would take years….

The Volt, if i remember correctly, is based on a Cruze. So, esentially I would be paying twice/three times the price for a car thats actually a cruze under it?

no doubt its an innovation, or perhaps just a different way or presenting figures etc …. but GM had a good thing going for them with EV1 and they crapped on it!
swampdawg

Lazybones, Would the volt be a more efficient series hybrid if the IC motor was replaced with a tiny coal fired power station
Alex

cg, you can’t just predict massive reliability problems with no basis. You may be right, but this is a completely new car that isn’t even due for two years. Give it a chance to make it’s way onto the market before you decide it will be unreliable.

Hans, not everything is about saving money. If you drive, petrol and diesel are a fact of life and you pay for them. Think in terms of it actually saving oil; the natural resource that probably never should have powered cars.
Tim

I bet $50 that real world consumption will be about 4L/100km.
absi

just read on some other blog, that Volt would cost 40k USD… the prius is around 21k USD.

comparing that with the Australian car prices, a prius is about 35k AUD (i think) so what would be the price for a Volt be?

Also, Nissan Leaf – the EV , has a target price of 25-30k USD.. so it will be cheaper than the Volt.
Toxic_Horse

I would buy one of these for sure if i could afford it. I reckon its awesome.
Yanzo

you have to charge it too much, petrol heads aren’t gonna buy it
First Tom

Lazybones, having read a little more about the Volt, the 40mile range covers from 85 – 25% charge of the battery, meaning the capacity is around 9.6kWh (Volt drains down to 25% and then uses the generator until charge is above 30%, before switching off, so 25% is the minimum charge not 30%). Thus with this new figure, the equivalent fuel efficiency of the Volt on EV power alone is 4.43L per 65km, or 6.8L per 100km. Still worse. I didn’t factor in the energy cost of refining and transporting fuel, but neither did I factor in the energy cost of distributing electricity either. So its still a fair comparison.
cg

alex,
no basis?
i am in the auto trade and have worked with gm & toyota products for more than 10 years.
so my basis has been forged from experience and not assumption like you might think.
somehow i dont think things are going to change with this very complex model
Mav

They need to rethink methodolgy of measuring fuel consumption. Surely the initial charge and “energy” consumed needs to be counted?
Martin

I agree with, LPi.
Maneesh

Absinthe, its not GM’s responsibility to give you an electricity connection! Complain to your landlord!
absinthe

Maneesh, u completely missed the point of my comment.

there is no use releasing a product in the market which is not usable by the masses! whats the point of releasing Volt if you cant charge it, without using petrol?? may as well buy a prius.
Tomas79

Does this mean that the fully electric golf carts have MPG of infinity??
lazybones

” IC motor was replaced with a tiny coal fired power station”

How about a hampster on a treadmill to recharge while you drive?

First Tom, What do you mean by its still worse, worse that what? the Commodore or the volts efficiency when running of its generator?

With energy production emissions, we would have to consider Emissions of the coal mining + inefficiencies of the power generation, delivery over the grid would be minor. But even still it would be way less than oil production. Just think about it, Gas flaring , sea & land transportation, refining, delivery to petrol station.
Falkman

If you are one who uses your car for less than 65km’s per day (most of the time) this kind of car would be a god send. Means you would be running it for next to nothing (40c per charge). Obviously you would have the occational longer trip or commute more than 65km’s but theoretically you could drive this car until it gives up without ever having to put petrol in it.
Not something a diesel or a prius car do.
While clearly not the best thing that will ever come out (obviously there will be future advances in technology) this is definately a major step up from the simple combustion engine, and a step up again from the technology in the Prius. Good on GM. The sooner it’s on the road the better.
Shak

All those people who say these cars wont work because of the way the elctricity is generated are a bit ahead of time. The grid already produces extra to cove the base requirement. The only time these sorts of cars will make an impcat is when every second person owns one. The volt is a step in the right direction for GM and Holden. Sure the prius and Mini diesel may acheive better economy, but they are smaller and offer less practicality in the long term.
Rick

I think cars like the Volt and Prius make more sense than a full electric vehicle.

All these electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi MiEV have ranges of about 160 km’s – but what happens when you turn on the headlights or wack the aircon on? Knowing how much power headlights use I reckon the range of those electric vehicles will fall dramatically compromising their usefulness even further.
Frenchie

I think some poeple are getting confused between MPG (miles per GALLON) and energy Kw/h regarding fuel consuption figure.
Some of you focus on about coal fired power stations, there are slowly alternative power generation in Australia.
However if you still not happy I sure there are suitable sites near where you live for nuclear fission power plant.
J

I think fuel consumption should be stated in kilograms of non-renewable energy source per 100km, or something like that. That way you can factor in full cost of producing & consuming petrol, coal, hydrogen, uranium, etc., fuels per distance travelled. Comparing different technologies & applications can then be done on a more level playing field. Clean renewable energy sources can be excluded from figures.
Mumble Duck

Har!!!! Sucked in Prius….
Rick Shaw

Falkman Quote
“theoretically you could drive this car until it gives up without ever having to put petrol in it.
Not something a diesel or a prius car do.”

i’m pretty sure that you could run a diesel powered car until it gives up without putting petrol in it.
realcars

Always thought that full time electric drive with a ICE powered charger the way to go.

Yanks are pretty amazing when they focus.
http://www.automotivecraze.com Chevrolet Traverse

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why not 1000mpg?

What a story, this fictitious car will never go into production it is purely a propaganda story for the bankrupt GM to make them look good in the eye of there new owners the american public! Has anyone seen a firm date for production to start? 2011, 2014, 2035! what’s the point it will never exist! Toyota is the king of hybrid technology and that is “here and now” not some bed time 230mpg story!
why not 2000mpg?

And is anyone willing to have a guess at the volts australian price in 2012? Well it will be about double the prius in americia when eventually (if ever)released, so the pruis is 40k here so does that mean the volt will be 80k? well that will be good value!
why not 2000mpg?

There may even be a HSV volt for $120k!
Alex

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.
DGS

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.
Shak

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.
Car – Enthusiast

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!
Mike

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.
Frenchie

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).
Alan

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
Bob

Shak, the Volt is built off the Delta platform, not the Insignia’s Epsilon platform.
Max

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.
The Realist

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.
lazybones

“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.
RoFlmaTiC

According to this model, the Tesla roadster gets infinity mpg.

You can buy one of those right now as well…
poorWheelDriver

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
Herron

Well, the EV1 had a better range…. I am kinda wondering why the range on this one has been cut back???