Chevrolet developedthe first-generation Volt as an alternative to the "pure" electric vehicle.By being able to go about 35 miles on battery power alone and then run on gasolineafter that, the Volt gave owners the opportunity to drive around town like anEV without having to worry about running out of electrons. We liked theconcept, even with its flaws. But we're even more excited about the fullyredesigned 2016 Volt. Here's a case where a big "new and improved!" stickeron the side could be quite justified.
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt'sredesign more closely resembles other small sedans and no longer shouts "hybrid."
The Volt gets a new body structure and styling to go alongwith it. It looks more like a sleek contemporary compact sedan than the previousgeneration, which featured its hybrid credentials more prominently.Mechanically, the 2016 Volt kicks it into high gear. Its revised plug-in hybridpowertrain offers 53 miles of all-electric range, a 25 percent boost. That's enoughto handle the daily commuting needs of most Americans without ever requiring adrop of gasoline. And when gasoline is needed, the 2016 Volt's new, quieter 1.5-literengine now requires only regular grade gasoline and delivers an EPA-estimated42 mpg, up 13 percent.
Also on the new-and-improved list this year are a retuned suspensionand dashboard controls that do away with the futuristic-looking but hard-to-usetouch buttons in favor of real knobs and switches. A bigger 8-inch touchscreen isalso new and supports Apple's CarPlay smartphone interface. Farther back, Chevyhas added a third seat to the rear seat (admittedly, it's more of a perch thana seat), bringing the Volt's passenger capacity to five people, though overallspace is still on the small side.
If you need more room than what the Volt can deliver, thereare a few other options worth considering. The 2016Ford C-Max Energi hatchback and Ford Fusion Energi sedan are solid choices, though they can only go about 20 miles on electric power.Another interesting pick could be the redesigned Prius plug-in; it's expectedto get a boost in all-electric mileage, but further information was scarce asof this writing. There's also the smaller BMW i3, which is an EV but can beordered with a tiny two-cylinder range-extending gas generator. Overall,though, the "new-and-improved!" 2016 Volt shines very brightly amongthis group.
