Chevy certainly wanted to change the way consumers looked at mostly electric vehicles when they launched the Chevy Volt four years ago, but we are still living in a gasoline and hybrid age of cars. The 2016 Chevrolet Volt has a lot to offer drivers when it comes out next year, and here is our 2016 Chevrolet Volt Review, Price, Specs, and Release Date.
So far, the Chevrolet Volt has been getting somewhat favorable reviews as both The Car Connection and Car and Driver have given it four out of five stars. Granted, that would be a "B" rating on most student's test papers, but the specs are still impressive for a vehicle of its kind.
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt has an all-electric range of 53 miles, and then the gasoline engine takes over to recharge the battery, allowing for a total driving range of 420 miles. Some of the other specs are EPA 35/40 miles per gallon (mpg), 0-60 in 9.1 seconds, 84 horsepower, and a top speed of 101 mph. The range extender engine is a 1.5 four-cylinder engine to deliver 101 horsepower at 5600 rpm.
With this vehicle and its all-electric range of a little over 50 miles, most of us could probably run our daily errands with just that. As most are willing to just recharge overnight, it might be possible that the gas engine of the Volt won't even be used. The Volt runs on electric power until it depletes the usable portion of the battery, then can seamlessly switch to a combination of gas and electricity.
It would appear that Chevrolet isn't going out of their way to be really high-tech when it comes to this car, as the new model of the Volt comes with "an intuitive cockpit with more conventional controls". Another improvement is that it is quieter and more powerful than its predecessor.
The exterior of the car are different visually, but it remains a five-door hatchback. It has a lower cowl and sculpting on the doors, which is very different than the look of its predecessor, but it has the look of a sleek sedan with the front coming to a point. This new front design has been compared to a Honda Civic.
As far as the interior is concerned, the Volt has a central display screen and instrument-cluster display of the previous model, but the glossy plastic console with capacitive touch switch is no longer there. As mentioned before, the controls are more intuitive with knobs for heating and air conditioning.
One complaint by reviewers seems to be the fifth seat in the back, as that middle seat seems only big enough for passengers who are small.
As far as the price is concerned, there is a lot of variance in that number. The 5-door HB LT has an invoice price of $31,843 with an MSRP of $33,170. The 5-Door HB Premier has an invoice price of $36,019 with MSRP of $37,250. Some sources go very high on the Premier (leather seats, Bose stereo, heated front and rear seats) for $38,345. Perhaps it is best to save $40,000 if considering this one. The release date should be at the end of 2016.
