2011 Chevrolet Volt First Drive

For all the radical departure from traditional automotive engineering that’s going on here, driving the test mule proved remarkably unremarkable. It drove like any common car. It accelerated, steered and braked in ways that wouldn’t disturb any driver who was unaware of the underlying technology. The big differences: it was all but utterly silent, devoid of even the whirring and gear-whining sounds we’re accustomed to hearing from EVs. Since there’s no disruption by gear-changing, it’s even more liquid-smooth than the latest luxury sedans with their seven- and eight-speed automatic transmissions. Unlike a Think, or several other prototypes we’ve driven, there was no golf-cart sensation at all, no sense of driving around in a science fair project or lab experiment—just solid, predictable, linear response to accelerator-pedal inputs.

Our drive was within the confines of GM’s Warren Technical Center, where we found room to make a couple of foot-to-the-floor runs up to an indicated 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph) on the vehicle’s metric speedometer. The car felt heavy for its size—the electric drive system adds about 700 pounds to the mass, and we had four full-size adults aboard and some of GM’s test gear—but the center of gravity, thanks to that floor-mounted battery pack, is very low, which aids handling.

The ride quality was good, as was the steering, and the integration of regenerative and normal friction braking (using hydraulic brakes with electric-power assist) was better than is the case in many hybrids now on the market. When using the D setting on the transmission lever, there was a slight sensation resembling sponginess in the brake pedal, but engineers told us this has already been tuned out of the newer prototypes. Using the L or city setting, the car decelerated sharply when lifting off the accelerator. This would be useful when driving down a steep grade and tolerable in a stop/go city-driving situation, but it’s too aggressive to be used on the highway.

We focused on the electric-car portion of the experience, but we must note that for a test mule, the Voltec one was exceptionally buttoned down and not at all crude. Which suggests good things in store for the Cruze on which it was based.