Published on: Wednesday, June 02, 2010

By Brady Holt

The strong-selling Toyota Prius made it clear, and tougher federal gas mileage standards made it even clearer: Environmentally friendly cars can’t be just “a hobby” for General Motors.

GM has dabbled in green technologies for years, building a handful of two-seat electrics in the 1990s, experimenting with hydrogen fuel cell technology and using gas-electric hybrid drive trains to add one or two miles per gallon to some of its existing products.

Speaking Wednesday to an audience of University Maryland students, Keith Cole, GM’s legislative and regulatory affairs director, promised that the automaker’s latest effort will be different.

Cole described the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt, a four-door, four-passenger compact hatchback, as the perfect mix between an all-electric car and existing gas-electrics like the Prius.

The Volt—which is scheduled to appear on dealer lots in the Washington area, Detroit and California this fall—is powered by electric batteries with an estimated range of 40 emissions-free miles.

But unlike an all-electric car in which the driver would need to track down an electrical outlet to charge the car’s depleted battery, the Volt also includes a gasoline engine that serves as a generator to recharge the battery, even as the battery continues to power the vehicle.

Drivers who typically travel less than 40 miles a day would therefore use no gas, plugging their cars in overnight to charge between commutes. The gasoline “range extender” kicks in for longer trips or unexpected detours.

This package would likely hold broad appeal at mainstream-level prices, but even at the rumored price tag of more than $30,000, the Volt’s look and feel make it distinct from an entry-level economy car.

The shape of the car was determined by its aerodynamics, leaving it with a distinctively high rear end. The front is adorned with a handsome application of Chevrolet’s split-grille design element.

The Volt’s interior also feels a cut above economy grade. The instrument panel uses a glossy white plastic that’s more often seen adorning an Apple computer than the inside of a car, leaving a pervasive impression of advanced technology. Vibrant graphic display screens further separate it from the automotive norm. The four leather seats are roomy and comfortable.

But for all that aesthetic uniqueness, the drive of the Volt feels conventional, even compared to a Prius. The steering and brakes feel natural. There’s plenty of pep. The seating position, while a bit lower than some cars, doesn’t serve as a reminder that this is a special automobile.

The car is quiet, of course. The electric motor emits a faint whine under acceleration, but even when the gasoline engine is running to recharge the batteries, it’s drowned out by standard wind and road noise. Because the electric motor actually powers the vehicle, the gas engine is always running at the equivalent of idle, providing no more noise than you’d hear if you were to roll down the street in a gas-powered car in neutral.

The short test drives GM offered at the University of Maryland stayed at low speeds, but the noise levels in the Volt would not likely stray too far below the average car, as wind and road noise is the dominant sound on the highway anyway. And as a nod to pedestrians who might not hear the near-silent motor, the Volt lets drivers pull on the headlight-control stalk to activate a quiet horn as a warning that an electric car is approaching.

The Volt’s electric underpinning and environmental focus do force some compromises in its utility compared to a gas-powered small hatchback.

Aerodynamics, not practicality, have dictated the roofline, which requires ducking low to hop into the back seat, one passenger hit her head as she got in. The Volt’s shape also cuts into the view out the back and to the sides, although the instrument panel’s screen includes a rearview camera display. And the battery pack running from the front to the back of the car consumes what would normally be a fifth seating position.

Those quibbles aside, the Volt is for the most part a normal-feeling and very pleasant small car that happens to use no gasoline on a 40-mile drive, needing instead only about 80 cents worth of electricity.

The only compromise, then, is the cost. GM hasn’t said what it will charge for its Volt, but estimates continue to float around $35,000 to $40,000.

“We’re not setting a price yet, but it’s gonna be affordable, it’s gotta be affordable,” GM project engineer Doug Baker said, as he sat in the passenger seat of a pre-production Volt prototype while a Prius owner sampled the car on the streets of the University of Maryland campus.