General Motors has unveiled the 2nd generation of the Chevrolet Volt Plug-in Hybrid for the 2016 model year. The new car has refreshed styling and enhanced range. On battery power only, the new Volt has a range of 50 miles, up from 38 in the previous generation vehicle. The total range using the 1.5L gasoline engine is up to 400 miles up from 380. All in all, the car should be able to achieve 1,000 miles of range between trips to the gas station. The car is also 100 pounds lighter, and quicker with a 0-60 time of 8.4 seconds.
The improvements come partly from a new generation of battery and power train. The new batteries from LG Chem are 20 lighter while reducing the number of cells by nearly 100 to 192. Despite the reduced weight, the battery has a slightly larger capacity up to 18.4kWh from 17.1. The new twin electric motors can be used in tandem for more power or one at a time. Using both will give the 2016 Volt a little more oomph than the previous generation in acceleration and passing. The 1.4L range extension engine has been replaced by a new 1.5L model. It has 101 horsepower compared to the 84hp 1.4L. Despite the extra power, the 2016 Volt is more efficient at 41mph combined on gasoline.
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Source: General Motors
