[ad#post_ad]On Thursday, December 24th, I took delivery of my Chevrolet Volt. I opted for Cyber Gray Metallic with black leather and dark accents. Shortly after my delivery, I drove approximately 400 miles to northern New Hampshire to visit with family for Christmas. While I intend to write some future posts about my delivery experience and subsequent long trips (including a soon-to-come 375 mile trip to Central NY), I wanted to take a moment to write this review about the Volt's performance in snow.

As I arrived to visit my family, I was greeted with about 2-3 inches of loose snow pack on all the roads. I was a little worried that I may be sliding around with the Volt's low rolling resistance tires. As I started to drive around in the snow-filled streets, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Volt behaved more like a tank than a compact hatchback.

This particular town in New Hampshire has a fair amount of hills as well, and despite the snow and hills, the car seemed to accelerate effortlessly in anything I threw at it. I could get the traction control light to blink if I floored the car, but that was expected. Otherwise, I was able to accelerate as quickly as I wanted, and the car handled the conditions effortlessly. It was amazing. I have not had any experience in freshly fallen snow just yet, but so far I am very impressed. My previous vehicle, a Honda Civic, would've spun a fair amount in these conditions even with snow tires, and the same is true for my relative's SUV and pick-up truck.

I also had my father and uncle both test drive the Volt within the past day or two. My uncle, who at first expected some sort of golf cart in the garage, commented, "it's like a real car" after driving it. (Of course it is! Here's a good example of how we can all help to dispel the electric car myths and show people what the Volt is really capable of.) When trying the vehicle on snowy hills and trying to accelerate faster than he expected the car to be able to handle, the Volt continued to perform effortlessly, and he then commented, "it's as if there's no snow at all".

Needless to say, both my father and uncle were impressed with the Volt's handling and ride quality, especially in the snow. I was consdering getting snow tires, but at this point I'm content in using the all-season tires and the Volt's stunning traction abilities.

I've also posted a video below showing the Volt negotiating up a steep grade, stopping, and then resuming up a hill. The hills don't look as steep in the video as they really are, but hopefully it helps get the points across.

I hope to have more posts about my Volt experience in the near future, here as well as in my forthcoming VoltNation blog.

Happy Volting!





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