Two Volt Myths Busted: G-Forces and Guns

[cnicholson]

Decided to take the Volt to the shooting range. I didn't fit a gun rack in there, but with one rear seat folded down, it holds enough stuff to make any "prepper" proud.

The range near me is 15 miles of twisty mountain roads away. I know the road reasonably well, having made dozens of runs in various high performance cars over the years. This is a shared use road (bikes and motorcycles) so 10/10ths is not advisable, but plenty of fun at 7/10ths. My expectations for the Volt were very low.

Against these low expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised. Tires are terrible and howl like banshees when pushed even slightly. And the car understeers worse than a fat Audi. But, with traction control off, you can safely play at the limits of adhesion and use that L/Sport Torque to roll on the power very precisely out of turns. Almost-- Kind of--- Fun.

I closed in on a sporty looking Infinity G37S at a decent Delta-V, but noticed that he was right behind a slow pickup truck. As the truck pulled over to allow passing on a safe straight, I made a move to pass both of them. But the G37 driver was having none of it and squirted ahead of me as I also passed the truck. Needless to say, I closed the gap and stayed with him through some more twisties (admittedly with a lot more screeching from my tires-- but otherwise little drama). When he finally let me pass, it did not take long for him to disappear behind a few turns.

I think here, "knowing the line" makes up for a lot of HP and handling, but it was still fun to dust him in EV mode shortly after he scoffed at me....

It will be fun to get the Volt in an environment where limits can truly be tested. The smooth TQ powering out of slow turns is really nice (but have to turn off the nannies to play properly).

[DonC]

Great story. Nice to hear that you're letting your inner juvenile delinquent out! LOL

I think electrics are very responsive which, along with lots of regen, makes them a lot of fun to drive on mountain roads. To get really good performance you'd have to deep six the stock tires but that would cost you a considerable range and is hardly worth it. I suspect the ELR will be tuned more for performance than for electric range.

The other thing that makes an electric so much fun coming down mountains is that it's so different to see your fuel gauge going UP! That for me was the coolest part.

[hunseder]

Agreed about the regen effect! What other car have you had where there was more "gas" in the tank when you arrived than when you left? My usual trip into town results in a 3 mile gain in range by the time I arrive and it's not a steep downhill either...

[Brian Loves Cars]

I enjoyed your write up, sounds like fun. !

[QB 45]

Wow, that sounds pretty cool! My (pending) Volt will be a gun-hauling machine, it's going to be great! I'm a pretty mild driver though, I just don't have the guts to go fast'n'furious.

[Selling Volts At Sundance]

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Talk about hard running- I can't seem to get above 49 miles- S.O.C. Most likely the way that I always run the 14 or so miles to the Dealership every morning. When out on public roads, I must demonstrate the product. Even if it means dusting a late model BMW on the freeway cross town. Yup, this means at times running W.O.T. Snicker at my Volt and try and blow by me at 80 mph and, you bet I'm rocking up to 95+ all electric- Ya I saw your jaw drop as you fade behind me! .....All Electric!

The way home is on 45-35 mph 14 mile main drag- Thrill to double tap the drive mode, drop into "L" and play hard. This volt pops lanes sure and true with the heavy regeneration deceleration keeping the car in tight grip- To much fun for hypermileing...Ain't gonna bust 50 SOC driving like this, but, it is a blast!

Gonna get a ticket or thrown in jail- Dare you to snicker at my Volt- Now you have just witnessed the amazing 100% torque play of this machine...

By the way as you eat my dirt, stare at the back end of my Amazing Chevy Volt EREV!!

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