First Impressions - Chevrolet Volt

 

 

It is the environmental halo car of the newly reorganized GM, the new direction for a company that needed drastic change to become competitive once again. I was looking forward to driving the Volt, two years after having tested the prototype in electric mode only. While I’ve been a pretty big fan of the electric car, the Volt was a good meal that left a sour taste in my mouth.

Let’s start with the good, because deep down, it is a good car. I love the looks; the interior design is fantastic for a company that used to launch vehicles with interior designs that were outdated before they even made it to the production line. Build quality has been vastly improved over older GM’s; the Volt is a solid, tight feeling car with high quality buttons and dials. For the first time I’ve driven a car where the light dimmer switch actually dims all light emitting sources inside the car from a single point, even the annoyingly bright high beam light. And finally, the serenity of electric drive; this car is so quiet that the loudest distraction was the gears in the differential coming under load when pulling away from a stop, bravo GM, in electric mode the Volt is a champ.

However, there is a lot of damning issues left unfinished, imperfections that really should have been taken into account back in the research and development days, simple and common sense issues that should have been sorted before the car was ever put into production. Dual screens bombard the driver with distracting information while the centre stacks layout is confusing at best. Even after a week I couldn’t figure out how to get certain operations to work, and had my eyes away from traffic far too much. However, even when I was watching the road, massive A-pillars with a steep rake killed peripheral vision, making left-hand turns almost a crap shoot. The rear-view mirror is mounted high on the windshield behind a raised portion in the roof. This not only obscures the majority of the view out the back but even rendered the auto-dimming function completely useless. The blind spots are large and the shifter will draw blood putting the car in park.

However, the most disappointing letdown was the Volts fuel efficiency once the petrol engine engaged. Averaging 6.3L/100km, the Volt not only gets its ass kicked by Prius, a TDI Golf also gets nearly 1L/100km better efficiency on the highway, pretty much making the whole point of the Volt mute. The Volt was designed for Range Anxiety racked Americans that want kill their dependence on fuel while still being able to drive long distances. If you need to drive long distances you’re better off buying a Golf TDI that is $15K cheaper and gets better efficiency. A city dweller that does the odd road trip, save $1,500 on a Nissan Leaf with nearly twice the range and save it for a rental when you need to travel.

I know I’ve been hard on it, I do actually like the car, but there are just way too many short comings for a car that costs over $41K. Hopefully a good mid-cycle refresh will iron out most of the issue I’ve had, however, how this car won so many awards is beyond me.

First Impressions: Chevrolet Corvette 427

 

In all my years as an Automotive Journalist, I've yet to put my hands on a Chevrolet Corvette. Stubbornly, I've always shunned the Vette as an "all engine, no poise" poorly built muscle car without really driving one. Well, know I have and I’m beginning to change my tune.

Where I got it right, the interior is painfully ugly and went out of style in the late 80’s. Really, it still uses buttons from that era. The seats feel as though they are planks of plywood with a bit of low-density foam tossed on top. The steering knocks about, the clutch pedal is longer that a tractors and it drives like an old pickup when not pushing it to the limits. Finally it’s the poster car for the man’s midlife crisis, as not one 20 or 30 year old gave me the thumbs up, but every guy over the age of 50 were drooling at the sight of it.

 

Where I got it wrong, it is a beautifully balanced car, the magnetic ride and super sticky, super wide Michelin Pilot Sports will have it bending physics theories in corners, the brakes are some of the best I’ve ever experienced, the seating position is that of a proper sports car. When you do start to push it, the truck feel of the controls goes away and everything starts to make sense, and finally, it’s just really good fun to drive, while having no refinement, no real technology, it harkens back to when sports cars where no nonsense, no frills, single minded speed demons. Other than a USB port to play you favourite music, a GPS unit to save the real man from the embarrassment of asking for directions and traction control to keep everything on the straight and narrow when in civil environments, there is nothing else added to the 427 Vette that doesn’t make it go faster.

So do the old guys know something we don’t? I’m beginning to think they do, or I may be in denial of how much my hairline is degrading. Either way, the Vette is a proper sports car, a car that nostalgically brings back the true joy of driving.

Feature: Powertrain Dilema

It was only three short years ago, when the last big fuel price inflation made the full-size truck the most feared vehicle on the market. Well the summer of 2011 is here, and with it comes sky-rocketing fuel prices once again. So, those of you who rushed out and purchased a full-size truck once the prices stabilized last year, did you think ahead? Are you currently in need of a full-size pickup, but don’t want to take a shellacking when regular pops up over $1.50/Litre?

In an ever-increasing battle to produce the most fuel-efficient trucks on the market, there has been a rash of new powertrain options out there to make the most of the fuel you put into them, all in different ways. Certain power options help those who may not drive their trucks much at all, some help those who have to deal with urban environments, and some get those who need to cover great distances with heavy loads the best bang for their gas station buck.

So what works best for you? It all depends what you plan to do with your truck. Here is a rundown of the advances the manufactures have made in the fuel efficiency of their full-size trucks, and how they best serve potential owners.

Efficient Gasoline

Ford has been making the most of the most popular fuel on the planet for well over one hundred years now, and guess what? They are still finding ways to get even better efficiency out of the same old 87-octane that’s been sold at the corner gas station for nearly as long. A jump in fuel efficiency technology in the last few years has rewarded most manufacturers with incredibly thrifty fuel sippers. The implementation of direct fuel injection, variable valve timing, new lighter materials and turbo technology has allowed some truck makers to get the same power from a six-cylinder that was previously only found in V-8’s only a few short years ago, while increasing efficiency by as much as a third in some cases.

Chryslers new six-piston darling, the 3.5L Pentastar V-6 has replaced the old 3.0L CRD diesel engine in the Jeep Grand Cherokee because it gets better fuel mileage. Likewise, Fords equally touted EcoBoost 3.5L V-6 Turbo has given F-150 owners V-8 power in the form of a V6, while also increasing fuel efficiency by 20%. These numbers are impressive, however where these vehicles excel is in the cost of these upgrades. In terms of the Jeep, the Pentastar powered Grand Cherokee is the base spec vehicle, so you literally pay nothing for the increase in efficiency. Ford on the other hand have not released the cost of their new EcoBoost at the time of writing, but word has it the turbo 3.5L will be an option fetching somewhere around the order of $2,000. So, if you are buying a large truck and you may not be using it as a daily driver, but still want to save at the pump, a high efficiency gasoline powered unit will likely be the most economical choice.

Hybrid

Now this is a bit of an odd one. In terms of the timeline of light trucks, the hybrid is still in its primordial ooze stage of life. As of right now, there is only one company offering a hybrid pickup on the market, and that’s the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Hybrid along with its GMC twin, the Sierra 1500 Hybrid. Sporting a full-size chassis and a 6.0L FlexFuel V8, one would legitimately question the use of a Hybrid drivetrain on such a vehicle. The fact is, it works, and works quite well, as this full-size truck gets mid-sized car fuel efficiency. GM rates the Silverado Hybrid at 10.1L/100km in the city and 8.4L/100km on the highway. In testing I confirmed these numbers, which made my Volvo look more like a Hummer.

The beauty of a Hybrid is that its delivery of electrical power means this vehicle is at its best in the urban environment, and if you happen to live near one of two FlexFuel stations in Canada, the extra low Co2 emissions of this vehicle will also kick up your environmental karma. The downfall of this powertrain option is undoubtedly the cost of the technology. Hybrid technology is complicated and still in its pioneering form of R&D. As such, cost of fuel savings in the Silverado is huge, requiring an investment of nearly $20,000 over the base Silverado’s MSRP. At that cost, you will want to be sure that you keep it for a good long time to make up those extra costs.

As mentioned, the only hybrid pickup available in the North American market at present is the Silverado Hybrid. However, Ram are currently field testing their own hybrid product that will likely hit showrooms in a little over a years time.

Diesel

Finally we come to diesel, my favourite fuel, at least when it comes to trucks. For the most part, here in Canada, diesel is cheaper than gasoline when you get to the pump, and once you have it in your tank, it does a hell of a lot more for you. Diesel not only stretches out your range and fuel efficiency numbers, but it also gives you added torque for hauling large loads. Unfortunately, the only trucks currently offering diesel engines are domestic Heavy Duty trucks. Elsewhere in the world, it’s the compact turbo diesel pickup that reigns king, however, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Ford have chosen to keep the efficient little four bangers out of the mid-sized truck market here in Canada. However, there is hope, as Cummins is working on a highly-efficient four-cylinder that is likely to be inserted into both the Ram and Nissan Titan 1500’s.

However, here and now, it’s the 6.6L Duramax, the 6.7L Power  Stroke and 6.7L Cummins that are the only available units, found in the Silverado/Sierra, F-250/350 and Ram Heavy Duties respectably. Due to the sheer size and weight of these vehicles, you would think any benefits of diesel power have long since been offset. However, with new regulations governing these vehicles and demand to create more efficient Heavy Duties for small businesses, these big guzzlers have seen quite a bit of headway in this department. Unfortunately, these same regulations say that any vehicle with a GVW higher than 8,000 lbs does not legally have to post the vehicles fuel-efficiency numbers, however, in a recent test of Chevrolet’s contender, the 6.6L equipped Silverado, I saw efficiency numbers of 12.2L/100km on the highway, and 15.3L/100km in the city, and that’s with a load in the back.

Where the diesels fall down a bit is the cost to equip each truck with the diesel option is still quite large. Expect to dish out $9,670 extra for the GM, $9,950 extra for the Ford and $7,975 for the Ram; not hybrid money, but still a good chunk of cash to make your full tank last a little longer.  As such, you’ll want to make sure that you are getting good use out of the vehicle to make up for the added expense. So, if you need a truck to haul large loads for long distances, the diesel will likely be you best choice.