Introducing the 2016 Chevy Volt (2.0)

i hope they have electric a/c, otherwise we'd hear complaints about no a/c at lights, like the old honda system. i don't care about the other items because they all reflect mpg's. and they are what they are. the amount of trips i take over 50 miles, i can live with it. it's worth it to drive ev the rest of the time. now if you give me a 25 mile gen Iv pip, i will hang around.

 

CHAdeMO is presently limited to 500v at 125A or 60 kW but since most battery packs need to charge at a max of around 400v it is effectively limited to 50 kW.

In a 24 kWh pack like the LEAF you don't really want to charge faster than that and as soon as there is any significant state of charge built up it will start slowly ramping the power levels down. In the LEAF about half way through charging you are probably down to a charging rate of 35 kW. An 18.4 kWh pack like the 2016 Volt would probably limit its charging rate to 40 kW and quickly begin tamping down.

It typically takes a battery with about 50-60 kWh like the cheaper Model S or the future Chevy Bolt to maintain the full output of a CHAdeMo plug for most of the charging time. In fact, some CHAdeMO sites may have problems with overheating when connected to a Model S with its new CHAdeMO adapter because they have never been stressed in the real-word with long periods of 50 kW output.

There are some battery chemistries (Toshiba SCiB cells, for example) that allow faster charging rates on smaller pack capacities but they are only used on a couple of less common cars like at least some versions of the Mitsubishi I-MIEV and perhaps the Outlander PHEV. The usual example battery chemistry and construction using Lithium Titanate anodes is less energy dense and therefore takes more packaging room and is typically more expensive.

I believe the SAE CCS DC charging standard that the Bolt will likely use is capable of sustaining up to 90 kW (like the initial rollout of the Tesla SuperCharging stations). But, all of the existing CCS (Combo Charging System) stations are limited to 60 kw or less since they are typically co-sited with CHAdeMO plugs today and no existings CCS-based cars to take advantage of higher charging rates yet.

 

yes, reflecting gregs post #80.

 

me neither. i just don't like the idea of going any smaller. i will have to test drive one someday.

 

No it is otto cycle ice with direct injection with wide valve settings and compression of 12.5:1. That means it can run in the atkinson cycle when software chooses, but will be in otto mode in high power settings. It probably costs gm a couple of hundreds of dollars more than toyota pays for the prius ice, but this could be as efficient or more. BSFC charts are not out yet.

I do not believe it uses cooled egr and ehr. The di and valving along with bigger battery means these systems would not greatly increase efficiency. It does have an electric airconditioner like the prius.

GM said drag should be about the same. cd = 0.28, cdA of the current volt is 6.7 versus the current prius of 6.2, so higher drag and cd. The weight had dropped to 3543 lbs (estimate) versus 3050 lbs for the current prius. The next gen prius should have slightly lower drag, and weight about 2900 lbs.

 

how long until you've owned it longer than lift back or pip?

 

It's easy to put yourself in the same class when you use a wide margin of error.

 

Atkinson -- the 2016 Volt engine has extended valve controls that allow it to optionally run in an Atkinson-style. The old Volt often runs the engine at higher load from the electric motors and wide open throttle with no air flow restrictions to reduce pumping losses which is one of the major benefits of Atkinson cycle.

Exhaust heat recovery -- My impression is that the old Volt does not do this but the new Volt might but I'm less informed on the details here.

Electric A/C -- yes the Volt has always had electric A/C with a variable scroll compressor

Drag ratio -- it is among the best cars made today but probably not quite as good as the Prius. The Volt is .28 but the ways of measuring this vary slightly at different wind tunnels.

Aluminum parts -- The old volt has an aluminum tailgate door and perhaps also the engine hood. The 2016 Volt has both.

For perspective, the 2016 Volt will have a combined mpg estimate of 41 mpg which is better than the similar weight Ford Energi C-MAX (38 mpg) and about the same as the lighter Camry hybrid (also 41 mpg) and smaller Lexus CT200h (42 mpg). The newly announced Hyundai Sonata PHEV with ~22 miles of range is estimated to get 41-42 mpg. Both the Ford Energi and Sonata PHEVs are about 10% less EV efficient than the Volt so there appears to be no real efficiency disadvantage to a 50 mile AER Volt versus the ~20 mile PHEVs so far.

 

the camry is a much bigger car.

 

Some of these are "yes" some are "no", what are the parameters of this list?

 

Mutual self-education is the goal.

 

Have you had your first oil change yet?

 

did you change yobs?

 

I believe the earlier Volt's have neither. The 2016 Volt engine has cooled EGR but not exhaust heat recovery.