2012 Chevrolet Volt

From the side, the Volt is a five-door hatchback with a high cowl and waistline and fairly narrow window openings. Lighter-colored cars benefit most from a black trim panel that carries the shape of the window onto the upper door, but the Volt is still chunky in a way that neither the Toyota Prius nor the all-electric Nissan Leaf is.

The Volt definitely gets noticed on the road, and we wouldn't call it bad-looking by any means. It's just not as distinctive--or perhaps iconic--as either of those trend-setting cars. The aerodynamic shape does say Chevy, with a modern and fully blanked-out replica of the twin-opening grille to the vertical glass panel in the almost-horizontal tailgate that improves visibility (somewhat)--just like a Prius.

Inside, it's a different story. The Volt may be a tight four-seat compact, but the cabin blends Chevrolet's characteristic twin-cockpit design with some very modern flourishes. The bright vehicle information display and its graphics are simply better than those of any other car wearing the bowtie emblem, and available glossy white trim inevitably evokes Apple products.

The surprise to drivers who may be familiar with hybrids, whose small engines often run out of breath, is how quick and sporty the Volt is. Its acceleration from 0 to 60 mph takes roughly 9 seconds, but it's smooth and stepless, with a strong surge of power right off the line to about 40 mph.

That's an advantage to electric motors, which produce peak torque from a standstill. We were even able to spin an inside front wheel slightly accelerating out of a turn. Try that in your Prius! Top speed is capped at 100 mph.

In mixed usage--using electricity first from the 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack and then, after 25 to 40 miles, switching to current generated by the range-extending 1.4-liter gasoline engine--the Volt's performance doesn't change. The driver may not even notice the engine when it first switches on, though its note changes as it provides power "buffered" through the battery. But acceleration is the same in either mode, making the Volt utterly predictable.

The driver can also select Mountain Mode, by the way, which leaves more power in the battery and makes the regenerative braking more aggressive for long periods of sustained power demand.

Electric power steering, suspension, and braking all are well integrated, and because the mass of the battery pack (located in the tunnel and under the rear seat) is mounted low, the heavy Volt holds the road well and corners flat.

You can also get shiny white plastic for the console, evoking an Apple product, though we worry that it would date quickly over the far longer life of a car. There's also piano black, by now a cliche, and we prefer the quieter glossy charcoal option.

Quality is high, with no rattles or squeaks from our test cars. A handful of owners have reported glitches or freezing up in the graphic display software, and Chevy--just as other makers do with their infotainment systems--has offered minor software updates.

Your mother might not ever know she was driving a Volt from behind the wheel, except for the lack of engine noise and perhaps the futuristic humming tone as the car boots up and does its system checks.

But without the masking effect of engine and transmission noise, that silence poses a new challenge: Engineers have to work that much harder to make accessories like wipers seem quiet, and either reduce or insulate against wind noise, tire roar, and a host of other sounds. Chevy's done a good job at this, with no startlingly loud sounds at speed or under full-throttle acceleration. Usually, the loudest thing you hear is the low-rolling-resistance tires.

Only sometimes, under sustained high power demand, did the engine noise rise to a howl as it revved to the top of its power curve. Otherwise, the battery pack buffers the power demands from the electric drive motor, complementing the power provided by the engine-generator.

During the fall of 2011, a fire in a Volt sitting in a wrecking yard--three weeks after it was destroyed by the NHTSA in a crash test--brought GM a lot of unwelcome media attention. The company noted that the wrecked car's battery pack had not been drained of its energy, as gasoline tanks in wrecked cars are routinely drained.

GM and the NHTSA are working together to identify the cause of the fire, and it's possible that 2011 and 2012 Volts may be recalled if the investigation shows that additional safety measures are required. It's worth noting, however, that conventional cars in the U.S. experience roughly 250,000 gasoline fires per year--many of those during the accident, not three weeks later.

Inside, eight airbags protect the Volt's four passengers. In front, dashboard and side airbags are joined by knee bolsters, and side air curtains stretch the full length of the passenger compartment.

The usual list of electronic safety measures--including anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control, and other systems--keep the 2012 Volt well behaved. Every Volt is fitted with GM's OnStar telecommunications system, which for 2012 includes three years of free service.

The 2012 Volt has a user-activated "chirping" noise that the driver can trigger by pulling the indicator lever, giving the driver a way to alert pedestrians if the car is approaching quietly. It does not have an automatic noise generator, as some other hybrid or electric-drive cars now do.

Unlike the first year's worth of Volts, though, for 2012 Chevrolet charges extra for both the energy-efficient Bose audio system ($495) and the navigation/DVD system (a whopping $1,995). The standard sound system has only AM and FM bands, and a CD player; the Bose system includes AM, FM, and XM satellite radio, MP3 playback, and DVD-ROM capability, along with a standard 60-GB hard drive that includes 30 GB of space to store personal music. Bluetooth connectivity comes with the sound system as well.

Other extra-cost options include polished alloy wheels and a handful of special paint colors, including Crystal Red Metallic Tintcoat and White Diamond Tintcoat.

Chevrolet warrants the Volt's lithium-ion battery for eight years or 100,000 miles--perhaps reassuring those owners who choose to buy a Volt rather than lease it for three years. The Volt is covered bumper-to-bumper for three years/36,000 miles, with a limited engine warranty of five years/100,000 miles. Roadside assistance is included for five years or 100,000 miles as well.

When the Volt switches over to power provided by its gasoline generator, however, the EPA rates it at 37 miles per gallon. That's lower than the 50-mpg combined rating of a Toyota Prius hybrid--meaning that the Volt is better for shorter distances, but the Prius will use less fuel overall if you travel hundreds of miles every day.

While prices vary greatly in different parts of the country, electricity is virtually always a cheaper energy source than gasoline, in part because gasoline engines are notably inefficient at converting the fuel's energy content into forward motion. The environmental impact of running on electricity produced from dirty coal has been studied, with the conclusion being that if you compare to a 50-mpg Prius, there are certain states in which the Prius is marginally cleaner. Compared to the average 25-mpg car, however, and electric running in a Volt is always cleaner on a wells-to-wheels basis.

Using standard 120-Volt household current and the charging cord stowed in the Volt's load bay, a full recharge of the Volt battery takes 8 to 12 hours. That's more than cut in half if you install a 240-Volt charging station, but unlike electric cars with larger packs, that's not an absolute requirement for the Volt if you can charge overnight.