[JRRF]

I'm new here and considering a 2017 Volt. Considering how little the salespeople actually know about these cars, I'm hoping I can tap into some expertise here. I have several questions:

1) When adaptive cruise applies the brakes, does it use regular and/or regenerative braking to slow down? Does this answer depend on what drive mode you are in, or whether you are in D or L?
2) Can you shift between D and L on the fly?
3) Can you switch between modes (mountain, normal, hold, sport) on the fly?
4) Does sport mode only affect the steering, or are there any suspension changes, or changes to drive mode?
5) Are there really no heat ducts in the back seat? Does anyone have experience in cold weather with getting it warm back there? What about cooling ducts?
6) Can you plug or unplug the car when it is "on"? How about if the motor is running?

Sorry up front for all the questions, and I hope they haven't already been beaten to death somewhere else. Feel free to answer one/many. Thanks in advance.

 

[MrEnergyCzar]

Yes to 2,3 and 6. Sport mode increases the pedal response. Same as in Gen 1. Others can chime in on that and the cruise control questions..

 

[saghost]

Welcome. I've never driven a second generation car, but I think I know most of the answers...

1) All braking is blended - the car uses regen first when possible any time you hit the brake pedal, and does the same itself under ACC.
2) Shift any time, at any speed. No physical changes happen when shifting between D and L, only changes to software variables.
3) Actually exactly like 2) - any time, any speed, only changing the active software variables.
4) The only effect of Sport on first generation Volts was a much more aggressive accelerator pedal map. I'm not certain if it does anything more on second generation cars.
5) I don't know.
6) You can safely plug and unplug at any time. The car won't start charging while it is on, but it can be turned on while charging and will then continue to charge. While plugged in, the car will not shift out of Park.

 

[Barry]

4) Just to add to the answer above, sport mode has no affect on steering. The only thing that changes is accelerator pedal response. You get more acceleration with less movement of the pedal.

 

[jcanoe]

Re: #5 Yes. There are rear seating ducts located under the front seats that direct air to the feet of the back seat passengers.

 

[Norton]

.... Considering how little the salespeople actually know about these cars, .....
6) Can you plug or unplug the car when it is "on"? How about if the motor is running?
.....

You are off to a good start knowing how little car salesmen know.
Do you know how to tell if they are lying? (A classic joke on the subject.)
Do your own research and don't believe much of what the sales dogs say.

I can answer 6): Yes, you plug and unplug while the car is powered up.
You can't shift out of park if the car is plugged in.
You can't plug in while the motor is running because that would mean the car is moving !!

Electric Motor. Gas Engine.

You won't be sorry with a Volt. It is a Full Feature EV. It is also a Hybrid when the battery is depleted.
Most PHEV's are very limited at being an EV.

 

[JRRF]

Thanks all for the replies.

I know the heating duct question seems strange, but I read somewhere that it doesn't have them in the back. I'm well on my way to getting a new Volt as soon as my current lease expires. I think I have the usual complaints that people here have expressed (e.g. no homelink etc.), and I certainly wish the car had a little more storage.

Norton, you say: "You can't plug in while the motor is running because that would mean the car is moving !!" I thought if you pop the hood, the engine can be running. Does that preclude you from plugging in the charger? Or is the entire system pretty idiot proof and so I just shouldn't worry about the whens/hows?

 

[Nebula]

Don't need to worry about the engine when plugging in. Shouldn't affect anything.
Though I don't know why you would keep it running if you just parked to plug it in.

If you are asking about remote starting the car from the key phob to condition the car yes it will work when plugged in.

 

[Norton]

....
Norton, you say: "You can't plug in while the motor is running because that would mean the car is moving !!" I thought if you pop the hood, the engine can be running. ...

Again,
There are two electric motors in the drive unit and one gas engine....

Sorry, that's me trying to be funny with proper semantics/definitions of car components.

Yes, popping the hood makes the engine run, for some reason.....

 

[saghost]

Yes, popping the hood makes the engine run, for some reason.....

Hard to diagnose problems with an engine you can't turn on. Hard to do real hands on diagnostics while driving down the road in Hold mode, too.

 

[freshcut]

With regards to any ducts, they do have them under the seat, but nothing that blows at body/face height like a lot of manufacturers are doing with rear ducts on a lot of cars these days. As for the plugging in, on the gen 1 (and I'm sure the gen 2) you can have the car powered on and plugged in (drawing power) but the shifter stays locked in the park position to avoid inadvertently driving off while plugged in. This can allow you to run a/c or heater from wall power and preserve your battery however heater typically requires more power than the Volt is capable of receiving from an L2 charger. When the hood is open, regardless if it's plugged in or not, the gas engine should automatically start up if the car is "on". This is a safety feature to alert you that the car is on since the engine can start at any time otherwise. I think what Norton was referring to is that perhaps the charge door won't open, however I have only experienced that "feature" if the car is doing anything other than sitting at a complete stop, but the gen 2 has a manual door so that likely doesn't apply.

 

[Tom17]

Since you are in Maryland, deal with Criswell in Gaithersburg before you actually purchase.

 

[edk-austin]

Note that electrically heated Rear seats are also available.

 

[Foxtrot]

The premier package has electrically heated rear seats.
Also you have to get the premier and safety package to get ACC so if you go that route, you will have rear seat heaters.
The only problem with them is if you accidentally turn one on without noticing and then keep wondering why your electrical usage went up. (The buttons are on the armrest between the rear seats and there is no indicator of their status in the front of the car.)

 

[llninja]

Thanks all for the replies.

I'm well on my way to getting a new Volt as soon as my current lease expires. I think I have the usual complaints that people here have expressed (e.g. no homelink etc.), and I certainly wish the car had a little more storage.

I too wish the volt had more cargo and passenger room. The g6 gives more passenger space, but about the same cargo space without the flexibility of fold down back seats and a hatchback. I beg GM on this forum to make an electrified Equinox or Subyukonade on a weekly basis.

As for running the car while plugged in, I do this all the time in order to heat or cool my garage. It's a paidor space heater and air conditioner.

 

[charliebrown]

Also note - its a lot of fun to drive in Sport mode... you can pull away from stop lights faster than those kids in Dodge Chargers and tuned Hondas and just about anything out there.

 

[llninja]

Also note - its a lot of fun to drive in Sport mode... you can pull away from stop lights faster than those kids in Dodge Chargers and tuned Hondas and just about anything out there.

Yes, the volt can beat any pony car or ricer boy off the line (i do this every opportunity I get), but if you put the car into normal mode and mash the accelerator to the floor, it performs exactly the same as sport mode. The only difference is the accelerator mapping. So in sport mode, you will drive more herky jerky because it doesn't take much foot travel to make the car feel peppier, but you can achieve the exact same result by articulating your foot more. There's no magical additional HP getting applied to the wheels, though I wish there was. The CT6 PHEV however, can give you electric motor plus ICE propulsion. I think the ELR can do it too, or at least it's tuned to get you rbetter off-the-line performance.

 

[snic]

5) Are there really no heat ducts in the back seat? Does anyone have experience in cold weather with getting it warm back there? What about cooling ducts?

Rear seat climate control is a problem. When the front is comfortable, it simply does not warm up enough or cool down enough back there, and your passengers will almost certainly complain. Only the premier model has heated rear seats, and they would definitely help in winter (I'm guessing - I have an LT). In summer, the only solution on long trips is to crank the a/c to substantially cooler than I (the driver) like, wear a jacket, and aim the vents up away from my face.

 

[JRRF]

Rear seat climate control is a problem. When the front is comfortable, it simply does not warm up enough or cool down enough back there, and your passengers will almost certainly complain. Only the premier model has heated rear seats, and they would definitely help in winter (I'm guessing - I have an LT). In summer, the only solution on long trips is to crank the a/c to substantially cooler than I (the driver) like, wear a jacket, and aim the vents up away from my face.

Oh great. I'm sure I'll hear about it since my "passengers" are going from having their own controls to this

 

[snic]

Oh great. I'm sure I'll hear about it since my "passengers" are going from having their own controls to this

I definitely hear about it. But it's really only an issue on long trips. Anything less than about an hour, and I hear no complaints. It helps to have a blanket back there in winter.

I also find that when I sit in the back, it feels very cramped. My head also nearly touches the ceiling (and I'm 5 ft 8, so anyone taller than that is going to feel REALLY cramped). My passenger is my child, who is considerably smaller than me, and I haven't yet heard that complaint.