[MikeyCVolt]

OK, so I've read all the threads about sport mode here, and how it's just a remapping of the throttle. I have to admit, it makes the car feel like it has more power... until you get to half throttle and realize there is NO more beyond about 50% pedal travel!

Today I was trying out sport mode in my 2017 and I pulled out onto the main road and accelerated to 60. Everything felt good and my mind told me that since I had my foot about halfway down on the accelerator, I wasn't even running the car that hard... until I looked down and noticed that the kWH reading above the vehicle speed said 120 kW. I thought... that can't be right because 120 kW is full throttle. I mashed it from halfway to full, confirming that I still had about 50% more pedal left, yet there was no change whatsoever from 50% to 100% throttle.

That's pretty poor if you ask me (I know, no one did but I'm gonna tell you my opinion anyway). I think it should be an exponential curve where you get a bit of a boost on the low end of the throttle but you still don't reach 100% until it is floored. 50% on the foot should equate to maybe 70% throttle. As it is, it looks like they just remapped the throttle so that 0-50% remaps to 0-100% and 50-100% is all flatlined at 100%.

As a result, I've gone back to normal mode and won't be tempted by sport mode any longer.

Mike

 

[BoogetyBoogety]

OK then...

 

[saltsman]

I've always been curious as to what sport, GM was referring to with Sport Mode.

I get that it that it really means "sporty" but it always sounded a bit grandiose to infer that a Volt would actually be engaged in an auto sports competition.

Given the obsession most Volt owners have over maxing regen with deceleration or the hate ERDDT gets in the winter, I think GM would have been better to program up a hypermiling mode. That would be a bit more honest and a much better fit.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

I've always been curious as to what sport, GM was referring to with Sport Mode.

I get that it that it really means "sporty" but it always sounded a bit grandiose to infer that a Volt would actually be engaged in an auto sports competition.

Here's one. I'd do this:

https://youtu.be/3CF-Aau9v1U

After buying 4 tires.

Mike

 

[lagagnon]

I use sport mode when I want to really feel rapid acceleration with little pedal movement at speeds from 0-90km/h on twisty two lane roads. For me it works beautifully and smooth and seems perfectly mapped out and replicates what I get with my Mazda MX-5. Perhaps what you experienced is on boring Interstate Highways above 100 km/h???

Because I have not experienced your disappointment. I love sport mode in the right conditions. It puts a smile on my face.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

I use sport mode when I want to really feel rapid acceleration with little pedal movement at speeds from 0-90km/h on twisty two lane roads. For me it works beautifully and smooth and seems perfectly mapped out and replicates what I get with my Mazda MX-5. Perhaps what you experienced is on boring Interstate Highways above 100 km/h???

Because I have not experienced your disappointment. I love sport mode in the right conditions. It puts a smile on my face.

I was accelerating from a stop to 60 and it was delivering 120 kW with my foot halfway to the floor. To me, that's useless as all it does is make the bottom half of the pedal travel do nothing: it's like having a mouse that's too sensitive. You have more control with more pedal travel. Nothing "wrong" with it if you like that. I just don't see the use of negating half the pedal's travel. For me, I don't like the feeling of putting my foot at half throttle as it only baits me into thinking it has more. But it doesn't. I guess if you got used to the fact that your foot about halfway to the floor is full throttle, it wouldn't really matter. Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Mike

 

[lagagnon]

...you bought an electric plug in hybrid that only does 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds, but does the 0-50 in well under 3 seconds so I'm really not sure what you were expecting?

 

[MikeyCVolt]

...you bought an electric plug in hybrid that only does 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds, but does the 0-50 in well under 3 seconds so I'm really not sure what you were expecting?

Not sure what 0-anything has to do with it. It's not a big deal but I would expect an accelerator pedal to not be at WOT at half travel.

Mike

 

[sosmerc]

So I am sure we all know that "sport" mode does not offer any additional power. But it does make the throttle much more responsive if that is what you like. I don't use it very often, but when I know I am on a short trip and will easily return home without using up my available EV range, I will use "sport" mode just for ****s and grins. I have a particular "fun" route that I sometimes take that has alot of curves as well as some straight stretches. If I am feeling "frisky" I will likely engage "sport" mode for just a little extra fun.
The Volt can be pretty "sporty" when you want it to be. My Miata Mx-5 can give me similar thrills, but frankly I feel better pushing the limit in my Volt when running as a pure BEV. The Volt ain't your father's golf cart!

 

[TSquare]

Sport Mode is for short people. Their legs are too short to 'put the pedal to the metal'.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

Sport Mode is for short people. Their legs are too short to 'put the pedal to the metal'.

Finally! Something that makes sense!

Mike

 

[saltsman]

Here's one. I'd do this:

https://youtu.be/3CF-Aau9v1U

After buying 4 tires.

Mike

Cool! Great job on hitting the apexes.

 

[llninja]

Agreed, sport mode is silly. So is the regen paddle. I’m a normal D and brake pedal (variable regen)kind of guy.

 

[bjrosen]

Sport mode is there for test drives it's not something that you would ever use once you've bought the car. Battery capacity is the scarce resource in the Volt, the objective is to get the most range out of a fairly small battery, mashing the accelerator and sucking 120KW out of the battery is decidedly not what you want to do. Accelerating gently and taking back roads instead of highways greatly extends the electric range, my guess-o-meter is currently sitting at 73, that's the game you want to play with the Volt. If neck snapping acceleration is what and you what to stay electric get a P100D, if all you want is the acceleration and you want to spend less money then a P100D and you are willing to go back to an ICE car get a Hellcat which can go from gas station to gas station at 200MPH (that's almost literally true, a Hellcat can drain it's 18 gallon tank in 13 minutes).

 

[MikeyCVolt]

Agreed, but for me the thing that is most fun about the Volt is you can do both. Hypermiling is fun but spirited driving is fun too so I do both. To go anywhere, I have 5 miles of 60 MPH back road and even after that, it's a small(ish) town so not much traffic. I find that the difference between hypermiling and spirited driving is about 4 miles (59 vs 55 miles) due to the fact that "spirited" for me is basically just a quick take-off or two. I rarely floor it because 90 kW feels pretty good and at full throttle, this little thing is quick enough to be fun. And that's coming from a guy who traded his 2015 Challenger SRT for the Volt!

With it's good suspension, low center of gravity, and low end torque, I can see the Volt being very good at autocross events. So I may eventually put 4 sport tires on it, and go up to 225 or 235 width (whatever will fit) with a little lower profile to match diameter.

Mike

 

[BAZINGA]

Agreed, sport mode is silly. So is the regen paddle. I’m a normal D and brake pedal (variable regen)kind of guy.

We have a winner.

 

[llninja]

Sport mode is there for test drives it's not something that you would ever use once you've bought the car. Battery capacity is the scarce resource in the Volt, the objective is to get the most range out of a fairly small battery, mashing the accelerator and sucking 120KW out of the battery is decidedly not what you want to do. Accelerating gently and taking back roads instead of highways greatly extends the electric range, my guess-o-meter is currently sitting at 73, that's the game you want to play with the Volt. If neck snapping acceleration is what and you what to stay electric get a P100D, if all you want is the acceleration and you want to spend less money then a P100D and you are willing to go back to an ICE car get a Hellcat which can go from gas station to gas station at 200MPH (that's almost literally true, a Hellcat can drain it's 18 gallon tank in 13 minutes).

If I get a Tesla S or X, it will be the biggest battery with the lowest speed option. I wish they had a grandpa mode instead of ludicrous mode.

 

[lagagnon]

Sport mode is there for test drives it's not something that you would ever use once you've bought the car. .

I think you mean to say "not something I would ever use". Speak for yourself. I enjoy Sport Mode in the right conditions as I described above.

 

[sosmerc]

I think you mean to say "not something I would ever use". Speak for yourself. I enjoy Sport Mode in the right conditions as I described above.

Me too, I am very glad that my Volt gives me the option to vary my driving experience. Especially fun to show it off to other drivers that have never experienced what an electric car is like. It's all good as they say !

 

[viking79]

I hate the accelerator response in normal as they make it have too little power at the top end of the pedal movement. Although Sport is maybe too linear vs your "ideal" graph, it is much closer to that then normal, which has the opposite response, push the pedal and nothing ... nothing ... nothing ... everything. It has a delayed S curve type of response... like Tesla Model 3 production

Maybe Gen 2 is a bit different, but Gen 1 has a very sluggish response curve in Normal, which actually makes it less smooth to drive as it accelerates slow then a surge instead of accelerating fast and more smoothly all the way.