[niccolo]

I have started to create the "Voltipedia," an entry-level guide for people who are thinking about buying, or who have recently bought, a used Volt. It is in very rough shape at the moment, and it requires a lot of fact-checking and new content. I'm hoping that members of this group will contribute to it. Perhaps someday it will be a web site. For now it's just a Google Doc. Anyone with this link can comment on it, and I will incorporate suggestions as best I can.

Voltipedia

The Voltipedia Preface: About the Voltipedia This guide was created for people who are shopping for, or who have recently purchased, a used Chevrolet Volt. As of May 2022, only the owner of the document can edit the contents, but anyone with the correct link can make comments or suggest edits. Pl...

docs.google.com

You might distinguish between different generations?

In the category of why not to get a Volt, the fact that they're discontinued, it's getting harder to find parts, it's getting harder to find technicians, there's a lot more to go wrong than either a pure ICE or pure BEV so on average they're more expensive over time, and if there's a serious battery issue the value of the car can immediately plummet to zero all seem like they should be mentioned.

 

[niccolo]

Well, gen1 has both serial and parallel modes once battery is depleted. Parallel (power split) is Prius-like in operation and does result in some engine torque going to the wheels (just less than gen2 can do).

I thought Gen1 never sent torque to the wheels, maybe power directly to the electric motor driving the wheels, rather than through the battery?

Gen2 can send torque to the wheels, but the battery is still critical, i.e. at most it's driving like a hybrid where both the battery, via a motor, and engine, are contributing torque.