During a recent extended test drive, Motor Trend uncovered something about the Chevrolet Volt that lit a fuse and led to an explosion throughout the media. As it turns out, the Volt’s gas engine can, in rare occasions, participate in the motive force. We reached out to GM spokesman, Rob Peterson, who responded to the claim, stating:
The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended range as the Volt has full battery electric performance at all speeds when there is charge in the battery.
Fair enough. But regardless, there are still two motive forces that can move the Volt down the road and by Wikipedia’s definition, a hybrid vehicle is:
A vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.
Okay, so the Volt is a hybrid then, right? Well, technically speaking, yes. But, unlike conventional hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, the Volt would not function without its electric motor. So, it’s an electric vehicle (EV) then? Not exactly. Yeah, it’s complicated stuff. The Volt does blur the line between a hybrid and an EV, but perhaps the video after the jump will help make some sense of this sticky situation. After viewing, click here to take our poll and weigh-in with detailed comments below.
[Source: Green Car Reports]
The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.
