Yahoo Autos 2019 Chevrolet Volt Slashes Recharging Time By Half
Owners of the Chevrolet Volt take plugging in seriously. According to Chevrolet, they drive on battery power 60 percent of the time, taking advantage of the Volt’s 53-mile electric range-the most of any plug-in hybrid in the U.S. market. Among the changes to the Volt for the 2019 model year are several important upgrades that are aimed directly at a target audience that plugs in as much as possible and even gamifies keeping gasoline use to a minimum.
Most noteworthy is that the 2019 Chevrolet Volt charges in about half the time of the 2018 model when it’s hooked up to a Level 2 (240-volt) AC charger such as what you’d install in a garage or encounter in a shopping center. By giving the Volt a 7.2-kW onboard charger-the same as in the fully electric Bolt EV-Chevy brings the time for a full charge of the Volt down to just under two hours and 20 minutes.
The Volt doesn’t offer the Bolt EV’s optional CCS-format DC fast-charging that can make charging times even shorter-adding 90 miles of range to the Bolt in about 30 minutes, according to Chevy. But the 7.2-kW equipment should be a welcome upgrade for the Volt, and will likely allow many more scenarios in which drivers will return to a full charge-a long lunch, or a shopping trip, for instance.
Also for 2019, Chevy has cranked up the level of brake regeneration, to provide stronger deceleration via either the Low or Regen on Demand (steering-wheel paddle) modes. Drivers can set a much lower temperature at which the engine automatically fires up to run the heater. Doing so relies instead on resistive heating, which can quickly eat through the car’s all-electric range, but if the trip is short they’ll do it without use of the gasoline engine.
The Volt’s 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system also has been revamped, and it includes a new Energy app to help better show how various factors impact range.
The 2019 model gets a number of general feature upgrades, too. A power driver’s seat is included in Volt Premier models and optional on the LT, and the adaptive cruise control now allows conventional cruise control if desired. Other improvements include a revamped pedestrian-alert system and a tire-fill system that sounds the horn when the correct pressure is reached. Meanwhile, the wireless charging pad for phones has been moved ahead of the shifter. New seat upholstery and a new Pacific Blue exterior hue and Jet Black/Porcelain Blue interior color scheme have been added.There’s also a new dealer-installed blackout package.
The 2019 Chevrolet Volt arrives in dealerships this fall. And if those changes don’t make much of a difference to you, it’s likely there’ll be some better deals on the 2018 model in the meantime.
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