Translogic Tests Chevrolet Volt

We can’t recall a vehicle that has generated more news and feature stories than the upcoming Chevrolet Volt. One of the biggest questions that many have had about it revolves around its gas mileage once the batteries run out and need refueling. General Motors has been extremely tight lipped about these figures.

Many have driven the Volt, including us, but the models that were used were prototypes and weren’t able to show us mileage figures. Thankfully, a team at Translogic was able to test the new Volt at GM’s Milford Proving Ground. The team ran the battery all the way and recorded their results. Needless to say, they’re a bit shocking.

The car drove on for 16.1 miles and it used 0.59 gallons of fuel. Do the math and that’s an average of 27.3 miles per gallon. That figure is not even close to the number that GM claimed the Volt would achieve. That being said, the testers did drive the Volt quite hard.

There are other gray areas with these figures as well. The crew only went 16.1 miles, that’s well short of the 59.7-mile total range. On top of that, the energy meter was not reset before the test, so old figures factored in. It’s sort of like the trip computer on a normal car. In order to get an accurate reading, you must reset it every time you fill up.