Though the Chevy Volt and Vauxhall Ampera are built on the same platform, the reception the two cars have received could not be more different. While the Volt has been polarized and bastardized as a product of Obama, the Ampera sold out before it ever went on sale. There is another key difference too; the Ampera lets you select when you use EV mode and charge-sustaining mode, whereas the Volt does not. But that may soon change.
We first reported on this feature back in October, when it became apparent that the EV-only mode was only available on the Vauxhall Ampera. U.S. Volt buyers get no such option. This feature was put in so that drivers of the Ampera could run on electricity only, allowing them to avoid congestion charges in major cities like London or Paris. These congestion charges allow EV drivers to avoid a fee, and the Ampera lets its drivers decide when to use EV mode, and when to run on the petrol engine.
GM has yet to make any official announcement regarding an EV-only mode for the Volt, though at a recent breakfast meeting, one GM exec reportedly said that they were considering such a feature for U.S. models. First they’d have to discuss things with the EPA, but if I am not mistaken, the Prius Plug-In will also have a selectable EV mode…so no problem there.
Allowing drivers to select when to turn on or off the EV mode could result in even better gas mileage results, as drivers know their vehicles and routes better than GM. But logic and common sense sometimes gets lost on GM’s factory floor…hopefully this is one feature that is the exception.
Source: Gas2.0
