2011 Chevy Volt Video Diary: Zero-Degree Testing

Above is a video diary of my second full day with the Volt, commuting to work here in frigid Chicago.

On my first commute home a day before this video was shot, the temperature was in the high 20s, which led to me getting home on 20.7 miles of battery charge and 2.6 miles on gas with 9 miles of charge left, about 65% of the 32-mile electric range the computer started at. The gas figure was due to cold temperatures forcing the engine to run for peak efficiency for a short part of the commute.

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The video above shows the results of a temperature swing to zero degrees and the significant decrease in range Volt owners may encounter.

This, along with senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder’s piece on the Volt’s remote-start feature in cold weather, are just a few insights we’ve gained from testing the Volt in cold weather. Our long-term Volt will be here for a full four-season test so we can test it in most weather conditions and temperatures.