Chevy unveils new Volt concept

Chevrolet has released a new Volt, but for the foreseeable future it won't be coming here, not even in a Vauxhall version.

Which is a pity because it's a major improvement. The electric-only range is up to 50-odd miles from 31. New motors improve acceleration from rest, and there's an all-new 1.5-litre petrol engine so it's smoother when you've run out of battery.

Chevy claims the whole car is stronger, smoother and quieter too. Yet it's 80kg lighter than before. And it seats five, whereas before the battery tunnel restricted ot to four.

It also looks a whole lot sleeker (see pic 5). Though - is this just us? - it has lost some of the early-adopter geekiness that was a bit of a guilty pleasure with the old one.

Inside, the blocky dash has been streamlined and made a whole lot more slick.

Owners of the original Volt in the US are a mighty happy crowd. The two top trade-ins are the Prius and 3-series, and they put the Volt absolute top of the JD Power owner satisfaction survey. On average they go 970 miles between petrol stops, because they do 80 percent of their miles on plug-in power. The new 50-mile electric range is going to bias those numbers even more towards electric driving.

But at its electricity-heavy announcement at the Detroit show, Chevy had a pretty compelling 'and finally'. A concept car called the Bolt, which they say will very likely become an affordable all-electric production car.

The Bolt's range would be 200 miles, it's got room for a family, yet its price would be $30,000 after the electric grant. Of course $30k in the US usually translates unfairly as £30k over here, but even so it's a lot cheaper than a Tesla and has far more range than an i3. That's despite the Bolt using fairly exotic materials: carbon fibre, magnesium and aluminium.

"It's a real game-changer," said GM CEO Mary Barra. Quite a claim for a car they're not actually building. But the engineers say it is feasible and it is costed, so it's clear they have every intention. "A Tesla is for the rich and famous, but this is for the people," said GM's North America boss Alan Batey. He also said it might be exported.

So if we don't get the Volt, maybe Vauxhall could badge-up this one.