Vauxhall Ampera (Chevrolet Volt) hatchback review

Vauxhall Ampera (Chevrolet Volt) hatchback review - CarBuyer

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12 жыл бұрын

Vauxhall Ampera 2014 review: bit.ly/1cTmDNM
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Competition in the eco car segment is hotting up, and the Vauxhall Ampera is a real contender. Its CO2 emissions are lower than any efficient diesel or hybrid currently on the market. That means there's no road tax to pay, and it's exempt from the London Congestion Charge, too. The Ampera can be plugged into the mains to charge up the batteries (a process which takes around four hours) and can run on electricity alone for around 50 miles, so you shouldn't need a drop of petrol for most journeys. And even when you do need to travel a bit further, economy is so good that you will rarely have to visit a petrol station. But for all of its green credentials, the Ampera offers strong performance. It's fast, features sporty looks and an attractive high-spec interior. All this comes at a price though, as the Ampera is more expensive than its hybrid and all-electric competitors. And if you think it looks familiar, that's because it's the same car underneath as the Chevrolet Volt.
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Пікірлер: 446

@Frappelychee 8 жыл бұрын

this one is more stylish in the front than the American volt o_o

@vauxhallmadnessuk5923 8 жыл бұрын

yes i know its because of those boomerang headlights

@karigrandii 7 жыл бұрын

But the new 2017 volt looks really good in the rear

@m4rs12 10 жыл бұрын

This guy is very entertaining yet informative. I like it!

@DarrenPersad 8 жыл бұрын

This is absolutely gorgeous compared to the North American counterpart. The interior is designed a fair bit nicer and the small touches to exterior and the different front facia really make this quite nice. Not to mention the Vauxhall logo is much nicer to look at than a Chevrolet logo, and "Ampera" just sounds more sophisticated (in my mind) than "Volt".

@Charlzey1998 8 жыл бұрын

"If you drive over a speed bump this happens" (purposly damages a £50000 car)

@CitarNosis317 6 жыл бұрын

Haha, it's a test car. It's made to be destroyed, and oh boy, trust me, the reviewers will destroy them. If it's not given to reviewers, regular folks test drive them, and basically, the employees of the company use the cars as beaters (they all do this in my country).

@Voxac100b 6 жыл бұрын

Charlzey1998 far too fast no wonder

@directorjustin 6 жыл бұрын

It's just the flexible plastic air dam. It hangs low for efficiency and bends (and scrapes) out of the way when going over speed bumps and driveways.

@jlghardy 9 жыл бұрын

I have an Ampera. This guy misses out the best bit. Floor it at a standstill and the instant torque takes your breath away. At the lights you can leave for dead anything driven by a petrol engine that isn't on cam in the right gear and with the turbo spooled up. My favourite victims are young lads driving Imprezas and the like. You can hear this rising scream behind you as the poor guy endeavours to recover his self respect.

@vauxhallmadnessuk5923 7 жыл бұрын

jlghardy very true.

@Callusny 6 жыл бұрын

That's every EV / Hybrid car ever though

@Ace-sn6nc 9 жыл бұрын

I like this car it looks really good

@pri3stb0y 12 жыл бұрын

Great review, as always! Not sure if you read my message before doing this review, but thanks for doing one of the Ampera. I also drove it here and it seems we have similar opinions of the car. Although, I must say, in some conditions, the petrol engine is really not silent at all, especially at motorway speeds.

@omrtnz5100 2 жыл бұрын

I like the distinct front end look of the ampera better than the volts.

@DanielVectra212 11 жыл бұрын

I would love to own an Ampera. I see one fairly often during my commute to work in my very own Vauxhall Insignia. The Ampera just looks SO cool and has another plus point to try and justify the price - exclusivity!

@camaroman101 12 жыл бұрын

yea different cars suit different needs. there's a graph/chart i saw somewhere that basically told you what eco car would be best for you depending on your mileage/location btwn the prius, leaf, and volt/ampera. the volt/ampera is best when used mostly when your daily roundtrip commute is less than 38miles.

@svyatozar 3 жыл бұрын

The perfect one. This is gonna be my next car!

@osamaaslam3473 5 жыл бұрын

Volt's interior is very beautiful and gives such a decent and huge look!

@smartordertechnology504 9 жыл бұрын

3:40 I love this part XD

@williambusuttil4702 6 жыл бұрын

Can it be converted to run on liqed NH3?

@tstanislawski1 11 жыл бұрын

Anyone know how big is that tank? For 310 miles, I imagine 60L, maybe...? But how does this efficiency compare with a normal petrol carizzle?

@clawhammr666 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video, this seemed great, saw one for sale and looked for this video 'huh, this seems great!' until he mentioned touch screen buttons in the middle and it being low/noise when going over speed bumps and there are lot of speed bumps in my town, so nope!

@alanhawkins918 8 жыл бұрын

Very good informative review. Was thinking of buying an early model of this or it's American cousin the Chevrolet Volt. Worth a punt as 2012 models now less than half the price of when new. Should be a bargain as it would save you thousands on long term running costs.

@Abcdef1797 12 жыл бұрын

HEY, isn't this exactly the same as Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust or Geoff for short?

@tobyh-l1953 9 жыл бұрын

the zame scrape after a speed bump happens with my Vauxhall Adam, it so annoying

@4lemer 12 жыл бұрын

The Volt/Ampera is not an EV but a plug-in hybrid. Just a more advanced Prius.

@qkslvr221 12 жыл бұрын

Looks nicer than our volt, I like the interior stitching and Alice Cooper front bumper quite a lot!

@Fertro 12 жыл бұрын

True, but in terms of value, there isn't really an advantage, is there? Keep in mind, I'm just assuming that it's a 60L (Or so) and not a tiny thing.

@eternalhalloween1 9 жыл бұрын

The idea and concept is good. And I like how if you run out of range, you can have a backup system with the gas ready to kick in to charge the batteries if need be. Of course the major problem is that you have to be aware that pedestrians walking by may not hear you coming. I believe the Nissan Leaf took that into account, and the car makes an artificial noise if you go under 20 mph. And of course there is the cost problem. It seems the only people who can afford this car are rich people who can afford gas but don't want to pay the cost of it anymore.

@adrianador 11 жыл бұрын

som one can tell my if this car well by good for long runs germany -uk ?? what well be the reange ?? only 320 miles ??? or more ?? as im confiused now ;/ can som one do hadt test on long distance ???

@pimbech 11 жыл бұрын

Is it ABBEY WELL product placement? 0:54

@marclaguitare 12 жыл бұрын

@JELH I think thats more a matter of noise as tk why they went with the petrol motor and not diesel, i think their goal was to make this car as quite as a full electric car would be.

@DreamCarGarage1 8 жыл бұрын

Easily one of the best looking of all the hybrid cars ans if you pop a set of the Astra VXR wheels on it and it will look sweet!

@vauxhallmadnessuk5923 8 жыл бұрын

Defiantly agree. My dads stuck some 5 spoke astra alloys in gloss black to his ampera and it looks so nice

@danhamakua9757 10 жыл бұрын

Great car. I want one.

@HB45175 12 жыл бұрын

Well it's very hard to do come up with a figure without using a standardised test. If you live and work within the range of the car you can quite easily use no liters per kilometer at all (=infinite MPG). On the other hand if you run the generator all the time expect something like 6-7L/100km.

@hitman21315 12 жыл бұрын

i heard two of them blew up for something catching fire through the solar panel on the roof

@Wifyish 11 жыл бұрын

Yes he really speeds over the bump, but true is that even if you slow down the front lip will scrape on most bumps, it is designed like that. It's made of soft plastic so it will bend. In the US you can choose to have it removed / changed for a smaller. But it makes the aerodynamics better to leave it be. :)

@ertreri 7 жыл бұрын

how many posters is a full tank. 310 miles for how many liters on the petrol generator? cause if say you do not have that many opportunities to run a the car on the electric engine during the week because changing from your flat is not an option and the garage does not give you a socket you can use... then what are you left with? an engine that as will drain 20 liters per 100 km?

@None17555 7 жыл бұрын

Sorry this is so late but you posted on an old video :) Two things -- The video is flat wrong. There is no petrol generator. There are three motors. There's an electric motor which is powered by the battery or generator to drive the vehicle. There's a second electric motor which serves as a generator (through the use of low gear, regenerative braking, and the third motor). That third motor runs on gas. At low speeds, it powers the generator which in turn powers the first motor and charges the battery. At high speeds, it drives the car directly. @2:00 the video could not be more wrong. The dash on these even shows you the interactions of the 3 motors, so it's VERY clear when the gas motor is the only one in operation. The worst case scenario for efficiency in this vehicle is at idle allowing the gas motor to push the generator to charge the battery, then in turn using the first motor to drive the vehicle on electric. In other words going gas -> battery -> drive, which includes about a 35% energy loss. That worst case is about 15 KPL. Real world, running just on gas, you'll get between 20 and 25. It could drop a bit below that if you never topped off with the charger, because at a low enough charger the car will force the generator on to maintain healthy battery life. I'd bet in decent weather you'd still get 20kpl highway though. Much better than the 5 you were suggesting.

@None17555 7 жыл бұрын

The tank is 35 liters by the way. I forgot you asked.

@wikiwama 12 жыл бұрын

Chevy also exist in the UK, so there are actually two Volts/Ampera's for sale. They're both the same price too.

@Fertro 12 жыл бұрын

So, if it has the petrol generator to charge the batteries if need be, what is the point of owning it? It'll cost the same to fill up with petrol, so you could get something that has better mileage, but is cheaper.

@Techno-Charge 2 жыл бұрын

Nobody has commented from last 5 years. I like plugin hybrid, best of both worlds.

@Driftuner 12 жыл бұрын

the thing is that the engine, unlike some other hybrid cars, is NOT driving the wheels, its just spining in idle to make power for the batteries, that means u can go 100km with just a bit over 1 liter (60miles with a bit over a quarter of a gallon)

@sixaxis222 2 жыл бұрын

Today Matt looks much older but not the Ampera. :)))

@Treadstone7 11 жыл бұрын

If someone could please answer: I'm from germany and I would like know, which version of pronounciation is correct. I heard someone saying "Vouhall" and in this video he says "Voxhall" how is the word "Vouxhall" correctly pronounciated ?

@babylonian5 12 жыл бұрын

I hope well see a lot more of these cars on the roads in 10 years

@Top_Gear_Clips_Central Жыл бұрын

its been 10 years, and we dont see the ampera much

@Izzy01711 4 ай бұрын

Complete opposite 😂

@knack0125 11 жыл бұрын

Good review, only bit I thought was silly was the speed hump. I don't tend to go quick over them in the first place. Other then that, good review. Rather this over the Volt styleing.

@camaroman101 12 жыл бұрын

on the gas engine it gets 35 city 40 hwy but thats in American mpg on the Euro scale it would be around 20% higher

@adamY2K 12 жыл бұрын

8 years warranty has been around since 2001 for the toyota prius. £1 in 50 miles but then after that it doesnt really cost £1 and it cost £10000 more to buy new compared to a normal rival. So all in all, you would only really start to see savings if you did all your driving in the city, in which case you might aswel take public transport, a bike, or walk. Or it would take you about 15 years to break even

@angusnz7910 3 жыл бұрын

I want one bit can’t find anyone in NZ (we don’t have many) willing to sell it. Long term people are hanging onto these

@hwangeruk 11 жыл бұрын

I saw one of these in black today, and it looked freakin' amazing. I had to stop on the street and gawp at it. White is not its best colour. Trust me, go see one in black, its looks like a spaceship!

@KenjiMiller 12 жыл бұрын

which car matt has?

@davide30541 12 жыл бұрын

why 1.4 petrol? why not a slow revving high torque small diesel? never understood this...

@toyotaprius79 12 жыл бұрын

Not all fuel tanks are the same size, the Volt's is 35l, in Europe, the average fuel tank capacity is around 60-70l.

@RetroGamerVX 12 жыл бұрын

so, with a full tank, you get about 450 miles? about the same as a normal car then? What the bugger is the point of this again can you remind me?

@MasticinaAkicta 12 жыл бұрын

FINALLY the right approach Seriously they fixed the issue with the DIESEL TRAIN. Engine generates ELECTRICITY.. that drives the wheels. This means less parts, less couplings, less to go wrong.

@plusgood15 12 жыл бұрын

The point is that you can use it as a normal electric car without constantly worrying about running out of juice and then having to wait an extended period before using it again. In this sense, during the week, if your commute is less than 50 miles in total a day you can use this as an electric car and then if you need to go on a road trip on the weekend you can do that too. I don't see why this is so hard to understand?

@marckart66 2 жыл бұрын

I'm looking at these and an I3. You can get an i3 for around £13k, you can pick up the Ampera for around £7k. For me a used Ampera is better value for money... but there doesn't seem to be many people loving them like the I3.

@nickcobra4638 8 жыл бұрын

Is this getting a second generation like the volt

8 жыл бұрын

Yes. But Google Opel Ampera-E. It's the new Chevy Bolt.

@iainansell5930 8 жыл бұрын

no..

@insonita55 12 жыл бұрын

sometimes you can't see those bloody things. But there lower front spoiler is to reduce drag so the lower they go the best mpg they get.

@user-us2gx7bm9f 10 жыл бұрын

rwd or fwd?

@SiebzehnZwo 12 жыл бұрын

in my country you need to be 18 as well. i'll reach that in 5 months and I'm glad about that because I'm not that sure if i can drive an oldschool petrol car when i come into working life where i have enough money to buy one but maybe not to drive one.

@electrictroy2010 9 жыл бұрын

DISCONTINUED IN EUROPE, JAPAN, AND AUSTRALIA. The Americans get the new G2 version, but the overseas markets do not, because overseas drivers did not want the car (they already have 50-80 mpg-us diesels) .

@NeraVantage 12 жыл бұрын

good review again:)

@whips211 11 жыл бұрын

so how much is it

@jameslove888 11 жыл бұрын

Ireland is Opel too.

@fullfist 11 жыл бұрын

great looks

@Benja0812 12 жыл бұрын

Would you buy a BMW 320d or a Audi A5 Coupe 2.0 TDI ? :)

@psychotron9 6 жыл бұрын

Recently bought a 2013 model for under £13k - and I am so impressed, it really is the future, will stay till I win the lottery and can afford a Tesla

@biggerbitcoin5126 Жыл бұрын

How was the reliability? Do you stay recommend it?

@Driftuner 12 жыл бұрын

well, considering how far u can go on that one tank, and also the fact that u get "extra" 50miles (80km) before u even start using the tank, its pretty good value compared to other cars, maybe even compared to other hybrids...but if the value u are talking about is the price of the car, well, the yes u are right..for the price of this car u can get something just as spacious like a Skoda Octavia with a 1.4L bi-turbo engine and use the rest of the money to tank it forever..but thats not the point

@didar389 10 жыл бұрын

How much is ?

@niVanoJ 11 жыл бұрын

cool review

@billisdewillis5 9 жыл бұрын

Why do all the journalists run the battery down when they are not filming and then film the whole piece with the range extender running?

@Inthisma 10 жыл бұрын

Infatainment system ?

@tomhill3907 8 жыл бұрын

that horns a brilliant idea, being in the countryside I find myself stuck behind a horse rider in my lexus rx400h who cant hear me on electric. Can't blast the horn as ill end up with a horse and rider on the bonnet. So I have to accept that I will be home 4 hours late :D

@janrdoh 12 жыл бұрын

GM owns Chevy and Vauxhall/Opel and it was co developed by both.In the states its sold as Volt and Europe gets the Ampera.

@wintersun398 Жыл бұрын

was that a young mat watson now of carwow?

@nishankreddy4 12 жыл бұрын

best episode till date...

@eemeli6706 6 жыл бұрын

There are so many of these in Finland

@Crazychicken224 12 жыл бұрын

Yes, General Motors is the Parent company of Chev, Pontiac, vauxhaull, opel, Saturn, Holden, Buick and GMC not to forget Cadillac. lol So yes these cars are identical, the difference between the 2 is the badging and the name :)

@Themawechsel 12 жыл бұрын

and in Australia it's Holden Volt, and in Germany it's Opel Ampera

@darrenc12pdg123 10 жыл бұрын

You can pick one up for just over 20k and with the £5000 government grant thats 15K for a 1 year old saloon that does over 200 mpg

@Kainthemain 5 жыл бұрын

That noise was epic

@AllexRadu 12 жыл бұрын

Is important to know you have the option to get the same car with a more upscale badge and that you could get the original rather than a copycat. Assuming they have the same chips and O.S. inside but not exactly identical cases but close, would you prefer an iPhone or a Huawei phone? And if you reviewed the Huawai phone, wouldn't you be missing the elephant in the room by not comparing with the iPhone?

@AndriodGalaxy 12 жыл бұрын

it looks really similar to the Chevy Volt. does chevy own them or something?

@Wifyish 11 жыл бұрын

This car was mainly developed in Europe by Opel and also Saab had some input. But since GM owns Opel and thought the car was a good concept they choose that Chevy would be the main name behind it. Anyhow, although I have one Ampera in order I think the Volt looks more grown up, but Opel had the better deal.

@RetroGamerVX 12 жыл бұрын

Yup, fine if your a commutor, but if you use it for travelling etc, makes no difference. The difference is price also negates any fuel savings :o(

@whocares264 2 жыл бұрын

Best vauxhall ever made

@sinan5636 8 жыл бұрын

Opel is a great brand, the horn of this car is really so civilized. Wir lieben Opel.

@krazislav 12 жыл бұрын

'coz if you do less than 50 miles daily in the city, like driving to work or shopping, it's like driving on air. Costs pennies and the quietness is really something else - if you're into that sort of thing.

@Jack_mc22 5 жыл бұрын

Is the ampera still on sale

@mariolosberg4257 8 жыл бұрын

Why diferent names?? there was brother's Opel - Adam Opel... and yess Opel is quality car,my brother drives astra almost 8 years and it works like a swiss watch..reliable car..

@xXturbo86Xx 11 жыл бұрын

man i wish it wasn't so expensive. really good car. it would be even better if the generator engine was diesel.

@eezapata2 12 жыл бұрын

great looking car.

@konstantinosva4273 10 жыл бұрын

3:46 there is an unused shit plastic part under the front bumper that hits the road bumbps, you only have to cut it.

@Toledotourbillion 12 жыл бұрын

You get this noise: DUSH!!! Carries on nonchalantly. XD

@CynicalBastard511 12 жыл бұрын

Fair enough. However, modern diesels are pretty quiet as well.

@matthewflynn7806 12 жыл бұрын

Like this car a lot shame the price tag is very steep otherwise I would go out and buy one

@TheUnboxerMan 12 жыл бұрын

From desription: "ts CO2 emissions are lower than any efficient diesel or hybrid currently on the market. That means there's no road tax to pay, and it's exempt from the London Congestion Charge, too."

@eminzide 12 жыл бұрын

yup

@boscochan3728 11 жыл бұрын

a Fisker have a similar system too... =]

@banpowel9784 4 жыл бұрын

Really makes sense, 50 miles pure electric around town, and lets face it, pure EVs, get awful range on motorways, once driven above 60mph, so a small petrol generator, providing elevtricity, on long motorway hauls is more efficient. The other plus point, if your stuck in a huge motorway traffic jam, in really freezing weather, you don't need to worry about the electric running out, due to its constant use of the heater, in the ampera, just switch to petrol, turn on mountain mode, and enjoy the heat