The second generation plug-in hybrids of Toyota, the 2017 Prius Prime, and of Chevrolet, 2017 Volt Premier, are indeed a complete advancement of its predecessor. Check out below some comparison in terms of performance and aesthetics.
Starting off with the aesthetics, although many did not like its metallic teal body, Toyota can vouch for its interiors and substance. Passengers can sit comfortably on Prius Prime's vinyl seats and wide clearances. The car was designed with tall side windows which appear more like a minivan than the regular car. Compared with Chevrolet's Volt, the back seat of Prius Prime is larger which hosts only two back passengers, while the former sits three. There is more leg room in Prius Prime than in Volt.
Exploring the interiors, the driver will not have a hard time locating the controls as a shiny black trim encases the white panel around the buttons for the hybrid-mode. Whereas, the interiors of Volt are not as comfy and impressive as that of the Prius Prime.
With regard to recharging the batteries, Prius Prime takes about five hours when plugged into a 120-volt outlet with 8 amps, or about two and half hours recharging when plugged on a 240-volt. The Volt requires longer hours than the Prius Prime. The Volt's battery will take about 10 hours when plugged into the regular 120-volt outlet, or half of the time period when plugged into a 240-volt outlet.
The Toyota Prius Prime has advanced the capacity of its battery to 8.8 kWh, which also doubled the travel distance to 25 miles. Once it has maximized its 25-mile range, the vehicle leaves some electricity in the battery to enable the electric motors to speed up the acceleration and help in the gasoline engine as well.
On the other hand, Chevrolet's Volt now sports a more powerful 18.4-kWh battery which can travel more than 40 miles of EV range. Once the vehicle has reached its maximum distance in electric mode, it will automatically switch to the hybrid mode. However, once switched, the battery still has remaining power as it does not reach complete depletion prior to switching. The batter needs to have reserved electricity to push-up the acceleration and aid the gasoline engine.
In conclusion, the Prius Prime performs more power when in hybrid mode than in EV mode, which makes the Volt a better electric car than the former. Caranddriver notes that the Volt is noticeably faster and more powerful than the Prius Prime.
In another report, the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime tops the aspect of reliability compared with Chevrolet Volt Premier. Autotrader notes that the former's predecessor has proven an impressive reliability record as well as its significant number of units sold, compared to Chevy's first gen electric car.
Do you share the same thoughts? Let us know if you prefer the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime than the 2017 Chevrolet Volt Premier or vice versa.
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