Since its unveiling at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, the Chevrolet Volt has been the subject of non-stop media coverage, video releases, blog posts, critical discussion and general buzz—all for a vehicle yet to go on sale.

In fact, after four years of public exposure to every nuance of the car’s development, technology and design, the Volt is practically ready for the “design refresh” usually given to a model after three or four years on the road.

The basic facts of the Chevy Volt’s unique architecture have been emblazoned on the mind of anybody half-interested in cars. But in case you missed it, here goes again. The Chevy Volt operates entirely as an electric car for its first 40 miles after a full charge. It burns no gasoline during those miles, drawing energy from a 400-pound lithium ion battery pack containing 16 kilowatt-hours (kWh), about half of which is ever put to use—as a means of ensuring that the batteries reach the 100,000 miles of warranted service. Current from that pack powers a 150-hp electric motor that drives the Volt’s front wheels.

But a 40-mile range isn’t enough to make a car practical, so the Volt also carries a 1.4-liter engine. Crucially, that engine doesn’t drive the wheels—it only kicks in to power a generator that sustains the battery charge enough to give the car another 300 miles of range. And that only happens once the battery is exhausted.

This arrangement is called a “series” hybrid. It’s fundamentally different from a “parallel” hybrid, like the Prius, in which the car’s electronic control unit constantly switches between the engine and a much smaller battery pack. After spending a few days on two different occasions driving the Volt and riding along with prospective consumers, I’m now able to catalog why exactly the Volt has leapfrogged the Toyota Prius and all other commercially released hybrids—and why it stands as an attractive alternative to the Nissan LEAF and other pure electric cars.

Just Like a Regular Car, Only Not

Unlike the Prius or Nissan LEAF, the Chevy Volt’s outward appearance is not iconic. Its normalness—some may say blandness—belies its great aerodynamics. The rounded hood-to-roof-to-hatchback design that contributes to making the Prius and Honda Insight slip so easily through air, and makes it so identifiable, have been dodged. The odd and endearing homeliness of the LEAF that broadcasts that an electric car is coming has also been replaced.

The Chevy Volt bypasses the feel of an appliance or iPod in favor of the familiar design emerging from many other domestic sedans. It looks snazzy to enthusiasts, and competent to others. Any of the Volt’s design quirks—blackened door panel insets, stylized side mirrors, flattop rear spoiler, and slightly hieroglyphic-like taillight lines—are flourishes downplayed against the larger restrained motif. I suspect that people are more likely to say, “Oh, that’s a Volt, it looks pretty good” when it passes by, rather than turn their head with delight or disgust.

G.M. message-makers have gone to great lengths, certainly too far for ardent EV fans, to say that the Volt is a “real car.” They are mostly referring to the Volt’s 300 miles of total range, but the same philosophy is evident in an outward appearance that is decisively un-hybrid and un-EV in feel. High-tech, athletic and slightly edgy? Yes, but much more Midwestern than coastal or foreign. Keep in mind that the Volt is a nameplate with its own unique design, whereas the Ford Focus Electric due out in 2011, is expected to be nearly identical to the gas-powered Focus.

Fun Factor

The more important departure from the Prius, and to some extent the LEAF, is the athleticism of the drive. The Volt, especially when toggled out of “Normal” mode and into “Sport” provides a driving excitement previously sacrificed by folks wanting to maximize efficiency. This mostly comes from an electric motor—roughly twice the size of the Prius’s—supplying a wallop of instantaneous power to the wheels. (By the way, switching to “Sport” mode doesn’t change a thing, except the pedal feel—proving more oomph with less pedal movement.)

You can read the specs—such as 273 pound-feet of torque, the electric equivalent of 150 horsepower, zero-to-60 in about 9 seconds, or a top speed of 100 mph—but you have to experience its glorious sweetly silent power to appreciate it. More than anything else, I believe the ultra-quietness combined with immediate torque is the novelty that creates the wow factor. How can this thing go so fast without any engine rev? That cognitive dissonance will create the biggest impression and serve as the trait used by Volt evangelists to spread the good word.

The fast-silent-whooshy feeling is fully supported by a solid but not too tight feeling in steering and handling. If G.M. engineers had stiffened up the ride any more, it would be less accessible to everyday drivers, and even a slightly looser feel would feel disconnected.

Just Drive

The pure and powerful electric-ness of the drive highlights another critical distinction between the Volt and any other hybrid using a gas engine. Certainly during its 40 or so miles—but even beyond that—there is no clunky switching back forth between gas and electric. You could call it the death of hypermiling—the technique of Astair-like foot control that attempts but for most people fails to maximize electric propulsion and minimize effort from the gas-powered engine. Jump into the accelerator as hard as you like, and you’ll hear not a peep from the engine. No special training required. Even with the excellent mostly electric drive of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid during its first dozen or so miles, if you push the pedal past a point, the engine will rumble into action.

Based on my time with the Volt, the post-40-mile transition from charge-depleting to charge-sustaining mode was much more seamless than the Prius’s relative clunky transitions. The amount of technical computerized sophistication used to minimize engine rev in every imaginable driving situation is impressive. The only time that I felt the engine truly roar was by intention—when I put the Volt into “Mountain Mode.” This mode could be renamed, “make the engine come on as much as possible, even if a bit loud, to convert gasoline into stored battery energy mode.”

The engineers were less successful in producing a seamless braking experience. The first degrees of brake pedal action that brings on regenerative braking, I suspect, will feel too loose on the foot for many drivers—even if the motor turned into generator is in fact producing the intended deceleration. Pushing the brake further, depending on the road surface, gives a slight uneasy hesitation—as if the computer is “calculating”—before the friction brakes bring the car more swiftly to a slightly twittery stop. This sensation will essentially vanish for most drivers after learning how the Volt responds, but I’m guessing that the algorithm that controls the interplay between regen and friction needs a slightly tweak.

Quality Interior, with a Hint of Tron

The same extraordinary level of sophistication that makes acceleration and handling so much fun is extended to the interior, which matches the quality of many luxury vehicles. The seats are firm and comfortable. The materials, with a few exceptions, have a quality feel. The doors go thunk, instead of ping. Don’t be misled by the Chevy-brand badging. The Volt is an upscale vehicle worthy of its higher price tag.

Still, there is a degree of futuristic garishness. The giant center console, especially when it comes in white instead of black, has an overwhelming number of tiny buttons, with still more choices from the center console touchscreen. That’s not all. The learning curve gets steeper with the display directly behind the steering wheel. More than one driver will have trouble finding the PRNDL indicator, at first. One other quirk is the counter-intuitive push-pull control for the electronically controlled parking brake. Pull to engage and push to release, not the other way around.

As we have posted, the high-tech aesthetics of the interface, and at least one of the interior panel designs, comes off as slightly garish. The best example of this is the way-too-loud artificial retro-tech sound as soon as you hit the power-on button. This can and should be killed, if you have the patience to find which of the numerous touch-button screens does the trick. The overall feeling is that a million things are going on.

We have covered other Volt charging, functions and attributes in great detail in other posts, so I’ll hit three final points:

• The car only has four seats. That’s a problem for some but not for others
• At 6’4”, my head hits the ceiling when seated in the back
• At least up to early October, G.M. engineers had still not addressed the high-pitched alternator whine coming from between the rear seats

A Winner

These minor issues and the purchase economics notwithstanding, the Chevy Volt represents a big step forward for G.M., and sets a new standard for the comfort, performance and efficiency of an electric-drive vehicle. Four years ago, G.M. engineers and designers set a tough task—to redefine the green car category by producing a desirable everyday car that's mostly electric, but without any of the drawbacks of limited driving range. They succeeded.