CHEVROLET VOLTTiming chain or Belt?

The Chevrolet Volt is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by the American marque General Motor. This model was sold exclusively in the United States and Canada, starting in 2010. It was marketed as Open Ampera in Europe and as Holden Volt in Australia. It succeeded the General Motors EV1, a car which was a sales failure only because it was ahead of its time.

The Volt is based on the GM Delta II platform. It is an extended-range plug-in hybrid vehicle (ER-EV). It basically works as an electric car, only its small combustion engine recharges the battery. Its design prevents direct use of the combustion engine, so its use is auxiliary to provide support. It therefore has no gearbox, using a continuously variable transmission system (what we commonly know as variator or CVT).

The Chevy Volt is powered by a 151 hp (111 kW) electric motor. Regarding its autonomy, this depends on the model, there are versions with greater capacity in their batteries that were released from 2015.

Regarding the back-up engine, the Volt generates electric power with a 1.4-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine. This engine gives 81 hp and it is not 100% necessary to use it, since the car is plug-in, so it can be driven in all-electric mode. However, the system has 3 modes to prevent the user from never using gasoline and end up damaging injectors, pumps and other components of the combustion part of the car.

There are 2 generations of the Volt. The second arrived in 2016. Its competitors are varied, although they do not necessarily use the same hybrid technology. Some of its alternatives were the Honda Insight, the Toyota Prius or the Nissan Leaf among others.