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Vauxhall Ampera is the dawn of a new era in motoring
publication date: Jul 16, 2011
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author/source: Robin Roberts
A silent
revolution is about to sweep along our roads.
Waiting
beside my Ampera another passing model silently rolled through the car park and
I had to take a reality check and wondered if I had suddenly gone deaf. Then as
I shut my driver's door and heard the reassuring thud I knew I was about to
begin a new experience in automotive engineering.
|  | The four-seat
Vauxhall Ampera's body and cabin has been designed in Europe and is very
different to its sister car, the Volt, which is already on sale in America.
The
European and UK Ampera has a sweep-around look to the cabin with bold lines and
shapes to the soft plastic surfaces of the door panels, fascia and central
console.
The way
these are brought together and the multitude of displays, stack of touch
sensitive buttons on the centre console and purposeful stalks and switches
resemble the flight deck of the space shuttle.
|  | While
that out of this world experience is ending, the Ampera is a taking us on a new
journey with a hybrid unlike anything so far available. ‘Conventional' hybrids
have an internal combustion engine backed up by an electric motor but Ampera
uses two electric traction motors to initially power the car and these are
backed up by a comparatively small 1.4 petrol engine, which is really a
generator used to power the motors when the battery is depleted. |
The
simple transmission selection lever is broadly similar to a conventional
automatic in appearance (above) but is really just a drive selector giving forward,
reverse, neutral and hold functions. A button-operated parking brake, electric
steering and footbrake are also conventional for a driver.
Press the
power button and the system is on with dials illuminated, ready to go after you
select D on the central lever and toggle the handbrake button forward to
release the parking brake. After that it's just the same as a conventional car.
Ampera is
remarkably smooth, with very low noise level from the tyres or emanating from
the door mirrors, and it gives the impression of being an executive car of much
larger size. Throttle response is good both accelerating or easing off, braking
is strong with the regeneration system putting energy back into the lithium ion
battery and it turns smoothly although possibly a little lifelessly for me.
The comparatively
flat roads around Amsterdam did not really test the suspension and handling to
its limits but even on a rare bumpy piece of urban tarmac it soaked up shallow
depressions with a modest rise is road noise.
On some
sharp corners it rolled a little but not excessively and on motorways it pulled
away sharply and strongly. Vauxhall say that steep hills will quickly drain the
battery but you can pre-select the petrol engine to conserve battery power for
ascents or use in urban environments to meet emissions requirements.
The
battery pack gave a typical range of 45 miles on test before it seamlessly and
automatically gave way to the 1.4 litre petrol engine and only then did it
sound more like a conventional car with a familiar but well dubbed engine note
in the background.
| Like many
modern hatchbacks Ampera permits good vision to front and sides but the high
tail and shallow back window restrict rearward sight and there is some help
from the designers who incorporated a lower window in the fifth door, but you
still need sensors or a camera to help was well as looking over your shoulder.
Boot space is reasonable and access very good despite the high tail. |  | The
driver is confronted by two main displays on the fascia. Infront is what would
be thought of as an on-road screen showing speed, power mode selected, battery
and efficiency indicators among other warning lights and the second display is
on top of the centre stack and that is a multi-function screen for climate,
music, navigation, economy and range calculation.
It must
said that some information is duplicated across both screens, suggesting they
have been individually developed and incorporated and I found there was
possibly too much information being displayed with your eyes flitting over two
screens some inches apart. I did like the soft-touch console buttons, a first
in this class of car.
The left
wing mounted charging port is opened by a switch on the door and it is a simple
ten seconds job to hook up the on-board 20ft power cable to a suitable ring
main and does not require any special high power source, taking approximately
four hours to fully charge a flat battery.
Ampera is
technically different to anything else you are likely to drive, but at the same
time it has been designed to be familiar to operate and does not mean most
motorists have to compromise to be clean and green, just keep their eyes and
ears open. ©Robin Roberts |
Fact file:
Vauxhall Ampera £28,995 Insurance group: TBA
Mechanical
notes: Voltec electric front wheel drive, mid-mounted 380V lithium-ion battery
pack powering low and high speed 16KW motors, and range extending four-cylinder
63KW (86hp) 1.4 Ecotec petrol engine combining to produce 150PS; single speed
automatic transmission with four drive modes. Emissions: Under 40gkm.
BIK: 5pc,
100pc write-down after 12 months, zero congestion charge and VED.
Maximum
speed: 100mph, 0-62mph 9.0sec
Range: EV
mode approx. 50 miles, extended approx. 260 miles, total 310 miles estimated
Warranty:
Lifetime mechanical/ 8 years battery and generators |
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