2012 Chevrolet Volt

small car / 4-door sedan

2012 Chevrolet Volt 4-door sedan
2011 Chevrolet Volt shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2011-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Chevrolet Volt 4-door

The Chevrolet Volt was introduced in the 2011 model year. The car is a plug-in battery-electric/gasoline hybrid, featuring an electric-only mode with a range of 35 miles for 2011 models according to the EPA. After the electric-only mode ends, the gas engine kicks in to power the vehicle.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head contacted the side curtain airbag during rebound.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEF1102
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 4
Left (cm) 4
Center (cm) 7
Right (cm) 7
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 2
Rearward (cm) -3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEF1102
Head
HIC-15 212
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 20
Maximum Nij 0.24
Chest maximum compression (mm) 30
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 1.2
Femur force - right (kN) 1.2
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 0
Maximum tibia index - left 0.44
Maximum tibia index - right 0.38
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.1
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 60
Right 70

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2011-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Chevrolet Volt 4-door with front and rear head curtain airbags and front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Chevrolet Volt was introduced in the 2011 model year. The car is a plug-in battery-electric/gasoline hybrid, featuring an electric-only mode with a range of 35 miles for 2011 models according to the EPA. After the electric-only mode ends, the gas engine kicks in to power the vehicle.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1104
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -14.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1104
Head HIC-15 195
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.5
Compression (kN) 0.8
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 34
Lateral force (kN) 1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 39
Average deflection (mm) 35
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.82
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.63
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.6
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.0
Combined force (kN) 3.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.2
L-M moment (Nm) 176
A-P moment (Nm) 39

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1104
Head HIC-15 287
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 19
Lateral force (kN) 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 28
Average deflection (mm) 23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.08
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.32
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.4
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.9
Combined force (kN) 2.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 111
A-P moment (Nm) -57

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Chevrolet Volt 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,739 lbs
Peak force 15,816 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.23

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 34
Distance below top of head (mm) 48
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 10.8
Head contact time (ms) 66
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 31
Max neck tension (N) 714

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.