General Motors, creator of the Ampera, has taken a huge gamble. The Vauxhall/Opel Ampera and its American sister, the Volt, could reshape the future of personal transport and force GM’s rivals to spend years playing catch-up.
On the other hand, they could be the nail in the coffin of a once-proud automotive giant, and it will be a while before we know — the Ampera goes on sale here in early 2012, and the Chevrolet Volt will be in US dealers this autumn.
It has already cost GM billions to bring this sleek, four-seat hatchback — which is powered by electricity and, indirectly, petrol, using potentially game-changing technology — to production-readiness.
This Vauxhall is not like the Toyota Prius, which relies largely on petrol power topped up by electricity partly gained from regenerative braking.
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No, the Ampera is an electric car with a petrol engine that acts purely as a generator once the battery is exhausted. It will do 40 miles on electricity alone, so for most average-length commutes or shopping trips the petrol engine stays dormant. Once plugged into the mains, the battery takes just three hours to recharge.
While this all sounds strange on paper, in reality the Ampera is blessedly normal.
Climb into the normal cabin, hit the normal start button, squeeze the normal accelerator ... and off you go.
Performance is unexpectedly strong, and from standstill up to the national speed limit the Ampera’s power unit would feel just like a strong diesel, were it not entirely silent.
And even when you run out of electricity and the 1.4-litre petrol motor fires up, its presence is barely noticeable as, like most generators, it runs at a constant speed. It’s effective, too, extending the Ampera’s range to more than 350 miles. Vauxhall claims an average of 175mpg and sub-40g/km CO2 emissions.
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Nissan’s new Leaf, the world’s first “proper”, purpose-built electric car, is impressive but limited by the need to stop for eight hours for a full charge after less than 100 miles on the road. The Ampera, by contrast, will drive non-stop from London to Scotland.
The Ampera has some issues, however: poor ride and handling in particular. Vauxhall hopes they’ll be improved in the 18 months before UK sales start. Nor will the car be cheap: Vauxhall says it will cost £30,000, which could be reduced to £25,000 if government-announced concessions are in place.
The Ampera certainly has the potential to fulfil GM’s dreams. It’s a spacious electric car without the usual “range-anxiety” handicap, it is breathtakingly frugal and clean and, best of all, it’s easy and normal to drive. The problems are its high price and the lack of a recharging infrastructure, which, at least in the short term, will make too many drivers reliant on the car’s petrol generator. If it can get round these obstacles, GM will have the winner it so desperately needs.