GM has tested the Volt, the 2010 Prius (with 17 inch wheels/tires - that's a key point) and Honda's 2nd gen Insight in the same wind tunnel:
Their results:
- 0.28 Chevy Volt
- 0.30 Toyota Prius (2010)
- 0.32 Honda Insight (2010)
Regarding the Prius,
Quote:
That was a number that was verified in our tunnel, in Chrysler’s tunnel, and in Ford’s tunnel.
The base Prius with the smaller wheels may come in lower, but we don’t offer 15 inch wheels.
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That second point is a giant cop-out. Feel free to discuss.
Interesting comments were made about the EV1 as well:
Quote:
EV-1
According to GM’s aerodynamics engineer Nina Tortosa, the old method of testing yielded .19, but with current testing methodology it would equate to .21.
“But that vehicle didn’t have a rollover and frontal impact structure of today’s standards,” said Boniface. “You could not sell that car today. That’s not to say we wont get to .21 again with another car. We always try to get drag down but we have to protect our styling flexibility.”
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Source:
Chevy Volt’s Coefficient of Drag is 0.28, Beats Prius and Insight