As we learned earlier today, the 2013 Chevrolet Volt has beefed up. The new model year vehicle has a “bigger” battery and can go three extra miles when driven solely on the battery. We spoke with GM representatives to get more information on the model year updates as well as answers to some of your questions (e.g., don’t expect E85 capability, once promised for the first-gen Volt, any time soon).

Funk Flex

Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah said there is a reason that the focus today was on the car’s improved all-electric range: It was the number one request from customers. Three miles is incremental, but “it will enable more people to go gasoline-free in their daily driving,” said Farah, and those miles “add up over a week.” Farah wouldn’t talk about how many more miles we can expect in the 2014 Volt, just that, “my expectations are that we would see larger improvements with model changes.” Importantly, Farah said that the EPA made no major changes to the test procedures, so it is legit to compare the 2013 MPGe number to earlier ratings.

Full story: Autoblog