My Volt is my daily driver, my 350Z is my get away car. And the Volt is actually becoming my favorite of the two vehicles. I am up to 450 mpg, plus about 2 cents a mile for the electricity. But the futuristic feel of the Volt is just too cool. Love my Volt!
@@slow_bike_show it is still running well, I sold it last month to a buddy of mine when I moved to a place that causes me to drive long distances more frequently.
@@mike_t_007 Mike I sold both the 350z and the Volt and bought a QX-50 with the VQ37. Love that engine even more than I liked the VQ35! I loved the Volt when my usual days driving was 40 miles or less. Now that I only drive 3 or 4 days a week I end up driving 70 or 80 miles each day I do drive and it irritated me to burn that much gas. So I sold the Volt to a friend.
@@BeardsleyMark Funny you say that... Just sold my G35 sedan yesterday and am about to get a Volt! Hoping to get a 2nd gen with more EV miles especially since gas is going up up up again (facepalm). Do you see yourself in another EV in the future?
We understand that our work isn't for everyone, but many have enjoyed this review - we're sorry to not count you among them. Meanwhile, the Volt and Prius are similar in size, aimed at similar buyers, and both use their "hybrid" nature as a major selling point. Obviously their hybrid powertrains are different and they have different strengths but we certainly wouldn't say they belong in separate categories. Either way though, thanks for watching and commenting!
@ThePurdude - If you only ever use the electric motor, the car will eventually turn on the Gasoline motor to burn the gas. It keeps track of how long the gas has been unused etc... pretty clever. No siphoning required.
I just bought a 2014 Volt - and I have to say, I love this car. Rides great, perfect brakes, quiet...its a perfect fit for my life here in RI. I never go more than 10 miles (small state, city driving) and then I pull back into the garage and plug back in. Three months and the engine has never started......so far? Love it.
The electric range is about 35 miles. I seldom go more than that. But if i did, and the battery gets to a Low Charge mode, the system changes to gas. It has a small gas engine that acts like a generator (it does NOT power the wheels). It produces enough electricity to keep me going for at least 250 miles. Perfect for me - eliminates all range anxiety.
You could certainly us it as a gas powered car - but why would you? Its meant to be an electric car. If you have no means to charge it - get a regular gas powered car instead.
Alan Rothfuss I live in a apartment and in a few months I'll be able to get my house. That's why I won't be able to charge it. So I won't need to charge at all?
This is a great car, and I love it. My '19 Volt gets over 50 miles on a charge, and I average over 90 MPG. I currently average over 111 MPG, and my lifetime is 114. The Generation 2 ('16 and later) has fantastic efficiency, and handles great. I don't know what's with these guys doing the review....the brakes feel and work fine, and for heaven's sakes, they hardly ever get used. People with 150-200,000 miles on these things, have barely any brake wear. Use the regen features, and you barely get any brake engagement at all. Drive in "Low", and the brakes don't come in to play until you're down to 1-2 MPH, or unless you have to do a maximum energy stop. When I drive in D and don't use the regen paddle switch, the brakes are just fine.
Having driven the Volt for 15 months, I understand how these batteries work. What most people don't understand is that the range you see when you reach a full charge is not a promise of things to come, but rather a reflection of your driving habits over the recent past. If you drive freeway every day, at 75 mph, your charge should show about 35 mi constantly. If you slow down to 65, you will show about 38 constantly. If you drive mostly city, your charge will show 40-44 constantly.
The Volt's a great car. Its too bad that many people just didn't catch on. I find the problem with the car being 1) G.M. didn't market the car correctly in having people understand that it truly has an onboard Generator type motor that requires little maintenance. 2) They undercut the car around 2013 by a huge amount therefore those that had the car prior to that year via purchase and mainly lease saw a huge loss in the value of their cars upon selling/ end of lease residual value. 3) In my opinion the 2016 model is a watered down version that looks like a Honda Civic & thereafter the car is going to probably cease in production because of these actions and somehow gas prices have gone down substantially; but keep in mind that won't last
really liking the new visual enhancements and the usual sensible reviews which is nicely balanced between humour and serious pointers, keep it up guys!
@SierraRomeo1990 - You've hit on a great point here. The Volt, Prius, Leaf, etc... these cars only save you money on paying for Gasoline IF you are already wanting to buy a NEW car. If you're willing to buy a used car, or drive the one you've paid off, then there's no way that buying a new one of these will cost you less. Many people only buy New, though. And then trade up every 3-5 years. Those folks are going to have a car payment no matter what - saving some gas money might help.
I like this review it's pretty honest. I bought the Holden badged Volt (RHD) a couple of months ago. I commute every day in comfort and calm and speeds from a crawl to 100kph (60mph). It's not super sporty but nail the accelerator to the floor and it swaps lanes or pulls away from junctions with more than enough speed. It's a pleasure to drive and doesn't have the Prius drone. Excellent commuter car that can mile munch too.
HappyListener50 Enjoy the Pirus all you want. You are missing out on the Volt if you never driven one. Best plugin extended range electric on the market period. Also owners are getting way higher than what consumer reports stated. 44 to 55 mile range just on electric. My daughter is averaging with her daily commutes of 212 MPG
I didn't know you guys did a Volt review. My wife and I are looking to pick up a CPO for her work commute. A friend just got one and I was blown away by their price. You can find CPO Volts for under 15k with under 40k miles. At 15k its very appealing.
@EricAlveal18 - Electric motors don't need to wind up into their torque band like a combustion engine. The minute it moves the engine has as much torque as possible. Think of a golf-cart... if you floor it you are snapped forward - full torque - the problem is the thing hits full speed a second later. But, that sudden surge is because of the always available torque of an electric motor. This feature helps small engines by providing torque at the bottom end - where they normally lack.
Look how good looking it is. There literally isnt any better car than it other than the Model S. Any mercedes, bmw, audi is a waste of money. Volt is what you should get. The Volt is one of the best looking cars on the road. The front end looks amazing. Red and Diamond White are the best colors for the Volt along with Polished Rims. Incredible. and 40+ miles of electric. Best alternative if you cant afford a Model S. Better than every car. And you pay as low as ~200 a month for it on a lease! The price has dropped and its very affordable now.
I bought a Volt 1 month ago. I have not bought gas for the car yet. It has about between 1/2 to 3/4 tank of gas in it. My commute is 11 miles each way. The company I work for has six 240v charging stations. I get to work and park at one of the EV designated spots, plug it in and wave the card supplied by the company and get a free charge. During the week I never charge at home. On weekends I use the 120v charger that comes with the car. Since Chevy dropped the price $6000 from the 2013 model and my company has a special relationship with GM (probably not really that special) the car ended up costing $33,000. Next year when I do my taxes, I will get the $7500 tax credit, making the cost $25,500. A pretty sweet deal over all. My Tundra got 15 MPG. So you can deduct the cost of gas. I was spending about $160.00 a month on gas. Also got a 4 year 0% loan. The electronics are overwhelming and I advise everyone to set everything up before you move. It can be distracting. So far I really like it. I haven't taken it on any long trips, but will soon.
xyzawesome1234 I have never really figured out the cost for charging the battery. Since I use the work chargers for free and only charge on weekends, it gets a little complicated. On weekends I plug it in any time it is in the garage. I have not noticed a jump in my electric bill. Also I do not plug it back in on Sunday, after my first trip of the day. There is usually enough charge left to get to work Monday morning. I am very frugal. I have gone on 2 road trips since my post above. On both I got right around 340 miles per battery and tank of gas. The battery charge drains quickly when on the interstate and both trips are almost completely interstate. I talked to a fellow Volt owner, he suggested changing it to engine only before setting out on the trip and only using the battery when you are stuck in construction or car crash traffic jams and you're in a stop and go traffic situation, which I was in a 90 minute jam moving at about 5 mph. The stop and go at those speeds actually put more power to the batteries. So, I imagine, using the gas and battery wisely you could get more. Filling up is kind of comical, since it has the 9 gallon tank. I kept wanting to put more in. In comparison to my Tundra which got 15 to 17 mpg (with an 18 gallon tank) and the volt which was getting about 35 mpg, I did not have to make any additional stops. It worked out to the same number of stops. I was expecting more. Since owning this vehicle, I have purchased $214 in gas since Feb 14th. I used to be a constant gas price checker, now I rarely even look. So, 6 months of owning this car has been a positive experience for me. I am baffled in that GM doesn't seem to want to sell these. They are hard to locate and I had to go about 35 miles from my house to the nearest dealership to see one. And they only had one. I bought it. I believe that GM is selling these at a major loss The one drawback for me is getting in and out. I have lower back pain and the seat is low, it gets to be a little trouble. But I would still recommend it. Once in the vehicle the pain goes away Also getting used to all the electronics is still very distracting when you are driving. I try to set everything before I head out. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the information! That was very helpful! My new work just got in some Car chargers so I was finally thinking about getting one. Work and back home is about 25mi so it should be great. Thanks again!
wabeech Thanks for the detailed info. I am currently trying to make up my mind whether I want to purchase/ lease a volt. I am in a similar situation. I have a 17.9 mile one way trip to work and I can charge my vehicle for free there. I actually don't even have a garage so I would have to depend on gas over the weekend or for anything more than a pit stop coming and going to work. Have you driven this vehicle in very cold weather, does it impact performance or range very much?
It uses the gas engine only if you run of of battery. Within the 35 - 40 mile range you would never need to use gas. It works as an only electric within that range and when you need more range you use the gas engine.
Guille It uses the gasoline engine only when you use the battery charge up. The prius pile doesn't do that. It uses the engine a lot! -you cannot control it.
@merts487 - We've got a lot of fun stuff in the pipeline. Fiat 500 is coming up compared with the Mini and Honda CRZ. A review of the Cayman S. And for Exotic Driver: Corvette ZR1 and Aston Martin Vantage. Plus lots of other stuff being scheduled before 2011 is done. Thanks for watching and wanting more!
@fierygurl69 - Most people's commute is less than 40 miles roundtrip, so the Volt would probably be enough for an all electric daily grind. The big plus compared to the Leaf (which is impressive for what it is) is the fact the Volt can be used for any longer trips and between charges. For us - In our typical shooting day we drive more than 100 miles. That would have made the Leaf require multiple days of shooting. In the Volt, we ran out of charge and just kept shooting.
Awesome Extended Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV)!!...my younger brother just took delivery of his brand-new Chevy Volt a few days ago, and man!...am I impressed!...the interior is very luxurious for being a Chevy, and it is very fun to drive!...GM hit the nail on the head with this one!!
As the technology gets better, the batteries in the Volt will get cheaper. When I bought my '03 Prius, the batteries would have been about 10,000 dollars to replace, but today i can get them replaced for about 2,000 dollars.... still a big price tag, but they have come down in price.
Joel Lindquist You don't need to change the battery packs in a Volt....they're just that good. The Volts have over 400,000 miles, and the battery packs are still fine....one guy had 477,000 miles, and high voltage battery pack is still going strong.
I have since seem videos on the new Volt and it is impressive. They have done away with the odd black paint and chrome styling feature under the side windows, the nose is sleeker, the rear of the car looks more like a Honda now and inside they did away with the touchy touch buttons on the center dash that people hated. Also the 2016 Volt can go 10 more miles on a charge. Hoop-de-dooooo
11 years old...the car appears to be contemporary. I have a 2015 and it's a very reliable and efficient car...with Blizzaks...it's unstoppable in the snow.
Probably the best Volt review I've seen and I've watched them all. The only issue I have is that some of the concerns mentioned not only have I not noticed a problem, but in some cases I thought the exact opposite. BTW. I've owned my volt for 2 months, driven about 2000 miles. Handling is fantastic. I'll put it against any middle of the road sports car. Seats are very comfortable. Its very quick. I could come up with a few ideas to modify the car, it just wouldn't be what you mentioned.
@Wally Desouza. Yes you can. Mine came with a standard charger that plugs into a standard 120V outlet. It takes about 10 hours or so to fully charge it from empty. A 240V charger does in about 4 hours from what I understand but I haven't bought one yet. BTW, I bought a used 2012 Volt. I went from a 2009 Eclipse GT Spyder convertible to the Volt. I loved the performance my Eclipse but got fed up with gas cost. Even with my increase car payment, I'm still saving about $150 a month in total costs.
What I love about the volt is you can get 40 mpg every time you turn on the gas engine with just a little planing. Say you want to go from DC to Philadelphia. You start at the Monument in electric mode stay that way till you hit 295 (highway) get up to 60 mph than switch to gas. Now you can enjoy 40 mpg till you get to downtown Philadelphia. At that point you go back on electric. Between DC and Philadelphia you might even charge the battery a bit.
The gasoline generator does not normally charge the battery but the battery is used as a kind of buffer. It keeps the battery at a certain level depending on if it is in Mountain mode or not.
I am actually 6.5 feet tall 200 pounds. Almost no body fat. My problem with most modern cars is head and legroom. The Volt is fine on both for its front seat passengers.
What recharging outlet? You get a charger with the car. It plugs right into your 110V wall plug. You only have to buy a 240V charger, if you want it. What most people don't understand is that most Volt owners don't deplete the entire charge every day. So, if you only drive 30 miles a day, it will only take about 7 hours of charging at 110 volts. That can easily be done at night. Also, EV's should be plugged in at all times. I have driven over 60 mi. elect. in 1 day by keeping it plugged.
@blurglide the volt is the first plug in series hybrid. the plug in prius is a parallel hybrid. it has been done before, deisel-electric trains are all series hybrids like the volt.
Love your reviews. Best i've seen. Please talk about the "smile" or "giddy grin" factor..Its the whole reason we love and buy vehicles, people are just not atuned to it any more.
@rforracing - "Exotic Driver" will post videos on this channel as well - They will be clearly branded as Exotic Driver pieces - but we'll only do 3-4 a year so we aren't going to start a whole new channel. Plus, we want you guys to be able to easily find them... cause we Everyday Drivers all need a little car-porn now and then. Our main focus will remain the Everyday Driver reviews of great cars available for around $50k or below. First 2 Exotic Driver reviews will be up late this summer.
It's not a problem. I already have $8,500 returned to me. This time next year, it will be $10,500. No problem. I drove Caddy's for 35 years. Not one of them ever returned money to me, so this is a big plus! Best car I've ever owned, and I've owned some nice ones!
Glad you had a lot of good to say. I've driven several and I think you really "dug around" to find something to complain about, but maybe that's your way of showing the good and the bad, to not appear biased (?). I think the brakes felt perfectly fine and the handling has a very normal feel. I think it's a fantastic car, not just "oh well, here's a commuter car. yawn." but it was really remarkable!
Yes, it did go up. From $27 last year to $51 this year. That included charging the Volt. 650 miles driven. My Volt paid for my household electric bill and put money in the bank for me. Here are the numbers. Santa Clara, CA elect. rate is .088 cents for first 300 kwh. .102 after 300 kwh. It takes 13 kwh's to charge a Volt. 10 hours at 1.3 kwh's per. I get 45 miles per charge in warm weather. That equates to $1.20 for 45 mi. That equates to $0.027 per mi. = 150 mpg at $4 per gallon.
the 2nd volt that i'd ever seen was the one i bought brand new. I LOVE IT , 2014 until today... covid era 2022. the best car ive ever owned , ive had a few cool vehicles including a pair of wicked volvo XC70's, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Sienna vans, tonnes of old VW's including a FOX....however, this car does not normally re-charge the battery pack, per say...It will recharge in mountain mode but will use more fuel than sport mode in low range. The brakes will re-charge battery, but only a tiny amount. Drive in sport mode, in low range and giver hell.
@mcgrath9 Officially, the EPA fuel rating (CAFE) is listed on the Volt's window sticker as 37 mpg and though the claim is that you can go 35-40 miles on a full battery charge (before the engine kicks in), if you run the A/C or Heater, that range is substantially reduced. The Prius is rated 59 mpg city and 40 highway by the way. The Ford Mondeo (Taurus) has a turbocharged 1.6L EUD engine that is rated 66 mpg combined (city/highway). Unfortunately, you can't get EUD fuel in the USA.
No, they are doing so well that in CA and NY, the warranty has been extended to 10 years / 150,000 miles. My battery is actually giving me 2 more E mile range than when I bought it 15 months ago. If you are talking about different ranges due to weather, that holds true for ICE autos also. Their mpg in cold vs. warm is "inconsistent" also.
I love my Volt... This is by far the test drive that reflects how I feel about mine after nearly a year of driving it. I got used to the brakes... I average 94 mpg on my 70 mile round trip commute to work.
Alright! Congratulations! Bought mine 1 year ago. Drove 2 awesome Sevilles. Wouldn't trade both of them for this car unless I could sell them and buy a new one & keep the money. Haven't been to the gas station in 6 months. In CA., we are experiencing a gas crisis. 2 refinaries shut down. Gas is $4.50 for reg.! 3 people asked me how I liked my car while sitting at red lights just last week. One word of caution! You will find yourself running useless erronds. But at 3 cents/mi. so what
@Bulgdoom - We are prone to agree with you. But there are a growing number of people looking to buy a new car (30-40 grand) and one of their top priorities is "good MPG". That's where a car like this is a great choice, very little gas used in most normal use, and can still go on a roadtrip. We'd also buy an enthusiast car instead... ;-)
I live in the SF bay area. There are many small businesses that convert diesels to cooking oil. They are quite famous around here. They are totally independent from anybody, & in fact, they are quite radical about being independent. None of them has achieved much better than the diesel motor gets with regular diesel fuel. I already knew about Rudolph Diesel. He and Tesla are two of my heroes. But it doesn't change facts. 100 mpg is not possible with the technology of today's motors.
@ThePurdude If you never use the gasoline engine, the car will periodically start the engine to keep all the seals lubricated. The gas tank is pressurized with air to keep the gas from going bad. The is a button you have to press to allow the tank to depressurize and open the tank door. The car will keep track, and force the engine to cycle through the gas when its reached its lifespan in the tank.
The number 1 car traded in for a Chevy Volt? Toyota Prius. Number 2, BMW 3 series. Now, considering that these are fine cars in their own rights, the former owners of these cars love the Volt so much that they set a record for the most loved car (93% said they would buy again). Another 4% said they will consider. That's a 97% satisfactory rate.
My parents put 4k miles on it before their first tank of gas. I love this car, very innovative. Only a couple things that annoy me, the center console control panel button placements are kind of random and confusing. The dash/spedometer is cool that it's an lcd but the screen is square, it seems like they just took the screen out of a parts bin and put it behind the steering wheel, a custom shaped screen would have been very cool. Finally the windbreak under the bumper scrapes everything.
It actually costs about $1.2 to fully charge, which gets you 40 miles. My G37 would have cost 2 gallons of gas to get me the same distance. I have had my Volt for one year and have put gas in it ONCE. Averaging 244mpg lifetime. It is hands down my favorite vehicle I have ever owned.
Lots of cab company's have been using hybrids and converted plug in hybrids for years. One in SF averages 250,000 miles on their vehicles. The cars break down before the batteries wear out. 6 gallons of gas purchased in 15 months.
You can charge it in your home using a 120V outlet or the 240V outlet that would feed your washing machine or oven. Obviously the engine can recharge it for you and you just fill up at any gas station when that runs out.
The generator uses premium gas because of the 7% additional spark over regular gas. The increase in efficiency makes up for the additional cost of the premium gas. If diesel was used, the spark would be even less efficient than regular gas, thus there would be no savings in money. Also, pemium gas is used because it can be stored longer than regular gas or diesel. The sealed, stainless steel tank can store gas for over a year, but the car won't let you. It will burn off the gas before then.
In brutal cold- Drive the first 3 or 4 miles in hold mode to warm the car up. This makes a huge difference. Also set the engine assisted heating to 15 degrees instead of the default 25.
They just dropped the price $5000 to 35k (before the $7500 tax credit). The average price of a new car is 32k. So far the Volt has been very reliable. There is not much to go wrong with an electric drive train. Most likely you would not use the gas engine often.
The initial concept came from Opel and the execution was lead by an Engineer that only temporarily worked for Chevy and upon completion of the Volt immediately returned to Opel. The car is also based on the Delta II platform which was developed in Germany by Opel. I think this accounts for far more than 10%.
The VOLT has a secondary system that will force you to use the fuel, if you come to a point where the fuel has not been used for a very long time. I don't fully remember but I want to say about 2 or 3 months, then the vehicle will let you know it is TIME to BURN OUT the fuel , aka use it up, so that the fuel doesn't become stale.
L a u r e n C Very true! Even taking an occasional drive, will eliminate the need for the car having to run the engine in fuel maintenance mode. I drive mine enough, that it doesn't come close to being a problem.
You know. You are correct in a way. I got my $7,500 tax credit. I have saved well over $1,000 in gas so far. It rides smoother than either of my Cadillac Seville's. Of course, the fact that the Volt has received more major awards than any other car in history, I guess they are getting paid off by GM also. But there are a lot of people on the payroll now cuz 93% of the owners love this car & would buy again. Another 4 % really like the car and will consider it. The other 3% just like it.
I just bought my Volt and love it. To the haters out there, dislike it. But try this stance, tell people you cannot afford it, but support it. If enough people buy the vehicle, there will be less demand on gas and those prices may come down. Just food for thought.
@Matt61589 The cost of the Volt at $49,850, was taken directly from the window sticker of a Volt and the EPA stated fuel mileage of 37 is the rating for that vehicle by the EPA CAFE standards. Do a "goggle" search for Ford UK (official Ford website in the UK). Just take a quick peek at the Ford Mondeo (Ford Taurus in USA) with the Ford Duratorq TDCi 1.6L engine (powered by EUD fuel) is "officially" listed at 66mpg an a CO2 rating of 120 g/km. (Volt CO2 rating is 205 g/km by the way).
I live 15 mi's from the Tesla plant. Had the hots for the S. Started studying about electrics. Found out, all plug-in's, hybrid or full E must be plugged in at all times when not in use. Tesla makes you read and sign a form stating this. They do this to protect themselves should a person ruin his battery. Considering this, if you drive less than 40 mi's a day, the range of the Tesla is not an advantage. You still have to plug both cars in every day. Best Tesla is $105k. I bought a Volt.
@ra5928 I was at Champion Cherolet in Reno, NV yesterday and they had 6 Volts in stock and the sticker price on the Volt was $49,850. The EU CO2 rating is 205 g/km and you can get that from the London Tax board. Also, the total number of Volts built so far is 9,623 and only 6,100 sold (General Motors statistics). The oil companies have nothing to do with the price of oil (kind of hard when they only control 6.1% of the world's current supply). We have an excess supply of refined products, yes.
Call Serra Chevrolet, Southfield, MI. Offering $268/month lease (or $311 if calculate down payment). Minus $150-200/month for fuel and this means $68-118/lease (or downpayment adjustment $111-161/month) for vehicle. Oh, and calculate no oil changes for 3 years, and if you do - Serra Chevrolet does the first one free. (saves $25-40/year for oil change).
The braking is comfortable and predictable. The solidity and feel of the Volt is wonderful. The Tesla is 3.9 secs for a 0-60.(70-110k$) I can NOT use that power around town anyway without a ticket. We are on our 2nd Prius. 2002 & 2007 w/50mpg. $35,000 2007 Prius Package 5. The Volt has a VERY COMFORTABLE seat-not so on the Prius for ME! 16.5 (I think)KW battery. If GM gets to 150 miles on a charge, they might take it all!!
The battery never limits range. That is the beauty of the Ampera. It is an electric car but without the headaches of range limits of normal battery elelctric cars like the Leaf.
You're right! Actually, The idea to put an on board generator in a car that the ICE could spin has been around for a long time. I've still got plans on how to do that from an issue of Mother Earth magazine from the 1970's. GM was not the first to think of that. I think the problem is when you have a culture conditioned to think a certain way, for better or for worst, it's hard to change. To GM's credit they're changing.
@ngvconversion I've seen about 6 on the road where I live. They're starting to become more popular. People are buying them. It helps when the Volt payment goes down to only $350 a month after all the discounts & incentives. My brother recently got one and I will be buying one in the near future. GM has a winner with this one!
I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but yeah ofcourse you're right when comparing the volt vs "the average gas car". I bought a mercedes C class in 2003 which burned about a liter every 8 kilometers. Last month I bought a newer model which is even a bit faster, and it uses a liter for about 25 kilometers. Newer cars (just like the "new" volt) have amazing engines with better injection systems , and are more eco-friendly. The average gas car however, is probably still early 2000's.
@TheThumper49 A taxi company in S.F. was the first company in the US to use the Prius. The cars all got more than 200,000 miles and only one failure on warranty. All of the batties are warrantied (by law) for 100,000 miles / 8 years, or more. Never heard of anyone losing a battery yet.
Good review, though I'm kinda unsure about saving money with this car, partly because there really is no data to compare I guess. If person A buys a Volt, person B buys a Prius and both of them keep the car for commuting for 5 years, who is going to have saved more money?
Still, your original statement that Frank Weber invented this system is pretty tall talk. Planetary's, electric motors, batteries have been used together for quite some time. The main difference between the Volt and others is the fact that they decided to use the small e motor & generator to assist rather than using higher gear ratios. That is putting it very simply. I've never heard that he invented that. He was lead engineer over dozens if not hundreds of brilliant engineers. Teamwork.
I had a 2012 Chevy volt that I bought in 2018 with 100,000 miles for 8000, it was an awesome car, silver on black, it felt extremely high-quality, all of the exterior and interior plastics held up so well, The leather looked brand new. It was a extremely quiet and refined ride, unfortunately I had some issues where it would just shut off on me while driving, the dealer cannot rectify it. It was extremely frustrating, and while I loved it it looked so modern and they are known to be reliable, I cannot recommend one..
@Matt61589 Got news for you, the current PC for oil shale is $66 PB (source: EIA), Bakken oil cost is $68 PB, so why do you think the unemployment numbers for North Dakota are less than 3.5%???? Bakken and Oil Shale production is by a process developed by RDS about 10 years ago. You surround an area with pressurized aqueus ammonia, then after a process of refractory distillation (refining in place), you'll have producable oil with 24-36 months, which is what they're doing in NDakota right now.
@ra5928 Another thing, the sticker price of a fully equipped Toyota Prius G3 is $32,250, while the fully equipped Chevrolet Volt is $49,850 (both prices prior to any tax incentive on purchase if any apply). The Toyota Prius G3 and Ford Mondeo/Taurus TDCi in Europe are substantially lower in CO2 emissions, than the Volt, because they both have EUD powered ICEs, while the Volt still uses gasoline (petrol) in Europe. Chevrolet does not offer the choice of EUD fuel.
Gasoline does have a limited lifespan. What happens if you do not use the gasoline in the tank and it goes stale? Do you just suck it up and switch to gas mode to burn up the old gas in order to put fresh gas in or would you have to siphon it out or something?
ps ... I didn't burn money. I kept my Caddy's for over 15 years each. They were showroom new when I sold them. I actually had quite a few people that wanted to buy them and I had a bidding war. Sold them for more than twice blue book. Do you know how many people want a nice 15 yeard old car that they don't have to do one thing to? They are still running around. My only regret, selling my 1978 Seville, black on silver. I cry when I see that car!
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![Chevy Volt - 9 Months and 9000 miles with this amazing GM hybrid electric car [Review]](/img/n.gif)
My Volt is my daily driver, my 350Z is my get away car. And the Volt is actually becoming my favorite of the two vehicles.
I am up to 450 mpg, plus about 2 cents a mile for the electricity. But the futuristic feel of the Volt is just too cool. Love my Volt!
how's it hold up now? Thinking about getting the same 2011 used right now.
Would love to know of he still has both cars! We're selling our G35 Sedan and getting a Volt. Would love to hear ownership experience from a VQ owner
@@slow_bike_show it is still running well, I sold it last month to a buddy of mine when I moved to a place that causes me to drive long distances more frequently.
@@mike_t_007 Mike I sold both the 350z and the Volt and bought a QX-50 with the VQ37. Love that engine even more than I liked the VQ35!
I loved the Volt when my usual days driving was 40 miles or less. Now that I only drive 3 or 4 days a week I end up driving 70 or 80 miles each day I do drive and it irritated me to burn that much gas. So I sold the Volt to a friend.
@@BeardsleyMark Funny you say that... Just sold my G35 sedan yesterday and am about to get a Volt! Hoping to get a 2nd gen with more EV miles especially since gas is going up up up again (facepalm). Do you see yourself in another EV in the future?
We understand that our work isn't for everyone, but many have enjoyed this review - we're sorry to not count you among them. Meanwhile, the Volt and Prius are similar in size, aimed at similar buyers, and both use their "hybrid" nature as a major selling point. Obviously their hybrid powertrains are different and they have different strengths but we certainly wouldn't say they belong in separate categories. Either way though, thanks for watching and commenting!
@ThePurdude - If you only ever use the electric motor, the car will eventually turn on the Gasoline motor to burn the gas. It keeps track of how long the gas has been unused etc... pretty clever. No siphoning required.
I just bought a 2014 Volt - and I have to say, I love this car. Rides great, perfect brakes, quiet...its a perfect fit for my life here in RI. I never go more than 10 miles (small state, city driving) and then I pull back into the garage and plug back in. Three months and the engine has never started......so far? Love it.
Alan Rothfuss what happens if the battery dies completely? And it still turn on? Or is Gas all it need?
The electric range is about 35 miles. I seldom go more than that. But if
i did, and the battery gets to a Low Charge mode, the system changes to
gas. It has a small gas engine that acts like a generator (it does NOT
power the wheels). It produces enough electricity to keep me going for
at least 250 miles. Perfect for me - eliminates all range anxiety.
Alan Rothfuss if I never charge is it fine?
You could certainly us it as a gas powered car - but why would you? Its
meant to be an electric car. If you have no means to charge it - get a
regular gas powered car instead.
Alan Rothfuss I live in a apartment and in a few months I'll be able to get my house. That's why I won't be able to charge it. So I won't need to charge at all?
This is a great car, and I love it.
My '19 Volt gets over 50 miles on a charge, and I average over 90 MPG.
I currently average over 111 MPG, and my lifetime is 114.
The Generation 2 ('16 and later) has fantastic efficiency, and handles great.
I don't know what's with these guys doing the review....the brakes feel and work fine, and for heaven's sakes, they hardly ever get used. People with 150-200,000 miles on these things, have barely any brake wear.
Use the regen features, and you barely get any brake engagement at all.
Drive in "Low", and the brakes don't come in to play until you're down to 1-2 MPH, or unless you have to do a maximum energy stop.
When I drive in D and don't use the regen paddle switch, the brakes are just fine.
Having driven the Volt for 15 months, I understand how these batteries work. What most people don't understand is that the range you see when you reach a full charge is not a promise of things to come, but rather a reflection of your driving habits over the recent past.
If you drive freeway every day, at 75 mph, your charge should show about 35 mi constantly. If you slow down to 65, you will show about 38 constantly. If you drive mostly city, your charge will show 40-44 constantly.
It's funny how many people fight over cars on TH-cam...
The Volt's a great car. Its too bad that many people just didn't catch on. I find the problem with the car being 1) G.M. didn't market the car correctly in having people understand that it truly has an onboard Generator type motor that requires little maintenance. 2) They undercut the car around 2013 by a huge amount therefore those that had the car prior to that year via purchase and mainly lease saw a huge loss in the value of their cars upon selling/ end of lease residual value.
3) In my opinion the 2016 model is a watered down version that looks like a Honda Civic & thereafter the car is going to probably cease in production because of these actions and somehow gas prices have gone down substantially; but keep in mind that won't last
really liking the new visual enhancements and the usual sensible reviews which is nicely balanced between humour and serious pointers, keep it up guys!
@SierraRomeo1990 - You've hit on a great point here. The Volt, Prius, Leaf, etc... these cars only save you money on paying for Gasoline IF you are already wanting to buy a NEW car. If you're willing to buy a used car, or drive the one you've paid off, then there's no way that buying a new one of these will cost you less.
Many people only buy New, though. And then trade up every 3-5 years. Those folks are going to have a car payment no matter what - saving some gas money might help.
I like this review it's pretty honest. I bought the Holden badged Volt (RHD) a couple of months ago. I commute every day in comfort and calm and speeds from a crawl to 100kph (60mph). It's not super sporty but nail the accelerator to the floor and it swaps lanes or pulls away from junctions with more than enough speed. It's a pleasure to drive and doesn't have the Prius drone. Excellent commuter car that can mile munch too.
What’s prius drone?
I love that you guys stick to reviewing the purpose of the car and don't try to test it for track numbers. Keep up the good work!
The best car review I've ever seen. Amazing job.
I have leased 2 Volts and is the best cars I ever leased. 200+ MPGE
HappyListener50
Enjoy the Pirus all you want. You are missing out on the Volt if you never driven one. Best plugin extended range electric on the market period. Also owners are getting way higher than what consumer reports stated. 44 to 55 mile range just on electric. My daughter is averaging with her daily commutes of 212 MPG
I didn't know you guys did a Volt review. My wife and I are looking to pick up a CPO for her work commute. A friend just got one and I was blown away by their price. You can find CPO Volts for under 15k with under 40k miles. At 15k its very appealing.
@EricAlveal18 - Electric motors don't need to wind up into their torque band like a combustion engine. The minute it moves the engine has as much torque as possible. Think of a golf-cart... if you floor it you are snapped forward - full torque - the problem is the thing hits full speed a second later. But, that sudden surge is because of the always available torque of an electric motor.
This feature helps small engines by providing torque at the bottom end - where they normally lack.
Look how good looking it is. There literally isnt any better car than it other than the Model S. Any mercedes, bmw, audi is a waste of money. Volt is what you should get. The Volt is one of the best looking cars on the road. The front end looks amazing. Red and Diamond White are the best colors for the Volt along with Polished Rims. Incredible. and 40+ miles of electric. Best alternative if you cant afford a Model S. Better than every car. And you pay as low as ~200 a month for it on a lease! The price has dropped and its very affordable now.
I bought a Volt 1 month ago. I have not bought gas for the car yet. It has about between 1/2 to 3/4 tank of gas in it. My commute is 11 miles each way. The company I work for has six 240v charging stations. I get to work and park at one of the EV designated spots, plug it in and wave the card supplied by the company and get a free charge. During the week I never charge at home. On weekends I use the 120v charger that comes with the car. Since Chevy dropped the price $6000 from the 2013 model and my company has a special relationship with GM (probably not really that special) the car ended up costing $33,000. Next year when I do my taxes, I will get the $7500 tax credit, making the cost $25,500. A pretty sweet deal over all. My Tundra got 15 MPG. So you can deduct the cost of gas. I was spending about $160.00 a month on gas. Also got a 4 year 0% loan. The electronics are overwhelming and I advise everyone to set everything up before you move. It can be distracting. So far I really like it. I haven't taken it on any long trips, but will soon.
You seem like the perfect Volt use case.
How much does it cost to charge the battery ? Also, How many miles do u get out of something like this using all the battery and a full tank of gas?
xyzawesome1234 I have never really figured out the cost for charging the battery. Since I use the work chargers for free and only charge on weekends, it gets a little complicated. On weekends I plug it in any time it is in the garage. I have not noticed a jump in my electric bill. Also I do not plug it back in on Sunday, after my first trip of the day. There is usually enough charge left to get to work Monday morning. I am very frugal.
I have gone on 2 road trips since my post above. On both I got right around 340 miles per battery and tank of gas. The battery charge drains quickly when on the interstate and both trips are almost completely interstate. I talked to a fellow Volt owner, he suggested changing it to engine only before setting out on the trip and only using the battery when you are stuck in construction or car crash traffic jams and you're in a stop and go traffic situation, which I was in a 90 minute jam moving at about 5 mph. The stop and go at those speeds actually put more power to the batteries. So, I imagine, using the gas and battery wisely you could get more. Filling up is kind of comical, since it has the 9 gallon tank. I kept wanting to put more in. In comparison to my Tundra which got 15 to 17 mpg (with an 18 gallon tank) and the volt which was getting about 35 mpg, I did not have to make any additional stops. It worked out to the same number of stops. I was expecting more. Since owning this vehicle, I have purchased $214 in gas since Feb 14th. I used to be a constant gas price checker, now I rarely even look. So, 6 months of owning this car has been a positive experience for me. I am baffled in that GM doesn't seem to want to sell these. They are hard to locate and I had to go about 35 miles from my house to the nearest dealership to see one. And they only had one. I bought it. I believe that GM is selling these at a major loss
The one drawback for me is getting in and out. I have lower back pain and the seat is low, it gets to be a little trouble. But I would still recommend it. Once in the vehicle the pain goes away Also getting used to all the electronics is still very distracting when you are driving. I try to set everything before I head out. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the information! That was very helpful! My new work just got in some Car chargers so I was finally thinking about getting one. Work and back home is about 25mi so it should be great. Thanks again!
wabeech Thanks for the detailed info. I am currently trying to make up my mind whether I want to purchase/ lease a volt. I am in a similar situation. I have a 17.9 mile one way trip to work and I can charge my vehicle for free there. I actually don't even have a garage so I would have to depend on gas over the weekend or for anything more than a pit stop coming and going to work. Have you driven this vehicle in very cold weather, does it impact performance or range very much?
You guys put out my favorite reviews, Thanks
It uses the gas engine only if you run of of battery. Within the 35 - 40 mile range you would never need to use gas. It works as an only electric within that range and when you need more range you use the gas engine.
Guille
It uses the gasoline engine only when you use the battery charge up.
The prius pile doesn't do that.
It uses the engine a lot!
-you cannot control it.
@merts487 - We've got a lot of fun stuff in the pipeline. Fiat 500 is coming up compared with the Mini and Honda CRZ. A review of the Cayman S. And for Exotic Driver: Corvette ZR1 and Aston Martin Vantage. Plus lots of other stuff being scheduled before 2011 is done.
Thanks for watching and wanting more!
@fierygurl69 - Most people's commute is less than 40 miles roundtrip, so the Volt would probably be enough for an all electric daily grind. The big plus compared to the Leaf (which is impressive for what it is) is the fact the Volt can be used for any longer trips and between charges.
For us - In our typical shooting day we drive more than 100 miles. That would have made the Leaf require multiple days of shooting. In the Volt, we ran out of charge and just kept shooting.
Awesome Extended Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV)!!...my younger brother just took delivery of his brand-new Chevy Volt a few days ago, and man!...am I impressed!...the interior is very luxurious for being a Chevy, and it is very fun to drive!...GM hit the nail on the head with this one!!
As the technology gets better, the batteries in the Volt will get cheaper. When I bought my '03 Prius, the batteries would have been about 10,000 dollars to replace, but today i can get them replaced for about 2,000 dollars.... still a big price tag, but they have come down in price.
Joel Lindquist
You don't need to change the battery packs in a Volt....they're just that good.
The Volts have over 400,000 miles, and the battery packs are still fine....one guy had 477,000 miles, and high voltage battery pack is still going strong.
The Volt sounds like a brilliant idea but it has so many quirks. I am hoping the 2016 model will get it right.
I have since seem videos on the new Volt and it is impressive. They have done away with the odd black paint and chrome styling feature under the side windows, the nose is sleeker, the rear of the car looks more like a Honda now and inside they did away with the touchy touch buttons on the center dash that people hated.
Also the 2016 Volt can go 10 more miles on a charge. Hoop-de-dooooo
I bought a 2015 for every reason you think the 2nd Gen is better.
11 years old...the car appears to be contemporary. I have a 2015 and it's a very reliable and efficient car...with Blizzaks...it's unstoppable in the snow.
Probably the best Volt review I've seen and I've watched them all. The only issue I have is that some of the concerns mentioned not only have I not noticed a problem, but in some cases I thought the exact opposite. BTW. I've owned my volt for 2 months, driven about 2000 miles. Handling is fantastic. I'll put it against any middle of the road sports car. Seats are very comfortable. Its very quick. I could come up with a few ideas to modify the car, it just wouldn't be what you mentioned.
Love my Volt we're getting 160 MPG
@Wally Desouza.
Yes you can. Mine came with a standard charger that plugs into a standard 120V outlet. It takes about 10 hours or so to fully charge it from empty. A 240V charger does in about 4 hours from what I understand but I haven't bought one yet. BTW, I bought a used 2012 Volt. I went from a 2009 Eclipse GT Spyder convertible to the Volt. I loved the performance my Eclipse but got fed up with gas cost. Even with my increase car payment, I'm still saving about $150 a month in total costs.
What I love about the volt is you can get 40 mpg every time you turn on the gas engine with just a little planing. Say you want to go from DC to Philadelphia. You start at the Monument in electric mode stay that way till you hit 295 (highway) get up to 60 mph than switch to gas. Now you can enjoy 40 mpg till you get to downtown Philadelphia. At that point you go back on electric. Between DC and Philadelphia you might even charge the battery a bit.
The gasoline generator does not normally charge the battery but the battery is used as a kind of buffer. It keeps the battery at a certain level depending on if it is in Mountain mode or not.
I am actually 6.5 feet tall 200 pounds. Almost no body fat. My problem with most modern cars is head and legroom. The Volt is fine on both for its front seat passengers.
I got to test drive a Volt once. It's a really unique driving experience, zero engine noise is odd but fun. I loved it personally.
Hey Mr. Every Day Driver. It's been almost 4 years since you posted this video. How about an update?
What recharging outlet? You get a charger with the car. It plugs right into your 110V wall plug. You only have to buy a 240V charger, if you want it. What most people don't understand is that most Volt owners don't deplete the entire charge every day. So, if you only drive 30 miles a day, it will only take about 7 hours of charging at 110 volts. That can easily be done at night. Also, EV's should be plugged in at all times. I have driven over 60 mi. elect. in 1 day by keeping it plugged.
@blurglide the volt is the first plug in series hybrid. the plug in prius is a parallel hybrid. it has been done before, deisel-electric trains are all series hybrids like the volt.
Love your reviews. Best i've seen. Please talk about the "smile" or "giddy grin" factor..Its the whole reason we love and buy vehicles, people are just not atuned to it any more.
@rforracing - "Exotic Driver" will post videos on this channel as well - They will be clearly branded as Exotic Driver pieces - but we'll only do 3-4 a year so we aren't going to start a whole new channel. Plus, we want you guys to be able to easily find them... cause we Everyday Drivers all need a little car-porn now and then.
Our main focus will remain the Everyday Driver reviews of great cars available for around $50k or below. First 2 Exotic Driver reviews will be up late this summer.
It's not a problem. I already have $8,500 returned to me. This time next year, it will be $10,500. No problem. I drove Caddy's for 35 years. Not one of them ever returned money to me, so this is a big plus! Best car I've ever owned, and I've owned some nice ones!
Glad you had a lot of good to say. I've driven several and I think you really "dug around" to find something to complain about, but maybe that's your way of showing the good and the bad, to not appear biased (?). I think the brakes felt perfectly fine and the handling has a very normal feel. I think it's a fantastic car, not just "oh well, here's a commuter car. yawn." but it was really remarkable!
Yes, it did go up. From $27 last year to $51 this year. That included charging the Volt. 650 miles driven. My Volt paid for my household electric bill and put money in the bank for me. Here are the numbers. Santa Clara, CA elect. rate is .088 cents for first 300 kwh. .102 after 300 kwh. It takes 13 kwh's to charge a Volt. 10 hours at 1.3 kwh's per. I get 45 miles per charge in warm weather. That equates to $1.20 for 45 mi. That equates to $0.027 per mi. = 150 mpg at $4 per gallon.
Just bought my neighbors Volt for $5000, its a 2014 with 10k miles on it. So far so good, I like it.
10000 miles for $5,000 on my God what a great deal good for you
Wow that's a crazy deal! How's the car holding up after a year?
the 2nd volt that i'd ever seen was the one i bought brand new. I LOVE IT , 2014 until today... covid era 2022. the best car ive ever owned , ive had a few cool vehicles including a pair of wicked volvo XC70's, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Sienna vans, tonnes of old VW's including a FOX....however, this car does not normally re-charge the battery pack, per say...It will recharge in mountain mode but will use more fuel than sport mode in low range. The brakes will re-charge battery, but only a tiny amount. Drive in sport mode, in low range and giver hell.
@mcgrath9 Officially, the EPA fuel rating (CAFE) is listed on the Volt's window sticker as 37 mpg and though the claim is that you can go 35-40 miles on a full battery charge (before the engine kicks in), if you run the A/C or Heater, that range is substantially reduced. The Prius is rated 59 mpg city and 40 highway by the way. The Ford Mondeo (Taurus) has a turbocharged 1.6L EUD engine that is rated 66 mpg combined (city/highway). Unfortunately, you can't get EUD fuel in the USA.
For 5 extra grand Id rather get the volt than leaf.
DarthSailorMoon
It's far better than the leaf.
No, they are doing so well that in CA and NY, the warranty has been extended to 10 years / 150,000 miles. My battery is actually giving me 2 more E mile range than when I bought it 15 months ago. If you are talking about different ranges due to weather, that holds true for ICE autos also. Their mpg in cold vs. warm is "inconsistent" also.
I love my Volt... This is by far the test drive that reflects how I feel about mine after nearly a year of driving it. I got used to the brakes... I average 94 mpg on my 70 mile round trip commute to work.
It's a great car that is still not marketed or explained well what it can do. I learned more from this review than all the commercials put together.
Alright! Congratulations! Bought mine 1 year ago. Drove 2 awesome Sevilles. Wouldn't trade both of them for this car unless I could sell them and buy a new one & keep the money. Haven't been to the gas station in 6 months. In CA., we are experiencing a gas crisis. 2 refinaries shut down. Gas is $4.50 for reg.! 3 people asked me how I liked my car while sitting at red lights just last week. One word of caution! You will find yourself running useless erronds. But at 3 cents/mi. so what
The Volt Rocks!!!
@Bulgdoom - We are prone to agree with you. But there are a growing number of people looking to buy a new car (30-40 grand) and one of their top priorities is "good MPG". That's where a car like this is a great choice, very little gas used in most normal use, and can still go on a roadtrip.
We'd also buy an enthusiast car instead... ;-)
I live in the SF bay area. There are many small businesses that convert diesels to cooking oil. They are quite famous around here. They are totally independent from anybody, & in fact, they are quite radical about being independent. None of them has achieved much better than the diesel motor gets with regular diesel fuel. I already knew about Rudolph Diesel. He and Tesla are two of my heroes. But it doesn't change facts. 100 mpg is not possible with the technology of today's motors.
@ThePurdude
If you never use the gasoline engine, the car will periodically start the engine to keep all the seals lubricated. The gas tank is pressurized with air to keep the gas from going bad. The is a button you have to press to allow the tank to depressurize and open the tank door. The car will keep track, and force the engine to cycle through the gas when its reached its lifespan in the tank.
Really nice video guys, you really upped the ante in production quality with this one!!
The number 1 car traded in for a Chevy Volt? Toyota Prius. Number 2, BMW 3 series. Now, considering that these are fine cars in their own rights, the former owners of these cars love the Volt so much that they set a record for the most loved car (93% said they would buy again). Another 4% said they will consider. That's a 97% satisfactory rate.
I love the car review videos you guys do. How about a comparison video between the Pruis, Volt, and Leaf!!!!
My parents put 4k miles on it before their first tank of gas. I love this car, very innovative. Only a couple things that annoy me, the center console control panel button placements are kind of random and confusing. The dash/spedometer is cool that it's an lcd but the screen is square, it seems like they just took the screen out of a parts bin and put it behind the steering wheel, a custom shaped screen would have been very cool. Finally the windbreak under the bumper scrapes everything.
this car is great for what it does, actually the best IMO...and you can get them nowadays for $30K
Now down to 6-8K
It actually costs about $1.2 to fully charge, which gets you 40 miles. My G37 would have cost 2 gallons of gas to get me the same distance. I have had my Volt for one year and have put gas in it ONCE. Averaging 244mpg lifetime. It is hands down my favorite vehicle I have ever owned.
Lots of cab company's have been using hybrids and converted plug in hybrids for years. One in SF averages 250,000 miles on their vehicles. The cars break down before the batteries wear out.
6 gallons of gas purchased in 15 months.
You can charge it in your home using a 120V outlet or the 240V outlet that would feed your washing machine or oven. Obviously the engine can recharge it for you and you just fill up at any gas station when that runs out.
@EverydayDriver That's an awesome lineup! Can't wait to see the the Fiat, MINI and CRZ comparison as well as the Cayman S. Keep up the quality work.
The generator uses premium gas because of the 7% additional spark over regular gas. The increase in efficiency makes up for the additional cost of the premium gas. If diesel was used, the spark would be even less efficient than regular gas, thus there would be no savings in money. Also, pemium gas is used because it can be stored longer than regular gas or diesel. The sealed, stainless steel tank can store gas for over a year, but the car won't let you. It will burn off the gas before then.
In brutal cold- Drive the first 3 or 4 miles in hold mode to warm the car up. This makes a huge difference. Also set the engine assisted heating to 15 degrees instead of the default 25.
great review ,
you guys should review old cars too ,
like geo metro, civic hx , and subaru gl 4x4
Prius was a concept only premature rushing thing Volt is proper by the innovative technology and practice for daily life .
They just dropped the price $5000 to 35k (before the $7500 tax credit). The average price of a new car is 32k. So far the Volt has been very reliable. There is not much to go wrong with an electric drive train. Most likely you would not use the gas engine often.
@MrEnergyCzar I heard there are 8 times. When the battery temp is too hot or the battery temp is too cold the engine will come on.
The initial concept came from Opel and the execution was lead by an Engineer that only temporarily worked for Chevy and upon completion of the Volt immediately returned to Opel. The car is also based on the Delta II platform which was developed in Germany by Opel. I think this accounts for far more than 10%.
The VOLT has a secondary system that will force you to use the fuel, if you come to a point where the fuel has not been used for a very long time. I don't fully remember but I want to say about 2 or 3 months, then the vehicle will let you know it is TIME to BURN OUT the fuel , aka use it up, so that the fuel doesn't become stale.
L a u r e n C
Very true!
Even taking an occasional drive, will eliminate the need for the car having to run the engine in fuel maintenance mode.
I drive mine enough, that it doesn't come close to being a problem.
You know. You are correct in a way. I got my $7,500 tax credit. I have saved well over $1,000 in gas so far. It rides smoother than either of my Cadillac Seville's. Of course, the fact that the Volt has received more major awards than any other car in history, I guess they are getting paid off by GM also. But there are a lot of people on the payroll now cuz 93% of the owners love this car & would buy again. Another 4 % really like the car and will consider it. The other 3% just like it.
I just bought my Volt and love it. To the haters out there, dislike it. But try this stance, tell people you cannot afford it, but support it. If enough people buy the vehicle, there will be less demand on gas and those prices may come down. Just food for thought.
@Matt61589 The cost of the Volt at $49,850, was taken directly from the window sticker of a Volt and the EPA stated fuel mileage of 37 is the rating for that vehicle by the EPA CAFE standards. Do a "goggle" search for Ford UK (official Ford website in the UK). Just take a quick peek at the Ford Mondeo (Ford Taurus in USA) with the Ford Duratorq TDCi 1.6L engine (powered by EUD fuel) is "officially" listed at 66mpg an a CO2 rating of 120 g/km. (Volt CO2 rating is 205 g/km by the way).
I live 15 mi's from the Tesla plant. Had the hots for the S. Started studying about electrics. Found out, all plug-in's, hybrid or full E must be plugged in at all times when not in use. Tesla makes you read and sign a form stating this. They do this to protect themselves should a person ruin his battery.
Considering this, if you drive less than 40 mi's a day, the range of the Tesla is not an advantage. You still have to plug both cars in every day.
Best Tesla is $105k. I bought a Volt.
@ra5928 I was at Champion Cherolet in Reno, NV yesterday and they had 6 Volts in stock and the sticker price on the Volt was $49,850. The EU CO2 rating is 205 g/km and you can get that from the London Tax board. Also, the total number of Volts built so far is 9,623 and only 6,100 sold (General Motors statistics). The oil companies have nothing to do with the price of oil (kind of hard when they only control 6.1% of the world's current supply). We have an excess supply of refined products, yes.
Call Serra Chevrolet, Southfield, MI. Offering $268/month lease (or $311 if calculate down payment). Minus $150-200/month for fuel and this means $68-118/lease (or downpayment adjustment $111-161/month) for vehicle. Oh, and calculate no oil changes for 3 years, and if you do - Serra Chevrolet does the first one free. (saves $25-40/year for oil change).
The braking is comfortable and predictable. The solidity and feel of the Volt is wonderful. The Tesla is 3.9 secs for a 0-60.(70-110k$) I can NOT use that power around town anyway without a ticket. We are on our 2nd Prius. 2002 & 2007 w/50mpg. $35,000 2007 Prius Package 5. The Volt has a VERY COMFORTABLE seat-not so on the Prius for ME! 16.5 (I think)KW battery. If GM gets to 150 miles on a charge, they might take it all!!
The battery never limits range. That is the beauty of the Ampera. It is an electric car but without the headaches of range limits of normal battery elelctric cars like the Leaf.
GREAT review. Now gonna look for a prius c review by you guys
Well ... from what I understood, the Opel Flextreme was based on GM's E-Flex (Volt) but just uses a diesel.
The guy with the red shirt is spot on. I think people need to understand the superior torque and driving performance.
You're right! Actually, The idea to put an on board generator in a car that the ICE could spin has been around for a long time. I've still got plans on how to do that from an issue of Mother Earth magazine from the 1970's. GM was not the first to think of that.
I think the problem is when you have a culture conditioned to think a certain way, for better or for worst, it's hard to change. To GM's credit they're changing.
@ngvconversion I've seen about 6 on the road where I live. They're starting to become more popular. People are buying them. It helps when the Volt payment goes down to only $350 a month after all the discounts & incentives. My brother recently got one and I will be buying one in the near future. GM has a winner with this one!
I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but yeah ofcourse you're right when comparing the volt vs "the average gas car".
I bought a mercedes C class in 2003 which burned about a liter every 8 kilometers. Last month I bought a newer model which is even a bit faster, and it uses a liter for about 25 kilometers. Newer cars (just like the "new" volt) have amazing engines with better injection systems , and are more eco-friendly. The average gas car however, is probably still early 2000's.
@TheThumper49 A taxi company in S.F. was the first company in the US to use the Prius. The cars all got more than 200,000 miles and only one failure on warranty. All of the batties are warrantied (by law) for 100,000 miles / 8 years, or more. Never heard of anyone losing a battery yet.
Good review, though I'm kinda unsure about saving money with this car, partly because there really is no data to compare I guess. If person A buys a Volt, person B buys a Prius and both of them keep the car for commuting for 5 years, who is going to have saved more money?
Just bought a 2014 model with HOV sticker and so far, I really like it.
Still, your original statement that Frank Weber invented this system is pretty tall talk. Planetary's, electric motors, batteries have been used together for quite some time. The main difference between the Volt and others is the fact that they decided to use the small e motor & generator to assist rather than using higher gear ratios. That is putting it very simply. I've never heard that he invented that. He was lead engineer over dozens if not hundreds of brilliant engineers. Teamwork.
I had a 2012 Chevy volt that I bought in 2018 with 100,000 miles for 8000, it was an awesome car, silver on black, it felt extremely high-quality, all of the exterior and interior plastics held up so well, The leather looked brand new. It was a extremely quiet and refined ride, unfortunately I had some issues where it would just shut off on me while driving, the dealer cannot rectify it. It was extremely frustrating, and while I loved it it looked so modern and they are known to be reliable, I cannot recommend one..
@Matt61589 Got news for you, the current PC for oil shale is $66 PB (source: EIA), Bakken oil cost is $68 PB, so why do you think the unemployment numbers for North Dakota are less than 3.5%???? Bakken and Oil Shale production is by a process developed by RDS about 10 years ago. You surround an area with pressurized aqueus ammonia, then after a process of refractory distillation (refining in place), you'll have producable oil with 24-36 months, which is what they're doing in NDakota right now.
Really nice! :)
But.. where do you plug them into?
@ra5928 Another thing, the sticker price of a fully equipped Toyota Prius G3 is $32,250, while the fully equipped Chevrolet Volt is $49,850 (both prices prior to any tax incentive on purchase if any apply). The Toyota Prius G3 and Ford Mondeo/Taurus TDCi in Europe are substantially lower in CO2 emissions, than the Volt, because they both have EUD powered ICEs, while the Volt still uses gasoline (petrol) in Europe. Chevrolet does not offer the choice of EUD fuel.
Gasoline does have a limited lifespan. What happens if you do not use the gasoline in the tank and it goes stale? Do you just suck it up and switch to gas mode to burn up the old gas in order to put fresh gas in or would you have to siphon it out or something?
Just purchased one. One word covers it. Amazing!
The 240 a month in gas that I was spending in gas is now going towards my car note. You're welcome husband.
@johnstonmatthew2767 Put a big old filter on the smoke stack. Is it harder to control pollution at the power station or in a bunch of cars?
In California, they can't keep enough Volts on the lots. They are about 3 weeks behind in orders.
ps ... I didn't burn money. I kept my Caddy's for over 15 years each. They were showroom new when I sold them. I actually had quite a few people that wanted to buy them and I had a bidding war. Sold them for more than twice blue book. Do you know how many people want a nice 15 yeard old car that they don't have to do one thing to? They are still running around. My only regret, selling my 1978 Seville, black on silver. I cry when I see that car!
I'm looking forward to your review on the Ford Fusion Energi Plug-In Hybrid
I hope this car stays in production while I'm getting myself established. Fully intend on getting one once I get out of school and get my real job.