Drove a Chevy volt for a week

COSTIGAN86

New member
I talked my manager into letting me demo a new Chevy Volt for a week. Since I am the Volt tech I need to get a feel for normal operation of the car, right? Haha. I was surprised and impressed. This is NOT a hybrid. It is a battery powered car with an onboard generator. First impressions of driving: This is not nearly as slow as I thought (0-60 in 8.5), and handles better than expected. Some don't like the exterior styling, but I don't think its horrible; not nearly as bad as a Prius. Interior fit, finish, and styling is very good, not cheap looking plastic. The HVAC and radio controls are buttonless-touch, and it kind of feels like driving a spaceship. I could drive to work and back on a charge. Even though the car only has a 40-mile range, it gets 37mpg while the generator is running. I drove the car approximately 200 miles, and used only half a gallon of gas, only because I didn't charge it one night. The sticker price is 45k, pretty steep. It's very well engineered, but it won't catch on around here.

 

Pedro

٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶
so why won't it catch on around here?

and is the 40mi range only city driving or is it highway as well?

 

COSTIGAN86

New member
most people in my area drive more than that. The chevy cruze gets 37mpg and costs half as much. Higher speeds lower than range as well.

 

Chris

YARRR SUBY MONSTER!!
First of all, I absolutely hate those electrostatic touch buttons (which I believe you're describing with the HVAC). Same with laptop trackpads, they don't work for me... Anyway.

I haven't driven one, but I've sat in one. And looked it over. I don't mind the styling, it pretty much just looks like any other car on the market, which is good, it doesn't stand out being ugly like the prius...

Only 37mpg though, huh.

Just a question for you. 37mpg is about 10.6 miles per dollar, what would it be if you always plugged it in at home and drove to and from work on battery?

Not having power at home (solar), and no idea what it's change capacity is, etc, I'm really curious.

 

COSTIGAN86

New member
37 mpg if you use gas. 35-40 mile range on battery only. GM says it costs about $1.50 to charge, which takes 8 hours on 110 volt home outlet. A 220 volt charger is available and cuts charge time to 4 hours. So ideally you could go ~40 miles for ~$1.50, which is very cheap. Comparatively to gas, you would have to achieve somewhere around 90mpg to equal the cost of charging.

 

inski

New member
Heh, I would love only spending 1.50/day for my commute. I could do it too. 26 miles each way, burn a lil bit-o-fossil on the way home. Its like money in the bank!

 

inski

New member
At the old Saturn dealer they had 4 outlets on all the light poles in the parking lot in anticipation of the GM EV1 going worldwide.

 

jaKe

>>><<<>>><<<
Could I plug it into my house and use generator capacity if my power was out?

 

Chris

YARRR SUBY MONSTER!!
Right! Remember it's always smiles per gallon over miles per gallon!
hahaha. Never heard that one.

If it was like a $15,000 car it would (might) be worth it, but for that price tag? bleh...

 

katnip

the car is black. I swear
I've driven the Volt where I work too. Not as bad as I thought, flat foot it an it goes quite nicely and the interior is kinda sporty and is comfy, even for my short self, but 40k++, umm NO. Plus the battery system on it is running a heater/cooler to keep it at optimal temperature at all times. Curious what the gas mileage ends up being up here where 4-5 months out of the year it would sit in snow deeper than the rockers. keeping that battery warm is gonna take some juice. I'm guessing if you drove to work on a full charge and didn't plug in at work you would be driving home on gas. And, as I told everyone here, I could buy a brandy new STi and mod it for the 45K they are asking and have a much better (read: faster/better handling/stylish) car. It don't drive a sport sedan for the gas mileage, I drive it because its a freaking blast to drive, and puts a smile on my face EVERY time I drive it.

 

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