I just bought a Chevy Volt

[TimT]

My commute has recently changed, and I am needing to replace my DD Subie WRX

The Volt interests me.. And I know two people who work with me that have them.... and make them work with a 50 mile round trip every day...and no recharging while at work!! The Volt works just like a big ass diesel locomotive... Except that that big ass train has no batteries to power the traction motors....

On the train... a big diesel engine turns a generator... which powers the traction motors...

On the Volt... a battery powers the traction motor, until a predetermined point where a gas engine turns on and runs a generator, which powers the traction motor....

Note that any excess energy produced goes to the battery... and GASP!!! contributes to recharging the battery....

So in some small way the engine is charging the battery....

Explantaion of how the Volt works for non car salesman

How have any of you faired that drive them in the snow? I am spoiled by the AWD goodness of my Subie and am hesitant to give that up

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by TimT

Note that any excess energy produced goes to the battery... and GASP!!! contributes to recharging the battery....

So in some small way the engine is charging the battery....

It's a very small way, and the energy management system is designed to avoid charging the battery with petroleum. It isn't possible to exactly match the ICE output with the traction motor's requirements, so it makes sense to push any excess to the battery. I think the author of that article, rather than clearing the air, just made it cloudier. The engine does not recharge the battery in any meaningful way. Even the author says it won't fully recharge the battery. I drove my Volt 700 miles on the ICE and saw no noticeable change in the charge level of the battery.

Originally Posted by TimT

How have any of you faired that drive them in the snow? I am spoiled by the AWD goodness of my Subie and am hesitant to give that up

One of the unsolicited comments the salesman made to me was that the Volt is great in the snow. I'm skeptical because of the low air dam in front. It looks to me like it would make a great snowplow.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

How are you liking your Volt Mark?
I'm getting used to mine. Some of the novelty is wearing off, but I'm enjoying not buying gas. The Clipper Creek EVSE was back ordered, but it came today, just in time for me to leave town for 4 days.
Only issues so far is the feature on the key fob that rolls all the windows down if you hold the "unlock" button for 3 (or 5) seconds. Somehow I do that unwittingly. I've found all my windows down on a couple of occasions. Both times I was mowing the lawn, so it must be something about the mower seat hitting the key thingy when it's in my pocket. I think I can override that in with a personal preference setting.
My BMW 535 used to do something similar. I'd come out of a store and all my doors would be unlocked and the trunk lid would be wide open.

Patrick - awesome car although my GF drives it more than I do. Work round trip is 22 miles. Driving in regen mode, I used 15 miles of battery and that's cool. We've used very little gas so far and that's cool too. I think Chevy got this one right and I really do enjoy driving it.

[shoemakj]

Originally Posted by techweenie

There is so much mystery around the Volt driving modes... it's funny.

That's because "mode" is an overloaded term w.r.t the Volt.

The car itself is always in either one of two overall modes:

• Charge Depleting - The main traction battery is supplying power
• Charge Sustaining - The ICE is turning a generator that is supplying the power

Then there are 4 driver-selectable modes:

• Normal - Default driving mode. The car always starts in this mode.
• Mountain - when you anticipate driving up long, and/or steep grades.
• Sport - Remaps throttle position input from normal mode to add more acceleration earlier
• Hold (2013 & later) - Use ICE now. Save your battery for later.

Then there are 4 power delivery modes that the car uses to maximize efficiency:

• Single Motor
• Two Motor
• With ICE running in Series
• With ICE running in Power Split

This video does a good job of describing these modes.

https://youtu.be/AX5ZwzNwTc4



Clear as mud?

[techweenie]

I just turned 22K miles on mine. Very happy. Average is 123 MPG for my driving (multiple 100-mile trips a month).

[wdfifteen]

I just returned from a 967.3 mile round trip (western Ohio to Harrisburg, PA and back). 31 miles was on the battery for a cost of $1.20. 936 miles were on the ICE. I used 22.3 gallons of premium at 41.99 mpg. Average gas price was $3.219 for a gas cost of $71.78.

[petrolhead611]

Any updates on longer term ownership? I am thinking of buying a used one(no longer sold in the UK), maybe 2012-3, as my DD once I retire at the end of this year.

[Steve Carlton]

I've had mine for a whole week and really like it.

[wdfifteen]

Is it a generation 1 or gen 2? Mrs WD and I sold our gen 1s and bought a 2017. I went into town today 9 mile round trip. I used the regen paddle on the steering wheel to slow down, only using brakes for the last 5 mph. I left home with 49 miles of range and arrived back from town with 47 miles left. Love the car.

[red-beard]

We're thinking of a pure electric or hybrid for the next new vehicle. Our commute to the office is 2 miles. It would be perfect for even a short range plug in hybrid.

[Evans, Marv]

My wife commutes 45 miles round trip to work & we generally use her car on weekends. We put around 16K miles/yr. on her car. Would something like a Chevy Volt serve us well?

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Is it a generation 1 or gen 2? Mrs WD and I sold our gen 1s and bought a 2017. I went into town today 9 mile round trip. I used the regen paddle on the steering wheel to slow down, only using brakes for the last 5 mph. I left home with 49 miles of range and arrived back from town with 47 miles left. Love the car.

It's a 2017, so gen 2. The lease payment was peanuts for a $37K car and I won't burn much gas and stay out of the mileage penalty on my Volvo lease. Try "L" around town and the regen braking is much stronger, whereas the paddle is more severe and cannot be moderated. I'd say "D" for the highway, though. It's a pretty impressive car! Chevy should make the charger cable Level 1 and 2, IMO.

I commute 110 miles/day, but have a Level 2 charger at work. Driving 75-80 mph most of the way, the gas engine comes on for the last 15 miles each way. I could probably make it all electric with some reduced speeds. I was reading on a forum there's a desire to not burn any gas, called "gas anxiety." I feel it and think it's pretty funny. I think it's an excellent commuter.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

It's a 2017, so gen 2. The lease payment was peanuts for a $37K car and I won't burn much gas and stay out of the mileage penalty on my Volvo lease. Try "L" around town and the regen braking is much stronger, whereas the paddle is more severe and cannot be moderated. I'd say "D" for the highway, though. It's a pretty impressive car! Chevy should make the charger cable Level 1 and 2, IMO.

I commute 110 miles/day, but have a Level 2 charger at work. Driving 75-80 mph most of the way, the gas engine comes on for the last 15 miles each way. I could probably make it all electric with some reduced speeds. I was reading on a forum there's a desire to not burn any gas, called "gas anxiety." I feel it and think it's pretty funny. I think it's an excellent commuter.

There are some extreme range guys out there who think its some kind of sin to use the ICE. One guy had been driving around with the same gas in the tank for 2 years! He was advised to have the tank drained and put fresh gas in it and USE it once in awhile.

There are several trains of thought about using "L." There are lots of opinions on the Volt forums.
I don't use L. L switches to strong regen as soon as you take your foot of the pedal, so to travel a city block light to light you have to stay on it and keep burning amps until you are close to the stop light. In D you can take your foot off the pedal and coast with minimal regen a little before hitting the brakes or the paddle. To each his own.

[foxpaws]

Getting close to 40,000 on Sparkers... Gen 1, 2013 model.

Love this car. Can charge completely at work for my round trip commute (using my portable level 1 charger - at work for 9 hours - commute approx 42 miles round trip per day). In the winter I occasionally have to augment an hour or so at home, the cold does hit the batteries, it will also kick in the ICE some on cold days - which is fine, I need to use a little gas in the car so it doesn't get old. Only repair - I had to replace the plug on the portable charger because the outlet 'ate' the grounding part - cost less than $5.00 and took about 20 minutes. I did get a level 2 charger for the house (used on Amazon - and I got a rebate) but, probably could have gotten by with just the portable charger.

Car as appliance, perfect for commuting, especially if you fit within its range.

Also, there are some special EV parking spots at various places around town, some that even let you charge for free. Nice bonus at a crowded museum especially.

Not for everyone, I certainly understand that. But for some, it really cuts costs (hummm bought gas in November...I think... probably need more in the next month), comfy to drive, great in slick and OK in snow - those batteries really push the car down, however, it is a low car - and although I made it almost home in the big snow storm last year, I thought better than to go down my tiny street and alley and parked in the shopping center parking lot a couple of blocks from my house and walked it. Glad I did - there was a Jeep MK stuck on my street, along with a bunch of other cars. But, really, unless it is a blizzard, it does pretty good. (I am a Colorado native - I know snow)

I love this car.

[foxpaws]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

My wife commutes 45 miles round trip to work & we generally use her car on weekends. We put around 16K miles/yr. on her car. Would something like a Chevy Volt serve us well?

Might be a good fit... looks like she would fit in the new volt commute range, especially if she can charge at work.

I also use mine on the weekends, looks like we are pretty much the same kind of user. I really love that you never have 'range anxiety'. I have a friend with a Leaf - they have 'range anxiety' sometimes. I used to worry about running out of gas when I was young and had no money - I really don't want to relive those days.

Not sure if the rebates are still running - but it sure takes the cost down.

Also the new Bolt looks interesting and has been getting some decent reviews. Just electric though... but a decent range - over 200 miles.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

There are some extreme range guys out there who think its some kind of sin to use the ICE. One guy had been driving around with the same gas in the tank for 2 years! He was advised to have the tank drained and put fresh gas in it and USE it once in awhile.

There are several trains of thought about using "L." There are lots of opinions on the Volt forums.
I don't use L. L switches to strong regen as soon as you take your foot of the pedal, so to travel a city block light to light you have to stay on it and keep burning amps until you are close to the stop light. In D you can take your foot off the pedal and coast with minimal regen a little before hitting the brakes or the paddle. To each his own.

I thought the Volt forces the gas to be burned before it gets too stale. I believe this is the case with the gen 2s, anyway. I'm not really sure about the D or L deal. It seems to regen when slowing or braking. I suppose the actual brakes get used if you use the pedal at least some of the time. The off-pedal use in L provides a scalable regen braking effect, wheras in D you get a gentle coasting or the nearly full-on slowing of the paddle. I can't see driving around town with just those choices. In L how much I lift off the accelerator allows a variable amount of braking. Not sure how much difference it all makes and agree- go with what you like. The car is a lot of fun in L and Sport mode!

[bugstrider]

I've been looking at some certified used Volts at our local stealership. $15K for a 2014 lease return with 30-35k miles. Varies with options.

I would use the full electric range getting just to work, although I could charge there too. My 95 K1500 is killing me.

Thoughts? Still researching


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[wdfifteen]

The gen 1 is a great car, we loved ours. Around here you can do better than $15k for a premium optioned 2014.

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

The gen 1 is a great car, we loved ours. Around here you can do better than $15k for a premium optioned 2014.

Thanks,

The price difference doesn't surprise me being in CA. I find dealers mildly entertaining and call these guys out at every turn. They kept trying to deflect the conversation to point out the "clean-air" sticker says it adds "value", rather than address the more serious points. I laughed when one representative approached me, then walked off to allow a second guy, only to be handed off to a third. Funny, four days and I haven't received a call back.


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[Steve Carlton]

Consider a new one. Zero miles on it, more useful life you're getting, newer generation car, plus you could lease it. Tax credits from Fed, maybe CA, probably $500 from PG&E.

Try calling Jim Moran at F.H. Dailey in San Leandro. He sold me mine- tell him I referred you. He knows I'm in the car biz. He used to own an Olds dealer years ago. Nice guy- straight shooter.