I just bought a Chevy Volt

[wdfifteen]

Yes, I bought a Chevy Volt and the EV haters can all suck it. This car makes huge sense for me.

I’ve been wanting a sedan ever since I got rid of the despised BMW in 2011. I’m tired of climbing up into pickups or folding myself into a sports car every time I want to run to the grocery and it would be nice to be able to drive if a client visits and I need to take him to dinner or something. I actually had to rent a car for this once. I’ve also been intrigued by electric vehicles.

In the past year over 90% of my non-work travel has been within 20 miles of home. My office is 8.9 miles round trip, the supermarket 12.3, Lowes/Home Depot are 24 miles. Between us my wife and I spent just over $1800 on gas last year without going more than 20 miles from home.

With 2016 Volts coming out soon and gas at relatively low prices dealers are selling some of their stock at fire sale prices. I got a top of the line demo with 2800 miles on it for $27355. The MSRP sticker said $37985. After the $7500 tax credit it will cost me $19,855 - $18000 off sticker for an essentially new car.

It’s got plenty of leg room and heated leather seats, which were my major requirements. It also came with a bunch of gimcracks and dodads that I don’t really give a crap about (navigation, backup camera, some fancy entertainment system – it’s a rolling video arcade) but so far are kind of amusing.

I can plug it in at work and get my annual fuel bill down to less than $100.

Inside, this is a NICE car.

[Hugh R]

Nice.

If it makes sense for your driving needs.

[pcardude]

Good for you bro. Congrats it's a nice ride! But no I won't suck it.

[Baz]

Smart decision Patrick....CONGRATS!

[HardDrive]

If it works for you, great. Let us know how it works out long term.

[otto_kretschmer]

some day I may get an electric car,

when I retire and I don't have to drive 1100 miles a week just going to work

I hope my jetta TDI will last a few more years to when I can retire and get out of this rat race

I expect maintenance costs will be a lot less for electric cars

[biosurfer1]

My work has a couple as pool cars so I drive them often. Once they come down in price, I'll probably buy a used once since I'm the perfect target demo, similar to you. ~20 mile trip to work, plus I have free charging stations at work.

[Jerome74911S]

Keep us posted on long term behavior of the car. Looks nice.

[JavaBrewer]

Of all the EV options out there I would go with the Volt as well. Price was always the tipping point - sounds like you got in at much more reasonable level. My driving habits are near identical to yours and there are free charging stations at my workplace. Hummm...

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Of all the EV options out there I would go with the Volt as well. Price was always the tipping point.

That's what kept me away too. The 2016s are upgraded (different interiors and slightly better battery management) and are coming out soon, plus gas isn't $4 a gallon. Dealers and GM are wanting to get rid of current stock. There are still new 2014s out there and a lot of 2015s. Prices may drop, but you have to keep an eye out. GM had some great incentives in May that I missed out on. July may bring more rebates and discounts.

I started keeping records of where we went and what we drove when I first contemplated an EV a year ago, so I'll have something to compare the real world performance of the Volt to. I'll keep you posted.

[dan88911]

That's Nice! CONGRATS!

[EarlyPorsche]

Although I don't see myself EVER owning an electric or hybrid, the Volt is the only one that makes any sense.

Your Volt is like a locomotive - electric drive with liquid fuel only to provide juice. Those toyota and honda products don't make any sense.

[jyl]

Nice car. My next car could be an EV with range extender, too. It is a rare day that we drive more than 30 miles.

[Nickshu]

I love the Volt. I've considered one for my commute. Nice purchase!

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Although I don't see myself EVER owning an electric or hybrid, the Volt is the only one that makes any sense.

Your Volt is like a locomotive - electric drive with liquid fuel only to provide juice. Those toyota and honda products don't make any sense.

This x1000.

[Hugh R]

I've been driving a Camry Hybrid for 7 years, almost 100K on the clock. ZERO issues. I get 36 MPG in Los Angeles. My only beef with a total electric is that I can't justify a car that I can't drive without a recharge overnight to say SF or LV. A Tesla, while nice, is out of my price range, with or without the tax rebate.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Although I don't see myself EVER owning an electric or hybrid, the Volt is the only one that makes any sense.
Those toyota and honda products don't make any sense.

I came to the same conclusion. My brother has had a Prius for 4 years and I just wasn't impressed.
You do have to put a little effort into energy management with a Volt. Use battery power in town when the gas engine is inefficient and use the gas engine once you are on the highway. Because I was traveling on the highway all day I used the gas engine and got 350+ miles out of a 8.8 gallons of gas. Under those conditions it's just an unusually large and well appointed economy car. But when I get home I may go a month without using any gas at all.

[NeedSpace]

I have been very impressed with Chevy cars recently, especially the interiors. I now rent Chevy Cruz's anytime I rent. The prius feels like a cheap cruddy car, the volt feels like something substantial.

Congrats, I thought about it myself my currently, my commute prohibits it. I am very curious how it goes. Keep us updated.

[Scott R]

Whats the towing capacity?

[Hugh R]

One of our Actors has a Volt, he lives near the Studio in Burbank. I asked him about mileage and he told me he had 16,000 miles on the car and had actually used only 3.xx gallons of gas. Of course he gets to recharge it for free at the studio.