Volt or Leaf?

Volt.

 

Time will tell. I hear the Leaf will be cheaper than the Volt but the Volt (or Ampera in the UK) has the flexibility of range. Horses for courses perhaps. The Leaf is an ideal 2nd car or town car.

 

Leaf because it is pure electric.

 

None of both without a big test in winter while weather is cold. Remember how much last winter had increased your Prius's consumption and that very often to heat the inside of the car.

 

Since my commute (round trip) is 44 miles it would guarantee the Volt's ICE starting up every day. For that reason I would choose the Leaf if it came down to these two alternatives.

I'm hearing more about the Coda lately, they may be in the mix at about the same time frame.

 

Volt. My round trip is about 10 miles, but I often go to a cabin 120 miles away.

Also, I find the leaf fugly.

 

[If you had to choose between the Chevy Volt or the Nissan
Leaf and they both cost the same amount, which one would you choose?
]


I think the answer to your question really depends so much on where the person lives. My opinion is that the EV, in general, will not sell well unless you restrict your travel to the city. Without further evidence, I think that the range of the EV for the Leaf will be less than 100 miles if you consider reliability at colder locations in the northern US. The same problem applies to the Volt or any Li battery system.

In Texas, where longer distance driving is a necessity and is the rule, an EV only will not be a good market. Why would I buy a Volt versus my Prius if the extended-range mpg of the Volt is estimated to be 2/3 of the Prius Gen III. My understanding is that the Volt mpg for extended driving is less than 35 mpg.

Therefore, my answer to your question is neither. If you forced me to only your two choices in Texas, it would have to be the Volt. I could never make the Leaf work in my particular circumstances.

 

Based on what I know now, I would choose the Leaf.

The Volt will have only a 40 mile range on electric power and then will be hauling around a dead battery which weighs as much as four or five people. There is no way that it will have satisfactory performance with that much dead weight. The Leaf will have as much battery but no internal combustion engine (with accessories) and will go nearly 100 miles.

I have a Prius for longer trips. I know that works very satisfactorily.

The fact is that no car is perfect for everyone. It looks as if the Leaf will sell all they can make. The Volt appears to have a long waiting list, also. This is a good thing.

Perhaps my thinking is affected by the fact that I already own a ZENN EV. It is great for short trips and I know not to expect any more from it. It is not hard.

 

Sir, I believe you have the exact ... correct answer.

Beyond that, I cannot afford a "commuter car" as my only vehicle.

 

With what we currently are told about both vehicles, the Leaf, hands down.
I virtually NEVER go further than a 75 mile round trip, but fairly regularly go over 50-60 miles. So the Volt just doesn't cover it, but the leaf does so nicely.
In addition, I don't have the added complexity of an ICE generator

 

It depends. Do I get to keep my Prius, too? If yes, then the Leaf would fine, if I had the money for a second car. If no, and the only cars I had to choose from were Volt and Leaf, then I'd have to get the Volt.

I'd rather have a Prius, or ideally, a Prius PHEV.

 

Personally I would want to drive both before buying. If I had to only choose between the Volt and the Leaf. I would have to choose the volt based on my traveling habits and at this current time the lack of charging stations. I take a trip once or twice a month of about 200 miles (one way). Otherwise I stay within 40 miles of my home. The charging stations I see purposed are only in metropolitan areas and very few along the route.

As it stands the PHEV Prius is not even in my consideration. 12 miles is for suckers and I feel like a change is in order.

Now what I really want is a Tesla model s (with the 300 mile pack). I've been wanting a luxury car, but then I see the fuel economy and I say to myself it's not worth the nice interior. I almost bought a Lexus GS 450h(I was sitting down about to sign the papers). I couldn't do 25mpg (I haven't even own a car with that low MPG in 8 years... I only owned that car for a month) and the tech from 1995 (horrible nav, no bluetooth streaming, cassette player in a 50k+ car is a joke)

 

Very easy choice for me: I would buy the Leaf even if it cost twice as much as the Volt. But the leaf will probably cost $10,000 less than the leaf. Note that the link in the OP is to a GM site! Of course they claim the Leaf will cost as much as the Volt.

Item: A pure EV is a much simpler car, with very little maintenance required.

Item: I still have my Prius for road trips. I NEVER drive over 100 miles except on road trips, and the Volt's likely poor gas mileage makes it a miserable choice for road trips. Besides, I like the Prius's large cargo capacity for road trips.

Item: Your assumption that the Volt will go 40 miles on EV is far-fetched. GM has never released real numbers, even though presumably they have tested the prototype. Nissan has tested the Prototype and says they have actually driven it 100 miles on a charge.

Item: GM has never released actual mpg figures for CS mode. I assume it will be so far below the Prius as to make it a miserable choice for long trips.

Item: GM has a history of building a pure EV and then taking it back and crushing it. I consider the following scenario likely: GM sells a few (very few) Volts, then announces the failure of the project due to lack of demand and refuses to provide service and support to owners who have bought them. Or it leases the battery, then takes the batteries back, leaving owners with a car but no battery. Nissan has announced that if you buy the car, you will own the battery. (You can also lease the whole car, as you can typically with any car.)

For me, the Volt is the worst of both worlds, and I expect very low demand at the price they will sell it for. I expect the Leaf to sell all they can build, principally to two-car families looking for an efficient commuter, and to people who are willing to rent a car for the one road trip they might take in a year.

And as a bonus, the battery on the Leaf will be upgradable, as soon as they develop one with greater range. Drive it 100 miles today, and in a couple of years upgrade to 200 miles.

 

I predict that will be the FE for the Volt in CS mode. Certainly not over 35. My 2004 Prius gets 50 mpg on long road trips. And I gather the 2010 does better.

 

What facts can you provide that state otherwise? beside your dislike for gm?

The last numbers I saw on the volt was 38mpg in cs mode (which is still under development).
YMMV, there are people in the forum can't get over 40 mpg in a Gen III prius. But no one screams or mentions it at EVERY chance they get because it has toyota slapped on the back?!?

I predict the Leaf has been tested under the most optimal conditions of 70F weather and the 100 mile range will evaporate faster the GM ev1's. Has Nissan even done cold weather testing? I haven't heard or read of it taking place. Has the Leaf been out in the real world? I have yet to see one spy shot of that. I've seen photos of the volt in real world testing.

The same rosy story I hear from gm I hear from nissan.

 

Prius gets 45 to 50 mpg. That's with the most sophisticated gasoline technology in existence. Volt in CS mode is nothing but series hybrid, no battery buffering. None of the efficiencies of HSD. That's what I base my opinion on. And GM's record of general dishonesty.

If it's still under development then it does not exist and all numbers are pure speculation and hype. The last number I saw from GM was 230 mpg. That claim does not inspire trust.

The woman I spoke with this morning on the Nissan Leaf customer service line told me they have tested in Alaska, Europe, and Japan. I assume the 100 miles is not at 20 below F with the heater on full blast. Yes, it's been tested in the real world.

 

It's odd how something can be built and still be tweeked/adjusted for peak efficiency. The 230mpg is based on epa cycles as they stand today. I remember a time when the Gen II prius was rated at 60mpg, I guess Toyota is a liar too. Nissan being the ONLY company stating that their battery pack, that is LI-ion based, will last 10 years no matter what, while ALL other manufacturers that have Li-ion battery packs say very clearly that Battery life will vary. Manganese isn't magical.

If it's been tested in the "real world" why are there absolutely no pictures of it or any one claiming to see one? EVERY car that goes out for testing gets spotted (check autoblog, jalopnik etc). Unless you mean a magical world were everyone is blind and deaf then sure believe whatever a company's PR rep feeds you.

 

>> daniel: Note that the link in the OP is to a GM site!

Gm-Volt.com is a not GM site, just like PriusChat.com is NOT a Toyota site.