Comparison Test: 2011 Chevrolet Volt vs. 2010 Toyota Prius PHV

What kind of monkey nice person conclusion was this? So the Prius was more efficient with more room but since its not on sale yet it couldn't win?

I'm so TIRED OF THE PRESS/MEDIA VOLT HUMPING.

Edit they should just call it a tie.....

 

Thanks, that was actually a pretty useful and informative comparison. They liked the driving characteristics of the Volt, it's a faster, wider car with wider tires (but only seats 4). But the Prius is (estimated) at $8500 less, gets better mileage and better electric efficiency, but fewer all-electric miles.

Is the Volt really for sale now? Latest word is it will be delivered in "early December"...


I also found this article interesting:
Is GM Foolish to Knock Prius Owners
and this one:
GM CEO: “I Wouldn’t be Caught Dead in a Prius”

Hey, I resemble this comment (the first part):

I don't know...they're both rather bland to me. But the Prius hatchback is more useful, and we know it is more aerodynamic. As an engineer, I appreciate function over form sometimes. Too bad Steve Jobs doesn't design cars, maybe we could get both (but with a few quirky limitations).


Still waiting for a practical natural-gas (CNG) vehicle to be sold in my area. That's better (IMO) than this electrical stuff.

 

I thought it was fairly well balanced. A tie would've been nice, but they did have the last section labeled with "We Already Smell a Rematch" so don't get too worked up about this.

 

Nobody buys these for driving fun, the area they prefer the Volt. They buy them first and foremost for EFFICIENCY. The Prius won here. Yet is loses barely b/c the press cannot bear to admit the Prius is still that damn good and the Volt while good is more hype than hope.

What about price? The Volt will surely cost thousands more. I tire of wins in reviews over "sport" when buyers aren't looking for sport and they won't be driven sporty.

 

Anyone notice the nice addition of the tested tire pressure? The Volt was inflated to 35/35, Prius PHV at 38/38. Thought that was a nice touch, since I always wonder what the tire pressures are when they test for braking, skid pad, fuel economy, etc.

 

The proof is in the pudding. Let's see how many Volts sell in the next 12 months. If it's good then it'll sell, if it's over priced, over hyped and doesn't deliver then it won't.

 

There you go again GC being rational

 

I didn't believe my eyes. Volt turned out to be a bad electric car, since it consumes much more than Prius Plug-in...both EV and CHG sustain modes!
GM did something: call themselves idiots.

 

OMG did you catch that ... on their test loop ..

Volt got ~ 34 miles electric range, then 31 MPG after that !!

Prius PHV, 14 miles IIRC, then 47 MPGs.

If these numbers are anywhere close, game over ... GM.

 

Just got this link from a friend...

CR: Toyota Prius a better buy than Chevy Volt, for some — Autoblog Green

And there seemed to be comments posted by PChatters

IMHO, there are many ways of assessing quality of a product, but technically, for a machine designed for transportation, it all resumes to energy efficiency! And that is unbiased, because keeps focusing on facts. Volt is not properly designed.

The bottom line is somewhere in watching an increasing in the price of energy, no matter what form it has, and doing nothing against it. The consumer will find it bad, sooner or later: when gas prices eventually rise, even if a commute is all EV, its energy WILL be rising also...And Volt is a drilled-bottom-vessel to float through...

 

But then you could only charge your car at an Apple charging station
And the electricity price would be higher...

 

The Prius PHEV will turn on the ICE when above 65mph and under heavy load while EV mode. Did they mention how often the engine turned on turning the EV loop, or that they choose a loop that wouldn't have put a high enough load on the Prius?

I wouldn't, not after factoring in the insurance cost.

 

I posted the following on another thread:

"Toyota (Prius) seems to have found themselves in a bit of a "box." The recalls really damaged the public confidence. Sales in the US are down; Consumer Reports notes a drop in the "would I buy the same car again" poll; Chevy is enjoying exciting reviews of the Volt; the Leaf is coming on line .... and Toyota has no newsworthy features to tout ... at least until the PHEV is available."

It is a shame that Toyota could not have had the PHEV ready in 2011. OTOH, I am certain they wanted it "right" before releasing it, especially after the 2010 disaster.

I have thought from the beginning that the Prius and the Volt are not in direct competition ..... the Leaf and the Volt seem much more competitive with one another. But the media seems to have a different conclusion.

 

Does the ICE kick in when the Volt is floored also?
The same loop "may" give different responses is different cars, but the results are evident, or not?

 

Edmunds got 33.9 EV miles with the Volt but 14.6 EV miles with PHV Prius. So much for Volt's 40 EV miles hype. Toyota's 13 miles EV was conservative.

It is also a bad hybrid. I think this sums it up:

"Driven the same way, our Prius PHV used 34 percent less gasoline in gasoline-hybrid mode and 41 percent less electricity in EV mode than the Volt.

 

That's a relative measure. Other vehicles would kill to be selling at the current rate of 10-11k per month.

The "down" is only here. In Japan, sales are off the scale, holding the #1 position for 1.5 years now.
.

Some of us see it as avoiding a disaster. Fallout from Volt hasn't happened yet.

Awareness of EV & MPG is variance is something the general market still has to discover. The current hype obscures that reality.
.

 

498 miles / 14.9 gallons (displayed) = 33.4 MPG

That real-world data we now have is somewhat informative. We still don't have any idea what the actual MPG difference between computer-displayed and measured-at-the-pump is, nor do we know how often/long it gets plugged in at work either. The data is also a bit misleading since the engine starts up to warm the battery-pack in sub-freezing temperatures.

But it does still confirm that Volt is far from the "game changer" it was hyped to be. With efficiency that low, it struggles to even compete with the no-plug Prius. Just think what the perspective will be about Volt when the PHV model Prius is finally delivered.

GM has quite a challenge to face still, reconfiguring Volt to cost far less while also trying to improve both efficiency & emissions.
.