I drove a Volt today.

After gwmort suggested visiting a Chevy dealership I decided to do just that today. Originally I just said that I was curious to see the Volt. I did not want to pretend to be a potential buyer (I have plenty of cars now) and I felt reluctant to say "I'm not going to buy it, but can I drive it?"

I asked some questions, none of which the saleskid knew the answer to. We ended up talking about my Tesla more than about the Volt. Another salesguy came by and after a bit I offered to take them both for a ride. One at a time, of course. Then the second guy said that there was another guy who'd really like a ride, so I gave him a ride. They were all very impressed. The third guy seemed the most knowledgeable, and actually giggled when I pressed on the pedal. He said it felt to him more like 400 hp than the claimed 300, but we agreed that being as light as it is makes a difference.

So then he asked me if I wanted to drive the Volt, and I said sure. I told him I was not in the market for it, but I'd like to drive it. So they let me. As gwmort suggested, they were actually quite happy to let me drive it, and I got the impression they'd have been happy to even if I had not given them rides first.

The car is obviously much more roomy than my Tesla. It appears to be similar in cargo space to the Prius, with the fold-down back seats. The driver's seat is less comfortable than my Prius, which in its turn is far from the most comfortable car seat I've sat in, though both are more comfortable than either the Tesla or the Xebra. It would be acceptable, especially for its intended sub-40-mile distance, but I don't think it would be comfortable for road trips. Handling was nice. Obviously, not like the Roadster, which it was not intended to be. Steering responsiveness was good, while still being easy. (The Roadster requires attention, being a sports car, and the Prius is squirrelly at high speed in a crosswind.) So the Volt would be an easy car for commuting on the freeway. Acceleration I can only say very subjectively, that I think it had more acceleration than the Prius but less than the Leaf. If someone has numbers that suggest otherwise, I'll accept those. I only drove the Leaf once.

The Volt was fully charged, or nearly so, so I only drove it in EV mode, never in CS mode.

Two years ago I'd have bought this car in spite of my feelings about GM and my concerns about needless complexity. Two years ago a 35-mile EV range and freeway capability, with the range extender, seemed like a good idea to me. Today, I'd be happier with a Leaf and the Prius, due to the Leaf's better performance and longer range. And of course I'm much happier still with the Tesla and the Prius.

I think the Volt would be acceptable if the range extender is only to be used when you need to drive a little farther than 35-40 miles. Given its poor mpg and emissions compared to the Prius, I don't think I'd like it as a road trip car, though it has plenty of space for luggage.

One of the salesmen badmouthed the Leaf considerably, talking about Leafs catching fire and "lots" (his term) of battery problems. I told him that here on PC as well as on the leaf forum I've read nothing but complete satisfaction from Leaf owners.

Their price for the Volt is $45,710. That amounts to $38,210 after the federal tax credit, but I presume they add some fees. I do not know if Washington State's sales tax exemption for EVs applies to the Volt or not.

None of the salespeople there seemed to really know much about the Volt. The Volt owners on this forum are obviously far more informed. But I think car salespeople seldom know much about the car they sell other than stock answers to the common questions that most buyers ask: price, fuel usage, etc.

They also have a Mitsubishi dealership and promised to phone me when the iMiev comes in, which they expect in a month or so, and let me drive it.

Conclusion: It didn't seem to be a bad car. I still think it's not as good an EV as the Leaf and not as good a gas car as the Prius. It's a compromise, which will work for some people, but compromises too much for my taste. I'm also concerned about reliability, both because of what I consider needless complexity, and because I don't trust GM. And I think they could have put in a much more comfortable seat. (I have the same complaint about my Prius. And my Xebra. And my Tesla.)

 

I never drove the Leaf on the freeway, so I cannot compare the Leaf and the Volt over 40 mph. I really thought the Leaf was the nicer car in all respects, though the Volt handled very well and had decent acceleration, though it's true that all cars seem pretty sluggish after the Tesla. The first time I drove my Prius after getting the Tesla I thought something was wrong with it.

Car salespeople seem to be the worst sources of information about cars, whether it's the cars they're selling, or the competition. Before I bought my Honda, back in 1988, the Toyota salesman badmouthed the Honda and said things about it that were untrue. It was one of the things that turned me away from Toyota at that time. I bought my 2004 Prius only because its technology was so clearly superior. I really wanted to stay with Honda. So the Chevy salesman badmouthing the Leaf today did not endear me to GM, even though I hate Nissan. It's a question of honesty.

But maybe it's just ignorance.

Apparently I'm only the second EV driver who's test-driven the Volt at this particular dealership, so they were happy to hear what I had to say about EVs in general, and about the comparison.

 

I asked the salesman to put the car in Sport position, since I wanted to experience it at its best, and since in a short test drive I would not be affected by range issues in Sport mode. He seemed a bit uncertain, but I presume it was in Sport position.

I drove it only in D, which I took to mean "Drive," and I thought that "L" was "Low," as in when you are climbing a very steep driveway in an automatic. The car had no detectable regenerative braking when I let my foot off the pedal. The salesman said that pressing the brake pedal used regen, though he didn't really seem to know anything about the car.

I prefer regen on the brake pedal (a la Prius) rather than on the accelerator pedal (a la Tesla). I am used to the way the Tesla does it, and I understand that the reason is to make it drive more like a sports car. But I find it easier when the car coasts. So in this respect I think the Volt got it right. The Prius puts a little bit of regen on the accelerator pedal, which I also do not like. Both the Xebra and the electric Porsche conversion coast, which I like.

They ALL wanted a Tesla. They totally loved the ride. But they won't be telling their customers about it. They want to sell cars, not send customers to another company. And of course, their official party line is that the Volt is an EV. Just with an added range extender.

I did say that I think the Volt accelerates quicker than the Prius. But I felt that the Leaf was quicker than either. (Again, as mentioned above, I never drove the Leaf over 40 mph. I did take the Volt on the freeway, where it was quite adequate, though I missed the Tesla's passing power.)

 

I didn't even look at the screen. When I'm driving an unfamiliar car belonging to someone else, ALL my attention is on the road. The salesman was pressing something, probably the button you mentioned.

I think it's a bit of both: Blending regen on the brake pedal is difficult, but they also wanted to mimic the feel of a sports car. On the Tesla chat board, my impression was that more people prefer the way it is than otherwise.

The brake pedal is pure friction braking on the Tesla.

All the regen on the accelerator pedal gives a feel of being more closely in control. Putting it all on the brake pedal gives more of a relaxed feel. An analogy would be sporty handling vs. sluggish handling. Sporty has a faster response to the wheel, sluggish is easier to steer a straight line. Sporty you're more in control; the other you're more relaxed. A long drive on the freeway you want to be relaxed and have the car keep itself in a straight line. In a sports car you want it to respond to every twitch.

The braking is like that: On the accelerator pedal there's a quick response to a slight change in foot position; on the brake pedal, you can take your feet off and coast.

I prefer the latter, but most Roadster owners prefer the former.

It was one of the things I liked about the Volt compared to the Prius. To coast in the Prius you have to find exactly the right foot position. To coast in the Volt in D you just take your foot off the pedal. (I believe the posters above who say there is some regen on the accelerator pedal, but I didn't notice it. The car coasted very nicely.)

 

If I'm in town I'll be happy to give you a ride. This goes for anyone else as well. I'm home much more than I'm away, but I do travel several times a year.

Be aware that tall and large people have some difficulty getting in and out. And a very large person probably would not be able to get in at all. I'm 5' 6 1/2" and about 143 lbs, and it's a bit of a contortion for me.

Note also that there's a Tesla store in Seattle and they'll let you test drive a Roadster if you seem to be a serious potential buyer rather than just a thrill seeker. All I'm offering is to give a ride to anyone who wants.

This was certainly how it felt to me, at least in D and Sport mode. I took my foot off the pedal way back from the light and hardly slowed at all. I had to use the brake. In the Tesla I mostly only use the brake in the "creep zone," the speed at which the car creeps forward like an automatic.