Traded 2013 Volt for New Prius HB

Yeah, and the Leaf also comes w/no spare in the US.

Aussie Leafs come w/them though : My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Spare tire down under!.

 

I think that it is great that there are so many choices, and I'm glad you worked out what was best in your situation.

It should be said thought, that the Volt was not designed for people who drive 30k miles a year.

I look forward to the next-gen. Volt (and PiP). The future is Hybrids and EV's and it's a future I welcome.

 

Who is the market for Volt? That question has been asked countless times over the years. The response was never clear. It still isn't either. What about 20k per year? Heck, even 15k becomes uncertain when you consider the demands of heating in the winter.

What is the best balance of capacity & price? That should be the question asked. Evidence that price was too high is overwhelming at this point. Capacity was too much of a tradeoff, especially when you also factor in rear seating space.

So, the dilemma of what should be delivered for the next generation is still very much an issue. Taking into the expiration of the tax-credit makes a challenging situation even worse. The topic of "designed for" is a very big deal. Who?

 

We can go round and round on that one but you know we won't solve it here. GM built the Volt to match their own research so it's sort of a moot point to debate it on this end. It is what it is. It either works for you or it doesn't.... as the OP found out.

To me, an EV with a limited range is, by design, a car for folks who drive a set (limited) number of miles per day, week, year. If you were getting into the gas engine every single day then I'd say that a Volt was maybe a poor choice for your usage anyway. This is not an insult to the OP, as he found this out, this is just my opinion.

Like I said, it's great to have choices and I welcome more and more of them to the market. GM has done so much work on this, and they are fighting biases the entire way. I think the next-gen Volt is going to be a really great car that will work for a larger cross section of buyers (who need more range, a real back seat, etc). I hope Toyota makes a true competitor as well in the next gens of the PiP.

 

While I can agree for the OP switching makes sense that's because he will be facing 30K miles/year without the ability to plug in regularly. No plugin is designed for someone without the ability to plug in regularly.
The 30K is a red-herring. Note his 30K miles for the first year, with 50% EV, yielded 76 mpg, which is pretty darn good. There are plenty of PiP owners that are not getting that level of gas efficiency (at least on fuelly and the PC MPG spreadhseet). But as the OP is driving 30K per year and the switching cost was low enough and it makes him happy then it makes sense.

With respect to high-miliage volts, Voltstats shows two 2012 volts with over 95K miles each, with 65MPG and 69MPG respectively. So even at 45K miles/year the volt can be very fuel efficient, if one has a place to plug in. From a different view if driving that much the quality of the ride, not just fuel efficiency matters a lot.
Most people agree multiple choices are good, and the increased sales rate for plug-ins this year show most of them are attracting some base. Hopefully they will all grow as one size/car does not fit all.

 

Is it me or the OP complains sound really minor?
On the other hand, if one does a whole lot of driving with little time available or no opportunities for charging in between, Volt is not so great option. I'm still undecided if Volt is going to be my next car.

 

Well GE does encourage the to plug in at work.. I wish they would pay a flat fee per mile, then people would be encouraged to charge as they would pocket the difference between electricity and gas...



There is set of GE volts on voltstats: Volt Stats: GE EVs

which range from 98% EV (and 500+MPG_ to 24% EV and 45MPG. The lowest

Volt Stats: Details for Volt #2011-03858 (VictorVolt)

is at about 45MPG, or just slighly below average compare to a prius and above most hybrid models.


The absolute lowest %EV Volt on voltstats is 10%
Volt Stats: Details for Volt #2011-99072 (Voltron)
who has an overall 47.65MPG.. at 10% EV.

Note because of how "EV" is counted its possible to get a few percentage of EV without ever plugging in (using MM or coming down hills and then turning the car off with above minimal SOC, when the car restarts it will be "EV".

 

The 11 members of the GE drivers group averaged 67% EV and 105 overall MPG which seems typical of the overall average that OnStar reports for Volt owners. Members of Voltstats.net have an average of 74% EV and 136 MPG and the median is 80% and 177 MPG.

 

welcome back!

 

Watt? You haven't kept up with the Volt times Current situation?
Ohm my god, isn't that against the Law?

Seriously, our driving plan included many 1,000+ mile trips and that plus the 21,000 price tipped us in favor of the regular Prius rather than the Volt or even Plug In Prius.

 

Wow! Wish I had money to burn like that. What you saved in mileage was most likely lost in depreciation in your trades I would think. Just guessing but welcome back!

 

I think the issue about the 8A default setting is ridiculously overblown. I charge L1 exclusively and when I shut the car down the efficiency screen comes up on my center stack. One push of the leaf button brings up the charging screen. A press on the "change charging rate" button brings up the 12A button and I'm done.

Considering the number of photos I've seen of charred ancient 15A outlets I don't blame GM one bit.

I often set the charge rate while I'm waiting at a light on the way home but the pop up efficiency screen always reminds me anyhow.

Sort of like the Volt owners who swear by driving in L all the time because they don't want to have to lift their foot from pedal to pedal in slow traffic. Really?

 

A lot of us wish we had that problem. But for its greater price at the time (2 years ago), I might've ended up with a Volt. But it was also newer and as yet, less proven so it seemed a bigger risk. I agree the lack of charging options in many areas its appeal but I nonetheless think the Volt is a very good car that is a more sensible choice for most buyers than near comparably priced and even lower priced EVs.

 

I'm very happy with mine after the first couple of months.

One advantage of the Volt setup is that you can truly use the battery's full range. Sure, a Leaf has nominally twice the range but how often will you be comfortable planning to use all but the last 10 miles?

I have used less than 2 gallons of gas so far after my first 1800 miles. 40 miles a day and I have 12 left over this time of year.

 

OP, excellent post! Very informative. Understood, convenience is the key. The Prius has set the bar, is fine tuned and dialed in. Welcome Back!

 

Going "Back" to a Prius from a Volt after losing your plugin opportunity is like going back to abstinence from a condom after being dumped by your girlfriend.

 

John,

Well said.

DBCassidy