My PiP - After One Year (Stats)

BTE has to be wrong given 4cts upstate hydro versus 14cts actual LIPA power supply charge (distribution costs of 8cts not considered).

 

Sorry for the delayed response... Don't jump on this forum too often..

At 2 years I see no noticeable battery degradation at all, even after two hot Phoenix summers. When the weather is mild, I am still able to get the same range as when the Volt was brand new...

When my range is lower, I notice it is because I am using more energy to go the same distance. The increased energy usage is due to:

1. AC or heating
2. Battery temperature management system
3. Driving like Richard Petty

 

Once again. Sorry for the delayed response...

This is OK by me....

I'm more concerned about MPG, than MPGe as electricity is so much cheaper, cleaner and comes from domestic energy sources. The higher percentage that I run on electricity the happier I get. The fact that I can do that without the hassle of public charging makes me even happier.

I also have solar panels, which makes me even less concerned about the MPGe as long as I am running all those miles on electricity.

My lifetime MPG is now 199 MPG. "That" was the number I tried to improve the most, and in the Volt, I was successful in doing that with little or no lifestyle change other than plugging in when I get home.

 

The kids have grown up, and it is just the wife and I now, so we didn't need the 5th seat. Once in a great while, when we have exactly 5 people going to lunch, I think about that 5th seat. But even then, once we get to 5, we rarely put all 5 guys in one vehicle, even if another co-worker's vehicle seats 5. We usually take 2 cars once we get up to 5 people.

I used to have an old SUV that I kept around for hauling stuff, but I found that the Volt's hatchback allows me to still to most of that. I hauled eight 1x12x96 inch shelves in the Volt a couple weeks ago, and still managed to close the hatch. Eventually, I ended up selling the old SUV, because I never used it...

Our other vehicle now is a Chevy Cruze, which doesn't offer much more, except a 5th seat.

I have been thinking about adding a towing package for hauling oversize stuff like furniture. With a towing package, I could do that in an open trailer. Plus I could connect a bike rack to that towing package. To be honest though, the need to haul oversize stuff only comes up once or twice a year. I usually end up borrowing a friend's truck for a day.

A towing package might work for you in the PIP as well. It would give you just that much more functionality out of your only vehicle...

 

having issues uploading the pic but here's my PiPs birthday numbers :

11,319 total miles / 10,180 EV + 1139 HV so 89.9% EV
My read says 24 gallons but its actually 22 as my PiP came with 2 and I was too uneducated to hit reset.

So I'd claim 514 MPG but 472 if forced to use the display.
I've filled up twice since purchasing in March 2013 for 17 gallons total and still have 5 gallons to go...
Goal is to get 5,000 miles on the current tank but the 6 month old gas rule might come into play.

1983 kwh - after this horrid winter and no need to calc I've forgotten Mark's formula for MPGe
later...
edit - 121 MPGe

 

Does your ICE start up on its own after 124 straight miles of EV use?

 

Another important difference between the PiP and the Volt is: the Volt is an EV first.
The PiP is sort of a patched 3 season EV, no e-heat.
Plus, how slow do you really have to drive it to keep the stinker (engine) from starting up?

I can preheat or cool the Volt cabin from a phone app, then punch it at the top of the driveway using all 160HP/235lb-ft and leave the neighborhood silently. Without guilt. It is a fast, silent car!

The battery is cooled and heated as needed. IF there is battery degradation, it would be behind the scenes as the HV battery is 16.5Kwh but only uses 10Kwh of that. Unlike the PiP and Leaf, in hot climates the battery is cooled.

It's kind of funny, having an EV is like getting a 70% OFF GAS Coupon,
and yet there are still hypermiling geeks out there pinching the electrons.

I found this, I didn't know the PiP was this lame as an EV: Official EPA figures state an 11-mile "blended" electric range (mostly electric, but some combustion power) and six miles all-electric.

Vs. 38 miles TRUE EV for the Volt.
$2500/$7500 tax incentive difference.

 

"Does your ICE start up on its own after 124 straight miles of EV use?"

of course - but as my range has dropped due to colder temps there hasn't been too many 124 miles straight

my driving is consistent from week to week and I make a beer run to see friends each Wed that is just out of range
same with a few trips to the train - made the round trip easily all summer / fall but not in winter

 

Bill Norton makes some good points.
But comparing notes with a friend who bought a 2013 Volt I'd counter that the cars can serve different needs.

- The tax back difference is great and needed given he had to pay 9k more.
- My friend needed a 30 mile range to be gas free for his work commute - I needed 12 thus I'm at 90% EV

He found however that this winter he's had to fill up 8 times as he takes his daughter skiing and its out of range.
On those trips he says he got 33 mpg. I've gotten 53 on those trips.

getting back to the EPA numbers - not even going to look at their "study" as I'm sure its as worthwhile as the Consumer Reports study. They had to have driven it like a race car to get those - no one here has a similar experience.
But - if speed and power is important to a driver I'd absolutely pay the extra bucks and but the Volt - its got exceptional pick-up. But why not a Tesla then ?

So again - different needs, and not sure how lame my PiP is when I've filled up twice in 12 months

 

They realize what you apparently do not: you are running around in a displaced coal furnace.

 

I'm really not sure of list prices. But the tax break is a real number.
I got my Volt for $23.6k after tax break. It was a demo with 2400 miles.

There are geeky Volt owners that never burn gas in their usage, except for when the engine comes on briefly for EMM and FMM.

I'm sure winter and up the mountains is less than ideal on any car's MPG numbers.
I rarely do them, but I get 37-39 MPG on summer road trips with AC and +5 the speed limit.
Some of that at 80mph in OK. OK is Okay!
I have a trailer hitch for hauling crap and my motorcycle size camper trailer. (KOA offers free fuel, they just don't know it!)
I just can't squeeze in that 5th adult. How often does that really happen with a PiP?

My current numbers from my phone app: 9001 EV miles , 13,238 total miles, 103 lifetime MPG, ( I still don't understand this number. Is it ODO/gallons of gas used, ignoring electric costs? A worthless number if so.)

 

I know exactly where my stink comes from:




_____________________________________________________________

73% coal for me. (But American made coal. None of my EV $ go to Saudi Arabia) But this is here and now. Potentially we can all have a clean renewable energy future !!!

Use this site to see the recipe of the electricity in your area: How clean is the electricity I use? - Power Profiler | Clean Energy | US EPA

 

Potentially, yes.
No, if the nation's resources are spent on coal cars rather than increasing clean energy.

Of one thing I am reasonably certain: your Volt will be a hunk of rust long before the grid is clean. Look at it this way: Between the government tax credit and the cost difference you paid for the Volt rather than a Prius, $10,000 was spent on the car. That same $10,000 could have bought ~ 10 MWh every year of clean energy generation. Over the expected ~ 30 years life of the PV array, the $10,000 would have displaced 300 MWh of coal energy at best, or 300 MWh of natural gas as a worse case. In your case figure closer to 300 MWh coal, because the non-coal portion is just being taken from your neighbor.

The only silver lining here is that your Volt is scrap in 10 years or so, and will stop being an additional demand for coal burning.

That is the environmental analysis, and there is no doubt the Volt is idiotic from that point of view. The saving grace of the Volt is that it keeps oil dollars in the country. That is a very worthwhile goal, although as a matter of practical utility it will have limited success because oil consumption is elastic enough to grow if prices go down.

Welcome to PriusChat, but do not expect the PollyAnna vibe you may be used to on a Volt site.

 

Sage,

Sad, but probably true. Follow the money. But some countries are doing the right thing.

Cheney told us that clean energy, wind/solar, is just "Feel good technology". After all, everyone he knows is doing just fine on fossil fuels.

One more side note: A Tesla is just a bigass BEV. It comes standard with "Range Anxiety".
Did you know it does not get regen braking from the brake pedal? It forces owners to adopt a new driving style of using the go pedal to control regen. Or you can turn that off and have NO Regen.

 

That's rare. 4 is quite common though, which is where the extra 2 inches of legroom come in handy. Taking advantage of the large flat surface in the cargo area is too. Toyota didn't sacrifice the appeal of the regular Prius by adding a larger battery-pack and plug.

I carry a 3-wheel recumbent bike in my PiP from time to time. It sure is nice being able to slide it in all by myself and still have plenty of room for carrying cargo or a third person. The 3 of us have went on bike trips (carry 2 outside on the back) a number of times now.

 

John,

Cool Beans! What brand of tri-bent do you have? I can't visualize it in the back of a hatch back car.
I also have a bike rack for my trailer hitch. I'm into bikes!

 

Here are photos from long ago, with the Iconic model, my 2004...

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The 2012 is bigger inside, so the bike fits even better. It gets better MPG than both the 2004 and the 2010 following depletion too... which is great, since I frequently hit the road for biking trips and don't have a place available to plug.

I just 2-year anniversary. 37,435 miles in Minnesota. Winter is a killer, but being able to plug in still makes a heck of a difference. I was averaging 50 MPG with the 2010. With my 2012 PiP, its overall average is 73.5 MPG.

 

"I'm really not sure of list prices. But the tax break is a real number.
I got my Volt for $23.6k after tax break. It was a demo with 2400 miles.

There are geeky Volt owners that never burn gas in their usage, except for when the engine comes on briefly for EMM and FMM.
My current numbers from my phone app: 9001 EV miles , 13,238 total miles, 103 lifetime MPG, ( I still don't understand this number. Is it ODO/gallons of gas used, ignoring electric costs? A worthless number if so.)"


Nice ! That's a great price based on what I've been seeing for brand new - brings up a question - how many miles / months could a dealer put on a car, sell it and you still get the new car tax break ?

What we've seen around here is that Volts are more like 4-5k more than PiPs after the tax break.
Also I got 0% for 60 months not a cent down, while my friend was offered 3.9% - that adds up to $2k if you so choose...

question - why are those Volt owners who burn no gas... "geeky"
I burn no gas and I may be a cheap bastard but never been accused of being geeky