Test Drove a Volt today

re: It looks clunky and bloated. Isn't that a bit like saying your twin is ugly?

 

The question I hear most often is how does the cost of electricity from the grid translate to cost per gallon of gasoline? Is this information available anywhere? A question I have pertains to using the Volt on a vacation. While the range is impressive, it would come up a bit short on a 12 to 14 hundred mile trip. At least until charging stations become widely available.

 

Well, I didn't test drive a Volt, only sat in one at SF auto show.

It has pretty decent room in the driver's seat for thest 35" legs. The controls seemed well laid out and headroom was adequate for me.

I like the shift lever, how it's kind of nestled into that space. The car wasn't powered up so didn't get to see displays.

So, the front room was pretty good, but, well, can't say the same for the back. They had the hatchback open and they'd need to keep it open while driving around for me to sit back there. Both the rearseat headroom and legroom were scant, something like the new Honda Insight.

The loadfloor is not nearly level with bottom of hatch edge (whatdya call that?). So, in sliding a box or case, you have to drop down at least 6 or 8". Not as convenient as the Prius.

That's about all I have to report.

 

I'm a Volt fan, I ordered one and expect to get it in about a month. But before you jump all over me, I'm also a big Prius fan. I'm selling my beloved '04 Prius over in the Private Sales forum here on PriusChat.

I noticed a lot of folks on PriusChat pointing out that the Volt costs too much. But the Volt comes with a lot of features standard, that cost extra on the Prius. After the $7,500 federal tax credit, the $41,000 Volt drops to $33,500.

I haven't taken the time to try to build a Prius on the Toyota web site that is as close as possible to all the standard features in the Volt, but I see that a fully loaded Prius V is $34,210.

To me, the prices on the two cars are in the same ballbark.

I want to "vote with my wallet" and support the new Volt, just as I did when the all-new '04 Prius came out. 40 miles of electric range really excites me, and I love not needing a second car for longer trips.

 

Yea, you need to compare feature to feature. A loaded Prius comes with many more features than the Volt.

 

First of all, not everyone qualifies for the full tax credit, but I suppose those even considering a $41,000+ car probably do...
Second, don't even try to compare a fully loaded Prius to the base Volt! It doesn't even come with leather at that price! Exactly what option packages will be available and the prices is still unknown, but a loaded Volt will easily push 50 grand I'm betting!

 

FWIW, I was able to go to 2011 Chevy Volt | Electric Car | Chevrolet, click on Build Your Own, and put in zip code 95120 (where I used to live) and was able to see the options. There don't seem to be that many options and the calculator page has a bug is finicky. If I select every option, sometimes, the total isn't right.

It looks like maxed out Volt is $44,278 before tax and license.

 

Well, use the Prius IV as the nearest equivalent, though it's not really honest to compare the price of a standard hybrid to a phev. In any case, no one can dispute the fact that the Volt is way too pricey! If it were around $30k and had been promoted from the start as a hybrid that offered a big EV range with fair fuel economy, we would all be a lot more lenient with it's shortcomings!

 

A direct feature to feature comparison isn't possible with the way companies put packages together, but here we go.

These are to the base Volt. Premium sound system, bluetooth, and cruise control were the main features that I used to make a comparable car.

A Cruze would run about $21k. If fuel economy is important, and you are willing, and able, to drive a manual, the Eco trim would add another grand.

Depending on whether you start from III or IV, a comparable Prius will run about $23k to $26k.

 

Awesome! I want to take one for a test drive. I like the exterior but the interior is... meh.

 

Quick questions, tia,

Can Volt charge on 110V? If so what is current req. and how long does it take from 'depleted' to charge up?

note- it will likely be depleted after many driver's commutes.

 

For the PHV Prius, it is 3 hours.

 

Charge time pretty much depends on the size of the battery. The larger the longer, and there isn't much in the way of improving that. The price of a good charger is already tiny compared to the cost of the car. The only way the car manufacturer can improve charging is with an active heating and cooling system. I don't think they could shorten charge time by much. Their many advantage is in getting a complete charge into the battery.

 

The PHEV40 was "pro rated" with a 30 percent reduction in AER right off the bat which completely skews the CS/CD numbers while the PHEV10 "future Prius Plugin" was not.

Go figure.

 

The PHEV30/40 in the study is a purely hypothetical series configuration which no auto manufacturer will make. On the other hand, the PHEV10 is by all accounts the "soon to be released" Prius PHEV.

Understanding the scope of the study is vital to interpreting the results.

 

I agree - I didn't even know the Volt was a hybrid until I joined this forum.

I saw my first Volt at Epcot in the GM exhibit you pass through when exiting Test Track. The gentleman representing GM there had absolutely no clue. I walked out of there under the impression that the Volt had a very limited range and that it would never work for someone with a 90-100 mile daily drive like me.

I do really like the way the outside of the car looks, but that white plastic is definitely gonna have to go before I come up with 40k!

 

The key is to understand why. PHEV40 (like Volt) has electric motor and battery sized for the worst case scenario. Using only the battery for heavy acceleration and high speed highway driving resulted in 340 Wh/mile. The simulator was pretty accurate considering the official EPA number came out to 360 Wh/mile for the Volt.

Power-Split PHV20 (like Prius PHV) does not let the battery consume more than 200 Wh/mile. It keeps the EV range consistent and prevent it to swing wildly. Electric components are sized for normal driving conditions. Peak power demands are handled by blending in with gas engine through eCVT. Variable blending strategy raises efficiency of both electric and gas engine. Remember, Prius doesn't shift gears. It shifts power sources. eCVT split and blend power between gas and electric. The result is one ultra efficient hybrid powertrain in any situation at any speed.

Volt uses the battery first and then it uses the gas engine. It separates these modes (like a car with only two gears). It is easy to understand why eCVT variable blending strategy is superior than Volt's range extension strategy.

In summary, the difference is having the synergy (or the lack of) between gas and electric.

 

Up to this day, whenever I see a gas pip drop on my Prius I feel mildly depressed, lol. Now, imagine driving the Volt on battery power when suddenly you hear the gas engine kick in. Now you're just another regular car. Talk about depressing. I couldn't do it. That's why I'll take the Prius over Volt any day.

 

People still hate the Volt on these forums like it's their job. What's wrong with an American car fueled by American power? I do under 40 miles of driving almost every day, I won't be sending any of my money overseas when I get my Volt, and I don't see how anyone can argue that a Prius looks better than the Volt, but I guess everyone has their own opinion. And as far as features go, I think it's a toss up. Sure the Prius has some features the Volt won't, but that goes both ways, I'd rather be able to control almost everything on my car from my phone than have a useless solar roof option. The Prius is a great car, but GM really did good here, they are changing the game just like the Prius did a few years back.