Considering buying a Chevy Volt, any owners of both here?

nice car from everything i've read. i don't think you can go wrong.

 

Previous to Current:

2010 Prius
2012 volt
2013 Cmax Energi
2018 Clarity

Unless hatchback needs are critical, Clarity hands down. It's simply a much larger and more comfortable vehicle (cmax is too); heck I even loaded a boxed 50 inch TV in the back seat and didn't need the trunk pass through. If you only need it for single person commuter, volt is OK. Anecdotal viewing of related forums over a decade says its reliability is lowest of all.

Warning: once you go plug, you won't want to go back!

 

@leeb18c has a 2017 and I know he enjoyed it.

Maybe he'll drop a line here and comment on any other observations.

 

Your title says Volt; first line of the thread, you write Bolt.

I'd consider the Volt; I'd never consider the Bolt.

GM was silly for naming them so closely.

 

You should easily get a used volt similar to what you describe for around $15,000 or less

The Gen II Volt is reliable but not rock solid like the Gen I

It should get real world economy similar to a Gen II Prius (at least in warm weather)

It’s generally the ultimate PHEV,
if you get one with a 6.6kw charger you can have nearly 100% EV operation on all trips,

There is also slow progress being made on mods and DIY repairs.

If I didn’t already have a Gen 1 and didn’t need to spend mega bank on license and registration I might have traded my old 1999 Insight up for one

Good Luck and Enjoy

 

This thread caused me to look into the Volt a bit more. The interior looks smaller, although I didn't compare actual specs. The idle engine turns off after 150 minutes, which prevents overnight camping without a hack. It was been discontinued after this year, if that bothers you. And premium fuel is recommended, with this quote from a GM Engineer:

Premium gas will maximize the fuel economy when the engine is used, GM powertrain spokesman Tom Read said. In an emergency, regular gas can be used on the Volt, but fuel economy will be compromised, and the engine may become noisier. The Chevy Volt’s engine computer will detect the octane change and retard ignition timing. Still, Read highly recommends refilling the Volt’s tank with premium fuel as soon as possible to avoid damaging the engine.

 

That premium fuel requirement is for the gen1 (up through 2015 model). 2016 and after doesn't require premium. I'm considering getting a G2 volt also for the 50+ (G2) mile plug-in range. I haven't measured but I did sit in one and it appears to be a bit smaller than the G3 Prius...a little less head roon (I'm 6-2) the "trunk" area also seems to be a bit smaller and it's recessed , not good for those who may have back problems. The biggest negative for me is if there is a problem nobody knows how to work on it. Even the Chevy dealerships will have to hold the car until the "volt mechanic" can come there to take a look. At least that's what they say over on the Volt forum.

 

Your information is out of date/inaccurate and only applies to the 2015 and down Volt,

Newer Gen II Volt is designed specifically for regular fuel only

 

I've never really researched the Volt until this thread. What I found really interesting is that its HV battery must have much more capacity than the Prius. The Volt camping threads I saw indicated that it could run the AC all night up to 12 hours without starting the ICE. In the Prius, you are lucky to get an hour before the ICE starts.

It also has a very cool "Mountain Mode" where it runs the ICE until the HV battery is completely topped off.

 

My pastor and his wife have a Camry hybrid (2013, I think) and a Volt(not sure of the year). He thinks the Volt is rather small, and he is disappointed in the range in winter.

 

Reminds me of the guy across the street that complains that his Prius only gets 16-19mpg in the winter and that the seat is too horrible for a long drive.

I did look at his HID once and sure enough.

 

I was thinking of that thread too. I hate when I can't find stuff. It might have been @bwilson4web that calculated that out. & IIRC, it's somewhere in the mid 200 miles range.
Corrections for some of the above "facts" (my neighbor and I swap cars frequently - so I Drive His volt quite a bit, hopefully so that each of us can make our next buying decision) .
#1 the volt chargers at 3.3 k w. Only the last year, the 2019, is different. On the low end model, it had an option for 7.2 KW. The premium was standard width 7.2 KW - not the slower 6.6kw.
Between plug-in clarity and the volt, the clarity is bigger, heavier, with more room, so it's electric range isn't as far. Volt has more electric range because it's lighter and less volume space inside. So, owners have to decide between the two different benefits/burdens.

it's the gateway drug, once you fuel on electrons, you want more and more and can't kick the addiction.

Some of the first-generation volts have 200,000 and 300,000 miles and more. .
Also - Unlike the 1st gen 4 seater prime, the Volt technically squeezed a 5th in there, which is useful for little kids. Anywho -
Considering we've had one of these;



I would give equally high marks - after putting 1,000's of miles on one of these -



... and as you can see - one of 'em put a smile on my face.
Correction on Mountain mode also. I drove the volt through 7 thousand feet mountains thru New Mexico early last spring. Still patchy snow on the sides occasional dusting of snowflakes. What mountain mode REALLY did, was let you keep the amount of battery capacity reserved, roughly, where it was - when you turned Mountain mode on. The reason that was great - was because now the battery's coolant gets to be warmed up - making subsequent EV mode all the more efficient). Also - if you're really having to put the pedal to the metal pulling a grade, the electric motors can deliver, without having to cause the ICE to really rev up. That was a benefit with Gen 2, where as gen 1 would really be noticeably revving. If you drop back down to level City street driving, Mountain mode well almost invariably go back to EV operation - as speeds under 40 mph take a lot longer 4 battery capacity teardrop.
.

 

any thoughts on the prime?

 

I have gotten 140 mpg with our Prime at over 24k miles.

25 miles EV is the EPA estimate and I typically get north of 30 miles.

So I'd consider it.