Volt vs. Prius: Which Will Be Cheaper to Drive?

Consider this, the Prius is a confirmed babe magnet whereas the Volt isn't. Having a babe magnet gets you a girlfriend, then a money making (hopefully) wife. Cheaper to have a working wife than be single = cheaper to drive in the long run.

Unless of course you're gay.

 

Wth??? How offensive.

You can't be serious, and besides, the Volt doesn't exist yet.

By the time You & Me can buy one, the Prius 2012 will be on the market. So a comparison can't yet be made.

We don't know any real pricing, will GM be able to afford selling at a LOSS like Toyota used to do?

A 2010 + Hymotion EV-30 is currently cheaper than the projected price of the Volt w/o considering any Gov't freebies.

From the article, I agree, GM's Volt stands to be so costly to build, that less than 20k units per year will be built.

Compare that with 500k units worldwide for the Prius, the Volt won't make a dent.

It's going to be an Eco-Sports car for the Rich, so few units will drive the sales price much higher than GM's suggested price. The dealers will exploit it for profit.

 

I don't know exactly how the Volt works beyond the "40 miles on battery only, then switch to gas", but it seems like you could have 2 drastically different driving experiences based on whether you are using gas or battery. I've seen articles that mention "small gas engine". What does this mean if you are driving on a long trip? Will the car be underpowered after the first 40 miles? On top of everything else, $40K for a Chevy is hard to swallow.

The Prius, and conventional hybrids, offers a consistent driving experience at all times. Also, I would not buy a plug in electric until a solution is found to shorten the x number of hours it takes to recharge the battery. The beauty of the internal combustion engine is that you can recharge/refill the tank in minutes. I wouldn't want to own a car that *requires* plugging in, especially since that isn't even an option at many places where I would park (hotels, work, airports, etc, etc, etc)

 

An additional factor is ambient temp- - when cold, the Volts batteries will lose very significant output and range, and the ICE will run to keep the cabin warm and the windshield clear. When I was at the Tesla factory, I saw the 35,000 USD battery pack it takes for a subcompact, hyperlight recreational car. If the Volt has twice the mass.....If we look at the uphill mileage our GIII's get, it is obvious that a three mile long, 8% will absolutly trash the Volt's battery range. I think it hard to believe that you can run 40 miles in an hour averaging less than 11 hp used for the entire duration.
The current 7500 USD incentive may not be available at that time.
As the saying goes, YMMV - I often get 70+ mpg on 8-30 mile trips with a Gen III.

 

Having seen the volt in person (or a prototype of it at least) at the 2009 Chicago Auto show, I was able to ask a lot of questions of some of Volt's engineers. As for the consistency of the driving experience, as you asked above, the Volt is an Electric Vehicle 100% of the time. For the first 40 miles or so (based on the State of Charge), you will be able to drive electric only. After that time, the 'small gas ICE" will only generate electricity to power the electric vehicle (and not charge the battery as on the Prius).

This means that you will consistently have the same sort of driving experience, with the addition of engine noise if you drive beyond your initial charged range.

Regarding your comment on the 'X number of hours to recharge', depending on the electric vehicle, some of them will install a charging station at your home, which will allow you to charge in a few hours. This is not a typical 120 volt outlet (although I think that the Chevy Volt does it with a standard plug), and would allow someone connected to have it fully charged in only a couple of hours.

 

I think a better comparison would be plug-in Prius vs Volt. From what I've read, the plug-in Prius will cost ~$30-32k.

Tax credit on the Prius = ~$3500. For the Volt = $7500.

The Volt will still be a little more expensive, but not all that much. Some people may justify the extra expense by owning the latest tech...having the new hotness, better looks or reduced emissions.

Compared to a regular 50 mpg Prius...the much cheaper car will obviously have a lower cost of ownership.

 

Ok. And then what? The Volt is it?

 

The article has a bad title.

The Volt is clearly cheaper to drive.
The Prius is cheaper to buy.

Cheaper to operate? Most probably the Prius but we don't know the price of the Volt nor do we know the price of gas in the future.

 

I read something about the first half of the charge taking signifigantly less time than the second. So if getting a full 40-mile charge takes 3 hours, a charge to go 20 miles might take 1 hour. This would be good if you just needed to make a quick trip out after coming home from work...plug your Volt up for 45 minutes, take a shower or something and your car will be ready to go 15 miles without gas. Total gas-free miles driven for the day = 55.

 

This statement is incorrect. The ICE charges the battery pack when it gets to a low or depleted level. The electric motor is always supplied power by the battery pack.

 

This is not correct either.
The ICE will only charge the battery to maintain minimum SOC of the battery only and the ICE will provide electricity to the motor to maintain vehicle speed. Extra power will be draw from the battery to provide instantaneous acceleration power.

The reason not to charge the battery is to allow more efficient charging from the grid at home or charging station and not from the gas.

 

How big is the trunk? I'll need a really long extension cord to plug it in.

But seriously, any plug-in car can only be a niche vehicle unless A. the infrastructure is built to support plugging in whereever you go, or B. the gas engine charges the battery to create a near perpetual motion machine.

What do people who live in apartments do? There are no outlets in the carport.

Even 3 hours to charge is too long. How many times have you woken up in the morning and realized your cell phone is dead because you forgot to charge it? Now imagine doing that once a week with your car!

 

So what's the problem? The Volt is still drivable - you just get in a drive it - albeit using gasoline.

kevin

 

The engineering manager at the Chicago concept car show explained it this way. HowStuffWorks Videos "How the Chevrolet Volt Works"

 

Yeah, what he said. I understand that the question was which would be cheaper to drive, although I would personally find it difficult to pay 30-40K on a vehicle without a proven track record on reliability.

When you factor in down time because of "teething issues" that 230mpg doesn't mean squat to me if I'm inconveinenced and have to get a rental car,etc.

Not to mention waking up one morning and reading the headlines that GM went belly-up....Oh what a feeling.

 

What is your source for Toyota selling Prius' at a loss? GM has been selling lots of stuff at a loss for a long time--they're pros. Now seriously, how do you know GM's costs for the Volt project & their amortization schedule?

GM stickers Camaros at $35000 & they sell. Corvettes have a higher sticker & they sell. I believe GM really believes they can sell Volts for $40000. Will the market bear that price? We'll find out if/when they hit the lot.

 

Prius is now. Works . . . well.
Volt is maybe. Works . . .maybe?
UP TO 230 MPG is not a guarantee you, or anyone not working for GM (Government Motors?) will achieve those figures. Better luck buying the Brooklyn Bridge.
A123 lost the contract for batteries, LG is going to produce the Volt batts in S. Korea. Sure hope they are better than some of the batts I hear about from the PRC on Endless-Sphere!
Bird in hand worth two in bush, any day.

 

The last I read about the Volt from GM, this *after* the bailout, after the PR stunt where execs drove a prototype to the congressional hearings, GM was 6 Billion dollars short of bringing the car to market.

GM is full of sh1t. Bullsh1t. Piles of it.