2011 Chevrolet Volt gets an EPA certified rating of 93 MPGe and 37 mpg in gasoline mode

If it had been a true serial hybrid without any drive connection between the ICE and wheels, the EV efficiency would be better. But from what we now see of the final product, doing so would have given CS economy lower than the Cruze.

PHVs as a stop gap stepping stone to an EV are going to have a short life in the evolution of personal car. In a two car family, one will be an EV. The other may be a PHV, but more likely something along the aftermarket kits and upcoming PHV Prius. The grid power is there mostly to enhance the overall fuel economy, not give a part time full function EV.

 

I've carried about 900 lbs in the Gen II (not recommended) Prius ... over California's grape vine ... nearly a 400 mile journey. As you can see . . . the suspension is nearly collapsed:



And yet I still got over 45mpg. Similarly, if you read posts from folks who add 100's of Lbs of batteries to make their own DIY conversion plug in Prius's ... they're not taking as big a hit as the Volts CS mode. So the Volt's battery weight is not necessarily the cause of its poor CS mileage.

 

Same was said about hybrids when they first came out, same was said about the EV1. Same could be said for the Leaf and any other EV.

One thing is certain - GM can't fail. The gov't won't let them.

 

I came across this blog while searching for information about the Volt.

Wow. How many people here have ACTUALLY driven the Volt?? There seems to be a lot of "holier than thou" attitudes. I found the same thing on the Volt forum towards Toyota. As adults shouldn't we know better???

Firstly the car makes sense to some people just as the Prius makes sense to others. Guys who drive trucks all day long have their own reasons for driving what they drive. Who's to say that truck guys ego is less socially acceptable than Hybrid guys ego?? We all have our reasons for doing what we do.

The Volt is the car that I'm choosing for very simple reasons:

-I like the fact that I can wake up in the morning and drive to work on nothing more than SUNSHINE from my PV array. I can't do that with a Hybird, period.

-I like the fact I can own ONE car and drive to the next town, city without stopping for 10 hours to recharge. I can't do that with the Leaf, period.

-I like that when I forget to plug in or there is a power outage I can still drive.

-I like that it has a very powerful and sporty feel. (I've driving one, I should know)... sorry Prius owners but it does blow the doors off of the ______

So I have my reasons just like everyone else. The EV1's and Leafs just didn't cut it for people like me who like to take trips, drive a lot one day not the next, or drive last minute all day to visit a friend. The Hybrids just don't cut it for me either as I hate using gas to get to the local store.

The Volt hits my needs on the head. Yes there are drawbacks... just like every other car out there!

Can we all play nice now?
\(^-^)/

 

My hybrid is not a Prius either, but think I can answer your question.

For years GM has thumbed their nose at fuel economy, selling more guzzlers than any other carmaker (truckmaker?) Along with the arrogance followed by the bankruptcy, many people are crossing their arms with skepticism It does not help that GM until last fall stridently said: "it's not a hybrid", then it's revealed the drive split is next-of-kin the the Prius.

I hope the Volt succeeds, but GM has decades of bad PR to overcome.

 

GM has a century of being a scourge of the country to overcome.

 

We routinely here from the enthusiasts that Volt is "vastly superior". The reason is often that Volt provides such a great driving experience.

That would be great if the other priorities hadn't been neglected:

• Price
• MPG after depletion
• Emission-Rating

It's really unfortunate that GM decided to design & build a vehicle they wanted to sell rather than something consumers actually need.
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You are probably going to charge it at night. Night-time electricity is generated mostly from nuclear and coal fuel. The sun does not shine at night so you'll be running on "dirty" electricity. Your solar electricity would be used by someone else (assuming you sell it back to the grid during the day). Sorry but I still hope you can still wake up in the morning and think about that fact.

I am glad Volt works for you at the price you are willing to pay. Your driving habit (how you described) would require you to gas up often too. Maybe more than PHV Prius since it'll get 50 cordless MPG.

 

unles you charge batterys during the day and use it to charge your ev during the night

 

Stepping back to look at the big picture a number of years ago, it had become increasingly clear that favor for the SUV was taking a negative turn.

GM's proposed solution was Two-Mode. It would keep the mighty guzzler alive by increasing efficiency to an "acceptable" level. But that turned out to be a huge business failure. The system was expensive and didn't provide enough efficiency improvement.

Fast forward to the end of 2010, when we confirmed that Two-Mode had mutated into smaller system which a 4-cylinder engine could utilize. Unfortunately, it too was expensive and didn't provide enough efficiency improvement.

But attaching that revised hybrid system to a platform which was primarily dependent on externally supplied electricity would strike a balance. For those looking to replace their thristy guzzler with a car, the high sticker-price and 35 MPG estimate is a realistic choice.

GM found a solution to satisfy both their own customers and the upcoming CAFE requirements. It's not "vastly superior" as enthusiasts continue to claim. Whether or not it is even competitive remains to be seen, especially as consumers discover just how much EV capacity is reduced by using the heater.

What happens next will be an interesting chapter in automotive history.
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The cost of the stationary battery bank, plus additional conversion losses, will be a very strong deterrent to this approach.

 

PHV Prius won't have any issue with that. It will even use less gas than Volt on those trips. However, if you can afford $41k Volt and $10k solar panels, you should be able to afford a non-hybrid along with the Leaf.

Leaf has more than double EV range of the Volt. As your commuter car, it has more than enough EV range for those unexpected trips. For the weekend long trips, get a cordless Prius (or $10k Nissan Versa). You get the best of both world.

You will also rack up the miles on the Volt twice faster and the resale value will tank twice as fast due to that. Something to think about.

 

There are a lot of talk about Gen2 Volt with expectation of better car for cheaper price. Two-mode hybrid SUVs never got the continual improved successor.

We will have to see if Volt follow the same path or not.

 

Actually in Hawaii most of the grid is fed from diesel That will change in time as more PV and wind kick in. Makes no difference to me if I supply my neighbor with PV during the day and draw from the grid to charge at night. It`s the same diff... 10 Watts is 10 Watts regardless of the time of day.

I will drive almost entirely in EV. At work I will charge up. At my friends place I will charge up. At the super market I will charge up. And the one time when I don't... I wont care.

As for fuel economy? So it costs $.09 a mile (37 MPG @ $3.19) apposed to $.06 a mile (50 MPG @ $3.19) on a road trip. That is offset EVERY DAY when I drive in EV mode @ $.04 a mile ($1.68 a "gallon"). Who wants to bet that gas prices will go up?? Solar is getting cheaper.

I guess you guys missed my point. The Volt works for ME. There are ppl out there who don`t want to:
-Change their lifestyle around their car
-Have two cars so they can drive EV and then an ICE to drive to a friends place across town
-Rent a car every time they have a power outage or take a trip

And I never said it was "Vastly Superior" to the Prius so get over it. I'm not speaking for others. Does it handle better? Yup. Is it faster? Yup. Looks better? Thats a personal call. Are there selling points to the Prius over the volt, Yup no doubt.

I'm really glad the Prius has excellent MPG. For some that's enough I guess. But there has been a calling for YEARS to have something EV. Battery tech isn't there yet. Don't start quoting "Who killed the electric car" on me. If you believe that crock then there is no point in having a discussion with you.

So I challenge you to take your amazing GAS burning car and drive on NO gas at all for a day or two Let me know how that works out.

Notice how no one was doing anything about EVs till the Volt concept? Remember Toyota saying that Li-Io was "too dangerous to for the automaker to seriously consider"? Yeah it's really easy to bash isn't it?

So what's the solution?
Build EVs for some, E-REV for others, and Hybirds for the rest. Get over the Prius superiority complex and lets cheer on the revolution.

 

Is that the same Prius PHV that gets 14 miles EV range? Or 23 when using JC08 Japanese test cycle haha.

Not even worth plugin in. Add A/C and other draw and you're left with 9 miles EV?!?!

 

Yup its the same Prius...

Car and driver:

"And so the parallel-hybrid powertrain design, the squishy suspension setup, and the puny 15-inch wheels remain, giving the PHV the same lackluster driving characteristics as its non-plug-in sibling. That includes the way-overboosted electric power steering and a brake pedal that has yet to deliver anything close to accuracy."

"Even under full throttle, the PHV remains far from quick, with a 0-to-60-mph time of 11.3 seconds, according to Toyota, versus 9.8 seconds for the non-PHV model. Blame the heavier battery pack"

 

You are arguing having two new cars is cheaper then one! A new Leaf and a Prius or Versa? How about insurance? Depreciation on two cars is certainly worse then on one (even if the one is driving 2x as many miles).

The Volt is a solution for some people, who have commutes in the right mile range, and who only want one car. There is a competitive car market, now with more options and choices thanks to the Volt, the Leaf and someday the PHEV Prius.

 

Out of curiosity, did you calculate how many miles would need to be driven to cover the cost difference between the Volt and an average equipped Prius?

 

We don't. If we did that we would all be driving depreciated Scion xBs or Nissan Versa's.

How many miles to pay back that roof rack? How many miles to pay back the solar roof Prius option?

 

Why are you answering this question? The person I asked was making a comparison between the volt and prius and how much he would save on fuel so my question is valid. Since he/she is buying the volt for reasons other than maximum fuel economy this point doesn't matter but since I had never performed the calculation I was hoping to learn from someone who had.

Because of the low lease price of the volt the savings in fuel could close the gap in overall cost of ownership. I think you are acting overly defensive to my question. .