2014 brings a repositioning for Volt... since there's nothing left to prove anymore. Plenty of real-world data is available at this point, showing what owners wanted to convey about efficiency & reliability while also confirming plug-in supporter concerns about purchase priorities. Now that we're seeing leases expire and talk of the second generation dominate discussions, there's no debate the early stage is over. Volt is fading into the mix with a variety of other plug-in offerings... where it should have been from the very beginning.
Except of course there were no other plug-in offerings in the beginning. The fact that there are a variety to choose from now is a wonderful thing. Tomorrow I am turning in my Volt at the end of lease. I tried to buy it but even the lease company said the loan would be undersecured because the car had lost too much value, go figure. I have instead purchased a Ford C-max Energi. It should still get me more or less to work and back on electric (about 20 miles each way with charging at work), and the rear passenger room is a big improvement for my kids. Still, I really loved the Volt and am sorry to see it go. My satisfaction with it is still extremely high, it was the best car I have ever driven.
Thanks for the update. You are certainly not alone in that situation. I met with about 20 other plug-in owners last week. It was fascinating to see such vehicle variety all in the same lot. None of the rhetoric of the past carried forward. There was no more debate anymore about production cost needing to be the top priority. It was really unfortunate that GM chose the short-term approach, gambling on market embrace strong enough to retain loyalty after leases expired. Even though they contributed to some of the mess we are having to deal with now, at least there are satisfaction reports like your own to help with this new chapter. This week started with 3 of us parking at the work chargers, my Prius PHV, a Leaf, and a Volt. It was a nice sight. Each plug-in serving a different purpose, yet all on the same team. That's what we had hoped for years ago. It's too bad the hype got so out of hand. I sure am glad that's finally over. Enjoy your Energi.
The C-Max Energi is an interesting car! I did quite a bit of research on it before buying the Volt. If it covered my daily commute (28mi to work) with EV miles I likely would have chosen it over the Volt. But when I started reading reports of owners in cold weather areas (IL, MI) getting 12 EV miles due to this terrible winter I decided to go with the Volt and it's much larger battery. Curse the cold weather!! FWIW- I think the interior of the C-Max Energi is more modern and open than the Volt's interior. I love the panoramic sunroof option- that was a "must have" for me when pricing the Energi. Congrats on the new Energi! Which trim and color did you go with?
CONGRATS and condolences at the same time. Sorry to see the Volt go but the CMax is a very worthy replacement. A year ago, I, too, went from the Volt to the CMax and since last fall also have the Energi version. My driving of 40-70 miles a day has not changed since I traded in the Volt but I'm still able to achieve a 90+ % EV ratio in the NRG with fastidious level II charging. Purchased in November, I'm still on the dealers gas! Please join the CMax and CMax Energi forums if you haven't all ready. Lots of info there and we can always use another experienced EV driver.
One of my coworkers just ordered the Cmax plugin version. He's only 5 miles from work - but he chose it over the PiP because it sits a tad higher. .
Outstanding! There's a big transition from conventional vehicles to EV's, Plug-in's, whatever you consider the Volt, etc.. But the best overall results (and owner satisfaction) seem to come from those of us who cut our teeth on the Prius or PIP. Toyota taught us well it seems!
Its the bright blue without many options, but I think SEL is the lowest trim the Energi comes in so it had the heated leather seats and remote start like my Volt. My kids are happy because they were really getting annoyed with the rear seat leg room in the Volt, there is more space for them to be comfortable now. I cross shopped the C-Max and PIP, but for my commute I believe I will get more EV driving from the Ford, which is a big deal for me. I will say the Ford dealer didn't seem to know much more about their plug-ins than the Chevy dealers did 3 years ago. They tried to redirect me to gas cars several times despite my insistence I knew what I wanted (and had level 2 charging and solar panels at home). My wife and I discussed whether it is time to throw in the towel and just get an affordable used car instead of any kind of plug-in, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I have committed myself internally to never going back to conventional gas powered transportation. I'm going to drive electric as much as I can within my resources until an affordable 200+ mile pure BEV becomes available. If it weren't a new plug-in now it would have been the bus/public transport which would not have been easy here in Delaware.
Sounds nice! Well, that's one constant across the board it seems- we know more about the electric vehicles than the sales people do- and you have to be motivated to purchase one!
We still have our 2010 Prius which is now my go to work car. My wife and I purchased a 2014 Chevy Volt in Oct. 2013. So far we are approaching 7,000 miles. My wife has the Volt and she can drive all week, 32 mile a day round trip, and never use a drop of gas. At one point she drove nearly 600 miles around town and in the local area and never used a drop of gas. Right now she has a 40 mile range on electric and in gas engine mode or hybrid mode once the battery is depleted is about 40 mpg. Our last trip this weekend we averaged 44.6 mpg on gas engine only. The mpg gauge appears to be a lot more accurate than the Prius, infact I believe it may be under reporting.
I feel pretty much the same way now- having experienced the benefits of EV propulsion- I hope to never go back to all gasoline power again. FWIW- I also got rid of my gas powered hedge trimmer and gas powered weed-whacker in favor of the B&D 40V Lithium Ion powered hedge trimmer and weed-whacker- which both work great. I'm also getting rid of my gasoline powered lawn mower this spring and will be getting the Black & Decker CM1936 19" 36 volt rechargeable lawn mower. I guess I'm just tired of the mess and stink of gas/oil, etc and the trouble it presents in yard equipment. That's unbelievable isn't it? I have 440mi on my Volt now and the ICE has never started up!
Yes, you are correct on the Volts' depreciation value at lease end. 2 coworkers have found the same result on trying to buy their leased Volts at the end of the lease. Government Motors should have stepped up to the plate an offer an attractive to their existing Volt customers. Sort of like a customer loyalty or a customer retention offer. But, GM being GM - thats' is not happening and that is a big business miscue. DBCassidy
So? Thats' nothing in todays' vehicles. 300,000 miles (like the Prius owners posting up) is something to crow about. DBCassidy
It doesn't make sense to me, the bank has it back now and they are going to turn around and sell it to somebody for market value, why not me? Oh well, I think the hokey way they added the tax credit to the residual value in the lease is the real culprit. Whatever, I am now a week into the ownership of my Ford C-max Energi and it is going really well.
Because you will also pay the penalties on the lease. The bank gets market value and the lease penalty. 147k miles on the Volt is pretty impressive with no discernible battery degradation. iPhone ?
I agree with you, there is no reason why you should not be able to buy the Volt. It would promote customer loyalty and keep a happy customer. DBCassidy
I get that, my over mileage fees are going to be about $4000. But the buyout price they were giving me was $27,000 and the trade in value was only coming in at $17,000, I'd have gladly paid $21,000 with the overage fee but they wouldn't budge on the $27,000.
Big mileage, indeed... MINUSES Not so good MPG CS - nothing new here Combined 60.7 MPG - not far from a PiP would do on the same trips... PLUSES Still good range on EV Proud owner
