Test Drove a Volt today

I test drove one today at Main Street in Motion (GM event) in Alameda, CA.

It felt sluggish in electric mode. The Nissan Leaf I test drove in November felt much more spritely. The test cars were fully charged and there was no way to force it into CS mode, so all I sampled was electric-only.

It felt very heavy and cumbersome.

Even the prius, whose driving dynamics I am not a fan of, seemed more fun.

I don't see how this thing can compete with the prius.

girlfriend: "the volt was boring. Prius is boring, too, but I'll take a prius"

OT: the corvette is a fun car

 

"The volt in CS mode operates as a “serial hybrid†at speeds under 70 mph and as a “parallel hybrid†at speeds over 70 mph".

Chevrolet Volt Electric Drive Propulsion System Unveiled

I think Volt and Prius plug-in are a good first start. We should look forward to improvements with each generation of plug-in until complete electrification. I am old enough to remember the first cellphone, it was just a few minutes of talk time if the call was not dropped, and now Smartphones.

 

Very interesting. Seems like the truth might be coming out from under all the hype. I had wondered how can they hide the fact this small car weighs SL 3,700 lbs? Mondo heavy traction battery, then a tiny 1.4L gas engine generating power after that. Seems off.

It weighs as much as a Venza, but is so much smaller. I'll bet Volt turns out to be a sales turd and that they will be behind in future iterations. Sad, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

I haven't gotten to drive a Leaf yet so I can't compare. I don't find my Volt to be sluggish at all, far from it. If you wanted to compare "spritely-ness" did you at least try "sport mode" on the Volt?

I find the extra weight and lowered center of gravity give it a much more grounded and stable feel than my old prius, and the Volt is many many times more fun to drive than a prius to me (having owned both).

 

no, I did not try sport mode. Not sure the marketing chaperon sitting in the passenger seat would have let me, anyway.

 

I know you are comparing 2001 Prius to 2011 Volt.

Have you tried 2011 Prius? How about 2011 CT200h?

 

I have not tried a Gen III prius, a buddy of mine got a Gen II prius when he saw how happy I was with my Gen I, and I had a good bit of time in that car as well.

I was really focused on moving to plug-in, so if the PHV had been available I definitely would have tried it (and certainly will when my lease runs out), but the Gen III and CT200h just weren't something I was interested in.

If it weren't for the Volt I would presently have a Leaf and a bus pass (not meant to be derogatory to Leaf, I am literally saying I would have done what it what have taken to make moving forward with electrification work for me).