Why would you choose a Prius over a Chevy Volt?

No offense intended. I'm only trying to point out that isolated anecdotal testimony isn't of much use when making these comparisons. Cargo space is an objective measure, no question. Your experience with GM in the past no longer translates to anything today. I personally owned a 1995 Chevy Blazer which was an absolute disaster on wheels, but I wouldn't advise against current GM vehicles due to that, especially not models which are demonstrably their most reliable vehicles.

I apologize if it seems as if I am belittling your experiences. It is nothing personal, I am only trying to speak for rationality about these issues in general.

 

If I went by my dad's 1972 Toyota Corona, I would never have bought any Prii.

 

Same goes for my Ex's 2001 Honda Civic. Hondas are crap! lol

 

Ian, you are right about some information not being "Objective" for today. I am just one of those people who relate to the old, "Once burned, twice shy" philosophy. The GM dealer around here is still the Pits, and If I was to buy a vehicle from GM, I would have a 100 mile round trip to the dealer, and I would have to know a lot more about that dealer as well. Bad experiences are always relevant to those who have experienced them. Oddly enough my youngest son (Who owned two of the crappy Chevy's) wanted to know why I didn't get a Volt. Once I told him he nodded his head in Agreement... BTW, he works for Argonne National Labs who helped develop the batteries for the Volt. He would bought the Volt (he doesn't need a truck, and likes the technology). He's keeping his 15 year old 4- runner that has had no problems whatsoever at 200,000 plus miles.

Guess we will just have to disagree...

 

Everyone has their opinion, but if I had to trust my life to a 20-year old vehicle, I'd want it to be a Toyota.

 

Interesting that a number of posters have mentioned GM dealers as impacting their decision.
My friend was quoted an amazing price on his 2013 Volt and we soon found the dealer had subtracted the Fed tax refund from the price ! Amazing no longer and sleazy to say the least.

But when I started poking around for a Volt everything was done online or through calls. I couldn't care less about a dealer I wouldn't see again other than for a free oil change during the first 2 years.

 

I haven't had any problems with the GM dealer I went through. They have always been courteous and such but I haven't had to use them more than a couple of times. Really no different than the Toyota dealers I have used. Every region is different though and our area is very competitive so crappy dealers may not last long.

 

i used to think foreign dealers worked on a different paradigm, and maybe some still do. you can't generalize, but it seems most dealers these days are pretty awful in sales and service. when you find a diamond in the rough, hold onto it and pass the word along.

 

There's nothing worse than a VW dealer.

 

Anecdotally, I have two friends who are car dealer professionals (one owner, one manager). Dealers seem to have about as much in common as any other franchise business. That is, they are all competing with each other... nobody is going to tell you go check out so-and-so other Toyota dealer; that is their direct competition. Also, there is not a corporate playbook for any aspect except what number games are thrown into a negotiation.

I happen to live in an area where one of the more cutthroat franchise owners owns dealerships for several different brands. In that particular case, they will gladly recommend a dealer for totally different manufacturer (although still try to sell you on that brand as, after all, that is that salesperson's commission). This strategy also allows said owner to consolidate all the trade ins under one lot.

Knowing these folks is one reason why I never negotiate in person, never trade in, and never take any "special" offers. While they've never explained the "secrets" of all this stuff, it definitely seems to be part of the contrasting high-pressure, hard sell you on a deal or low-pressure, kindly offer you the same exact thing routine.

That all said, I think car dealers get a bad rap in general. Too much emotion goes on with the vehicle trade. Making these transactions over email and throwaway voice numbers has allowed me to avoid getting too worked up about it. It is all business, all the same game no matter how presented.

And, not to reference fiction, but the "nice" dealership is what I would term having a Hank Hill sales strategy.

 

I'm not sure where the 3.4 kwh per charge comes from. Probably some published maximum. I, personally, have never seen a value higher than 2.95 kwh...more typically it is ~2.7 kwh (after 2+ years) as reported by ChargePoint, (when charging from 0.0 EV miles remaining but not going into HV for more than a few seconds). This is the charge required to "refill" the (virtual) EV portion of the battery. Yes you can drain down a few more percent on the battery if you are switched out of EV. But you can't account for EV miles and use EV + HV-portion recharging. In fact, if you are in HV when you turn off the car, then recharge and get some higher amount of kwh, then when you last drove it you had some number of EV miles, plus some more than average extra distance in EV (stealth) while driving in HV mode.

Mike

 

He is using EPA and published numbers to get as good a baseline as possible. The kWh for the Volt is a bit higher than most experience as well.
It would be impossible to create a spreadsheet taking everyone's personal experiences into account.

 

I suppose I could make a lookup table with different ranges for different vehicles, driving styles, and weather.

 

In my previous consulting work, I traveled every week and rented a car in each city I was in. I would never rent a class of vehicle less than a "standard" sedan. As a frequent renter, I got upgraded pretty regularly.

Here's my assessment from four years being on the road:
1. Ford. Surprisingly, I found Ford products (Fusion, Taurus, Flex, Explorer, and Mustang) to be the closest in driving feel to Toyota. Most driving controls were also located in the same place Toyota uses. Fuel economy was okay for the relative size of the respective models. A few had some trim defects. My rental profile specified Ford products only (because these most commonly had Bluetooth for phones), but sometimes, I would have to take what was available. That said, Fords are nice to rent but I don't think I'd consider owning one. The Sync vehicle entertainment/control system was flaky up till about two years ago.

2. Toyota. I only got a Toyota vehicle once as a rental, a Venza in Chicago. During a snow storm. Let's just say I wouldn't buy this model of Toyota if I lived where it snowed even a little bit. The TC was so aggressive I literally was dead in the water (er, frozen water) because it cut power to the wheels in the intersection I was stopped at for a red light. No, make that note to self: no Venza for me or my family.

3. Hyundai. Rattlers. Fuel pigs relative to vehicle size.

4. Chrysler. They just feel and handle cheap. And they are fuel hogs.

5. GM. I had two or three GM vehicles, each of which I found to be fuel hogs, and each of which, though with less than 10K miles, had plastic trim and handles loose or missing.

I realize the Volt has had good reliability ratings. (Interestingly, the 11s have the best reliability ratings, according to Consumer Reports. Both 2012 and '13 models show worse than average overall reliability and no data for '14s.)

Let's get a few more years' worth of data before pronouncing the Volt anywhere near the average reliability of the Prius.

 

+10000!

 

I hate you guys, I have this idea of attempting to sell my C and get a Volt to go alongside my PiP in my family... And I can't get it out of my head... PiP would stay as my DD for my 90 mile RTT commute with no work charging, Volt would be used for others in my family with a 60 mile RTT commute with free charging in the middle...

 

LOL don't do it from an economics standpoint. Your c is a great car. Only do it if you desire the comfort and EV experience.

 

Love the lifetime score. I'm stuck at 106mpg. New GF lives far away....

 

new girlfriend know about your car buying problem?