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2017 Volt - 1 month review

5625 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  quirkySquirt
So we've had our Volt for a month now. Due to year-end vacations, memorial service, and moving, we have 6,300 miles on the volt already. Wow, lots of driving. We are loving the car. It's very comfortable for multi-thousand-mile trips, and it handles the insane 85 mph California traffic without complaint. Obviously, with so many long distance trips, the lifetime mileage is suffering at "only" 50 mpg, but I'm happy to report that my trip yesterday netted me 84 miles of silent EV driving with my cruise control set at 55 mph. :cool: The ABS works predictably on icy roads, and the headlights are great for night driving, although I'm not impressed by the automatic highbeam feature as it tends to flash the highs on and off at inappropriate times more often than not.

Overall, we are extremely happy with our purchase.

Happy motoring!

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Holy Cow that's a ton of miles! Great you're enjoying the car. The high beam feature works well on my ELR and I'm assuming that the one in the Volt is the same. Might just be the traffic where you are.
automatic high beams?

I have a 2017 and have never noticed this feature, is it something only available on the premier? I just have an LT with leather and bose.
84 EV miles? Wow, that's around what I get with my Spark EV. But I've then got to park it and wait, while you keep on motoring down the road.

That ain't fair... :(
automatic high beams?

I have a 2017 and have never noticed this feature, is it something only available on the premier? I just have an LT with leather and bose.
Auto-highbeam is not available on the LT and is a standard features on the Premier...
@017 Volt LT-Kailua Kona,HI.---------Full charge (240V)now producing 87-88 electric miles.
84 EV miles! WOW... I wonder what Ari could pull out of a Gen 2. Speaking of him, I haven't seen him post in a while, not that I read every thread on the forum.
So was it just 55mph for 90% of the 84 EV miles? Your secrets, we need your secrets. Ambients, HVAC settings, load, traffic, weather, road condition, elevation changes.

Share you knowledge, master.
So was it just 55mph for 90% of the 84 EV miles? Your secrets, we need your secrets. Ambients, HVAC settings, load, traffic, weather, road condition, elevation changes.

Share you knowledge, master.
No secret, just ideal conditions. 68 degrees F, HVAC set to fan only, no traffic, 2-lane highway, 55 mph cruise control, non-stop other than 1 stop sign, sunny weather, dry road.

But the real advantage came from the terrain, as you can see from the elevation profile below for the first 85 miles of my trip. :D


Right-click on the image and select "view image" to see it fullsize.

So obviously, this is not a range that can be achieved under normal circumstances.
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Funny how Auto Dim High Beams were on every luxury car, from approx. 1960's to the 2000's. And optional on most cars, at a price.

Then auto high went away for a while and is now coming back. Must have been a "liability or legal" issue.
No secret, just ideal conditions. 68 degrees F, HVAC set to fan only, no traffic, 2-lane highway, 55 mph cruise control, non-stop other than 1 stop sign, sunny weather, dry road.

But the real advantage came from the terrain, as you can see from the elevation profile below for the first 85 miles of my trip. :D


Right-click on the image and select "view image" to see it fullsize.

So obviously, this is not a range that can be achieved under normal circumstances.
How do you make an elevation profile like that?

And to Dakster: Ari achieved 114 miles in his Gen2.
How do you make an elevation profile like that?
Plan a route using Google Earth (not maps.google.com). Then right-click on the blue route line and select "View Elevation Profile" or something similar.
Can you help this Newbie?

I'm brand new and have had my Volt for 3 days. Can you tell me how you get the two screens that you posted. The first one with the mileage data that you took a photo of shows up on my screen for a few seconds after I turn the car off but I don't know how to get the screen to stay up. The second graphic of the elevation profile is great, did you get that from the Volt or did you get that from somewhere else?

I too was amazed at your first post data until I saw the profile. Going from 4,900 ft to 2,000 ft has a lot of coasting. It would be interesting to see the same data for the ride up the mountain.

Thanks for your help.
SSonnentag, thanks for the explanation! Turns out my typical commute was not a 30ft elevation change but actually 200ft. Weird, doesn't feel steep at all.
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