Just test drove a 2017 Volt and not sure if I should purchase or wait for my Bolt EV to come in during 2018 (?) Or wait for new 2018 Leaf to be announced. To help me decide, need to know what sort of winter battery only range I should expect - in Ottawa they say summer range is 85KM but what about January range on those -10 to -20 Celsius temperature days. The sales Rep told me today the range will be the same on battery. Is that true?
Canada (Ottawa) Winter Driving Range
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half the range on battery
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If it were me I'd want the BIGGEST battery BEV or a Volt for severe winter duty. I would not want a BEV like the Leaf. Now many Leaf owners happily and safely drive in cold weather, but since you seem overly concerned about battery range i wouldn't subject myself or family to a small battery BEV in your environment.
In reality the Volt is the perfect vehicle for COLD weather driving. ZERO Range anxiety and all the HEAT you could ever want and you could still get 40 miles or so from the battery, more if you can charge away from home.
In reality the Volt is the perfect vehicle for COLD weather driving. ZERO Range anxiety and all the HEAT you could ever want and you could still get 40 miles or so from the battery, more if you can charge away from home.
On my 2015 I get 65-70 km in the summer and 40-45 in the winter. Less than 40 if it is really cold.
I would agree that the Volt concept is best for cold weather, no range anxiety and complete freedom.
85% of my driving is electrical. I have gone up to 11 months without visiting a gas station.
I average 30 km a day but have gone 125km all electric with opportunistic charging.
I would agree that the Volt concept is best for cold weather, no range anxiety and complete freedom.
85% of my driving is electrical. I have gone up to 11 months without visiting a gas station.
I average 30 km a day but have gone 125km all electric with opportunistic charging.
When the outside temperature is low enough the engine will run to supplement heat, "Engine Running Due To Temperature". The default setting is 2C, but there is an additional setting for -10C (I use this one). Once you get below -10C the engine will periodically idle to generate heat. Down here in London, I get my lowest range when the temperature is just above -10C. Once it's cold enough to run the engine for heat, the battery doesn't deplete as fast.
The only time I remember depleting a full charge on a -8/-9C day I got about 63km of range in my 2017 averaging about 90km/h.
The only time I remember depleting a full charge on a -8/-9C day I got about 63km of range in my 2017 averaging about 90km/h.
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Absolutely not. I am in Toronto so pretty similar range of temperatures. In summer with the stock low resistance tires I regularly get close to or just above 100Km of range. This is not driving carefully, or like a maniac .... just 'normal' driving somewhere in the middle of those extremes. some highway, some city, some below limit, some above, and being Toronto and the 401 highway, plenty of traffic jams !
I got my 2016 Volt in October 2015 so over 2 winters I have seen the range - with winter tires this year but not first year - go to about 60Km for the same drive but it can be a bit higher or lower on any given day. Cold weather performance is expected to be lesser but I have found that it really does depend on the temperature on a daily basis and also how much you use the heater etc. I am sure other factors come in too. I didnt really monitor how much effect winter tires had this year but it wasnt huge. The temperature seems to be the biggest factor.
Thanks for all the great info. Much appreciated! How much gas do you use when it is below -10 C and the engine turns on to heat the battery? My drive to work in the morning is 25 km and where I park I can plug in during the day to a 120 plug and then my return in 25 km. So I should be able to do most days on battery only - even when its an Ottawa -20C day. But will i use a lot of gas to keep the battery warm? Also, can you precondition the Volt so when I get into the car at 8 am, it has been heated while plugged in? Will this preconditioning working in a closed garage that is not heated (ie don;t want preconditioning to turn on the engine if it is below -10.
I believe that when the Engine Running Due to Temperature is active this only heats the cabin. The battery has its own electric heater element, the battery is insulated so once it has been warmed it does not use an excessive amount of battery energy to keep the battery at optimal temperature. If you leave the Volt plugged in overnight the battery will be maintained at a minimum of approx. 4.4 C. When driving in cold weather the battery electric heater element will maintain the battery between 4.4 and 18 C.
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In the manual it says( this is in settings) :
Engine Assist Heat
If equipped, this feature selects the outside temperature level at which the engine may run to assist heating in Electric Mode. A change in selection will not take effect until after the vehicle is first powered down.
Select On for temperatures below approximately 0 °C (32 °F), or select Deferred for temperatures below approximately −10 °C (15 °F).
Engine Assist Heat Plugged In
During remote start, this feature turns on or off the ability for the engine to run to help heat the vehicle when it is plugged in. A change in setting will not take effect until after the vehicle is first powered down.
Hope this helps
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Engine Heat Assist When Plugged In can be set to On or Off. If On, when the Volt is plugged in and you use the remote start feature the gas engine will run when you remote start the Volt if the outside temperature is below 1.6C or else if the Engine Heat Assist is deferred the gas engine will run if the temperature is below -9.4C. If you park in a garage you want to set this to be Off to avoid the risk of the gas engine starting when the Volt is inside a garage. If you park outside you may want the gas engine to start to help warm up the cabin.
my car also sits outside all the time
garage would help in range
garage would help in range
In the winter how much gas do you end up using in a week of commuting back and forth? Depending on my route from Manotick, one way for me is 25-35km so probably your Rockland commute is very comparable for me and good way to assess if I could live with a Volt.
I got my 2017 in Aug 2016. I live in Kanata and work by Billings Bridge, a commute of 25km each way. My winter range was low 60s and am currently at 103. I haven't had a full summer yet, but I expect that to go higher when temperatures go up since I reached 110km range in Sep/Oct.
The car has the option to run gas, or battery only, when doing a remote start while plugged in.
The car has the option to set the Engine Running Due to Temperature at either 0 or -10 celsius. It will then run til the engine coolant temperature reaches a threshold and then switch off. It will then stay off until the coolant temperature drops to another threshold and turn on again. I forget the thresholds, I think maybe 63 and 40, there is a thread on the forum with the exact numbers but I can't find the link at the moment. The same thread describes using the ECO and MAX settings to keep the coolant temp up using battery to reduce the engine running. I used the method in winter and it worked for me.
The car has the option to run gas, or battery only, when doing a remote start while plugged in.
The car has the option to set the Engine Running Due to Temperature at either 0 or -10 celsius. It will then run til the engine coolant temperature reaches a threshold and then switch off. It will then stay off until the coolant temperature drops to another threshold and turn on again. I forget the thresholds, I think maybe 63 and 40, there is a thread on the forum with the exact numbers but I can't find the link at the moment. The same thread describes using the ECO and MAX settings to keep the coolant temp up using battery to reduce the engine running. I used the method in winter and it worked for me.
This is all excellent info which is helping me decide. So how much gas can you expect to pay for in a typical month in the winter if your driving each day is about 60 km (so mainly on battery). I am trading in my merecedes glk for a new tech car and I just don't want to move from a Mercedes to a non-luxury car brand only to continue to pay for a lot of gas since I'm switching for the tech which is not offered at the luxury brands except for the way overpriced BMW i3 golf cart.
That's about what I get. 55-65 in winter, 100 in spring and fall, 90 in summer.
Note that below -10, range is not an issue due to ERDTT. You will cycle the engine on and off regularly, and the battery will deplete very slowly.
I drive 30km a day, so I never test the battery's full capacity. My guess is that on a 60 km drive you may come up short on day's when the temp hits -9. As for ERDTT, I've seen a a couple times in December, and maybe 10-15 times in January/Feb/March. I went through about 25L of gas this winter, mostly ERDTT. For 60km, I would make a conservative estimate of 2-3 tanks per winter season.
It should be noted that one tank of gas must be burned per year anyway.
The big difference with the Bolt or the new Leaf, is that you can buy a Volt now.
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I live to the east of you in Mirabel, with the winter we had last winter which as you know was one of the worst one we have had in a long time. My commute is 30km each way. With temperatures above -10 I was able to do the return trip without any problems. When the temperature reaches below -10 the engine starts to help with heating, but like they said in other posts it cycles on and off. This winter I filled up the car only three times at an average of 22$. When I purchased the car in August winter was my main concern, I can honestly say that this is the best car that I have ever had for winter.
In winter month I gas up once every month... and the gas tank is smaller than my other car I had . so instead of 50 dollars every week on a ford escape it costed me like 35 dollars every month on my 17 Volt. My commute is 35 KM one way . on the east of Ottawa . so some highway is in the route I take. had to make some modification in the driving and comfort to manage in the winter, but doable.
25 KM one way , I would definitely go for it.
25 KM one way , I would definitely go for it.
Thanks. This all sounds good. I am still very torn between waiting for a Bolt/new gen Leaf/Tesla Model 3 or going with the Volt. Besides range, is there any other reason why everyone chose a PHEV Volt over a BEV? Our family has an ICE car so this vehicle will just be for commuting to work and weekend shopping.
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