[Splitting Atoms]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...46CF3E10950FC126522EAB2C8C7A9E8D0536B1C75B246

I must be a micro human being, because I find all 4 seats in my Gen 2 pretty comfortable and think the vehicle has pretty non-intrustive packaging considering the big battery. I've had 4 full-sized adults in my car many times and other than one friend, nobody ever said anything contrary. Most actually raved about the rear seats comfort (very much like an 80s BMW 6 series!).

Some of the graphs/charts don't make sense either. Interesting to see the luggage comparison though...I knew had run some numbers in the past and couldn't understand the massive difference in reported volumes between the Prius and Volt.

 

[ClarksonCote]

The 4 seats are all very comfortable, especially in the Gen 1 Volt. Ingress/egress is a bit tough for some, but once you're in there, the seats are far more comfortable than most back seats.

 

[rmay635703]

The 4 seats are all very comfortable, especially in the Gen 1 Volt. Ingress/egress is a bit tough for some, but once you're in there, the seats are far more comfortable than most back seats.

A lot of folks fall into their cars like an i beam, for these folks the Volt is a challenge because they hit their head as they fall in.

Perhaps as a people we are just too darn lazy, you know bending over and entering at anything other than a free fall is far too challenging to pull off.

This coming from a 6' 3" guy who has zero issues with the front or back, my assumption would be if you hit your head once you don't do it again but I've been proven wrong.

 

[Splitting Atoms]

I will totally agree that the rear of the Volt is tight on headroom. If you're 5'11 or 6', you're probably touching your head. In that case, the Volt is not ideal. But assuming that isn't the case, the seats and legroom are awesome...more comfortable than the back seat of my previous Volvo S60R. It's rare I have a group of folks with two or more 6 footers, so it's never been an issue for me.

 

[Shivetya]

some of their charts are odd and one appears just wrong, how is the Volt green house gases so high for 100 miles for electric, its like flipped or such?

regardless, the reason I picked the Volt is that I have the security of a gas engine with the range to do my full commute on electric given a good day. none of the other cars can come close and even 200 mile range EVs, at least to me, are not full replacements for cars

 

[jcanoe]

In reviewing the 2017 Volt the MT reviewer stated that they previously had long term experience driving a Gen1 Volt on their daily commute to the MT garage, the Gen 1 Volt's gas engine typically starting as they arrived at the garage. The distance drive was 38 miles, just at the electric range limit of the Gen 1 Volt. For the 2017 Volt the reviewer states that the Gen II Volt also made the trip on battery, the gas engine starting as the reviewer arrived at the MT garage. The reviewer stated they had to take a detour but no mention of the total distance traveled. Also, there is no mention in the article of the outside temperature, climate control settings or route taken in the 2017 Volt. If everything about the trip was the same then the 2017 Volt should have been able to make the trip with some EV range to spare. Could they have taken a 10 - 15 mile detour?

I wish they had not cut down the number of vehicles being evaluated to just four for the final evaluation, including eliminating the 2017 Volt from further consideration. The MT reviewer selected the Bolt as their go to eco friendly vehicle, advancing the opinion that only a high mileage range EV (200 miles plus range) can be king of the eco friendly road. If the Bolt only had wider front seats, ACC and CCS standard I would probably agree.

 

[skiflyer]

I'm 6'3" and my head hits the ceiling in back when I'm seated, it's just barely, but it's enough that I have a neck ache after a few minutes, not to mention I have serious concerns about safety in an accident. I don't know if it's the different ways we sounds or people that are longer in the legs than the torso, but that headroom is my biggest (and really the only substantial) complaint against my gen 2 Volt.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Dutch]

I will totally agree that the rear of the Volt is tight on headroom. If you're 5'11 or 6', you're probably touching your head. In that case, the Volt is not ideal. But assuming that isn't the case, the seats and legroom are awesome...more comfortable than the back seat of my previous Volvo S60R. It's rare I have a group of folks with two or more 6 footers, so it's never been an issue for me.

The funny thing for me with the Gen 1, and somewhat for the Gen 2, is that I have a neck issue so if I get in the passengers side rear seat I can bend my neck and get in no problem... but if I try it on the drivers side I hit my head every time because my neck doesn't bend well in that direction (to the left) so I have to remember to "pre-bend" my head to the right and go in head first.

Yeah my issue not the car, but another inch would give me enough clearance <sigh>.

 

[JRRF]

I'm 6'3" and my head hits the ceiling in back when I'm seated, it's just barely, but it's enough that I have a neck ache after a few minutes, not to mention I have serious concerns about safety in an accident. I don't know if it's the different ways we sounds or people that are longer in the legs than the torso, but that headroom is my biggest (and really the only substantial) complaint against my gen 2 Volt.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

It's definitely a shape issue, because I'm about the same height, but all legs. I can sit front/back in the Volt without issue, except that in the back I can only do short trips.

 

[timoshev]

I have a left hip problem that makes normal sideways entry up front difficult. Now I enter butt first, then swing my legs in. No neck calisthenics required. I have had 4 adults in the car only one time. We put the 6:-4" guy in the front seat and the little guy behind him. Worked OK for a 2-hour trip.

 

[SSonnentag]

some of their charts are odd and one appears just wrong, how is the Volt green house gases so high for 100 miles for electric, its like flipped or such? /QUOTE]

Yep, they got the two colors swapped. It makes sense once fixed.

 

[Splitting Atoms]

I remember when they did their "real MPG" test on the Volt. They got realllly bad numbers on gas. I'm not sure what they did (because they got incredible mileage in the Prius), but it certainly hasn't matched my own experience in the car. And this is my first hybrid/plug-in, so I'm not some seasoned vet.

 

[SSonnentag]

I remember when they did their "real MPG" test on the Volt. They got realllly bad numbers on gas. I'm not sure what they did (because they got incredible mileage in the Prius), but it certainly hasn't matched my own experience in the car. And this is my first hybrid/plug-in, so I'm not some seasoned vet.

Yeah, I'm not sure what they did either. I get about 47 mpg doing 55 mph, 42 mpg doing 65 mph and 36 mpg doing 72 mph.

 

[SSonnentag]

Actually, now that I look at their number again, 37.5/42.4/39.6 mpg, they're not all that unreasonable.
They just did more city driving than I do.

 

[jsmay311]

Anyone else notice how in the chart comparing the Volt and the Prius Prime, they used the Premier version of the Volt, and therefore listed the "base" price as $38,445 instead of $34,095?

That's a pretty egregious error.

And excluding the electric range from the chart altogether? What???

 

[wws]

Anyone else notice how in the chart comparing the Volt and the Prius Prime, they used the Premier version of the Volt, and therefore listed the "base" price as $38,445 instead of $34,095?

That's a pretty egregious error.

And excluding the electric range from the chart altogether? What???

It was a pretty pathetic call. While the head room in the rear of the Volt is certainly not great, by their own numbers there is only a little over an inch of difference between it and the PP. (If you are going to regularly carry 6+-footers in the rear, neither car is probably what you need...) Volt blows the PP out of the water in roadability. A 0-60 in the 10 and 11 second range, and 18 sec 1/4 mile? What a slug. And with the extra electric range in the Volt, the small difference in gas MPG is almost meaningless.

 

[jcanoe]

MT used this article to set up the next comparison as at the end the MT reviewer chooses the key fob to the Bolt over the other contenders as they head out the door. In the next issue of MT, or the one after that, MT will compare the Bolt to the Model 3. The playing field will be small as it will be limited to EV passenger cars costing under $35k with an advertised range of 200+ miles. That article has probably already been written, with MT only waiting for their chance to test drive a production Model 3 and add actual Model 3 photos and specifications.

 

[alfon]

With our 2016 Volt our lifetime gas mpg's per Voltstats.net is over 45 mpg with over 16,000 miles total. We use the gas engine quite often to make extended trips to the Portland Oregon area and still have an overall mpg of 153+ mpg. Its pretty easy to achieve 50 mpg on the gas engine when you keep speed below 60 mph or so during warmer weather conditions and 60+ miles in summer on pure electric is the norm. Currently our electric range is 63 miles. Last trip with dry roads and temps in the 60's computed to 52.5 mpg on gas and nearly 70 miles on electric for nearly a 140 mile round trip.

 

[Shivetya]

Actually, now that I look at their number again, 37.5/42.4/39.6 mpg, they're not all that unreasonable.
They just did more city driving than I do.

curious as I have not used the REX of the Volt yet, does the Volt gasoline engine shut off when the car is stopped. I know it should only run when the main battery is low but am curious how it does run, start/stop is pretty common.


Looking at the volt vs prime, 50/40 average vs 25/55 means you need a trip of 130 miles or so before the Prime starts to be the better option if your looking at mileage per gallon. I do think that if the Hyundai numbers hold up it might be the better challenger once its PHEV version arrives

As for pricing, it seems Motor Trend always took higher priced GM option when comparing to any other brand

 

[alfon]

Our 2016 Volt the engine stops 99% of the time when coming to a stop even with a depleted battery. Only a few times do I recall the engine running at a full stop. The Volt seems to know when you are anticipating a stop and the engine shuts down.