[Joe-Volt]

Hi All,
New to this forum.
Leased a new 2017 Volt LT, right before Thanksgiving. Coming from a 2014 Mercedes B class (lease returned).

This car is strictly for commuting to work and my requirements were: carpool lane sticker (CA HOV), lower monthly pymts, at least 50 mile range (my round trip, since I get free level 2 charging at work).

My initial compliments: high value (quality to price ratio), highly efficient gas motor, nice touchscreen, decent materials / fit & finish, nice cloth seats.

My initial complaints: takes too long to charge, annoying 'spaceship' noise when starting/stopping the car, regen paddle is abrupt and bites hard, roof / door line is too low (I've hit my head a few times entering), no sunglass holder, no Homelink.

Again, the car met my requirements and for the price I'm paying, I am very pleased with what I got. I would make the same choice and take the same deal again.

Joe

 

[TSquare]

Welcome to the cult ... I mean club. If the spaceship sounds are really annoying, they can be turned off. Check your manual, they are in the settings menu on the center screen.

 

[lagagnon]

Hi All,
takes too long to charge
Joe

You said you have a Level 2 charger at work? That should only take 4.5 hours from empty so perhaps you either skive off or work part time or are talking about the Level 1 charger at home?

 

[Steverino]

For most people the car will be fully charged from empty while they sleep. That plus charging at work should be twice as much as the car needs, no?

 

[timoshev]

If you are willing to fold your sunglasses, they will fit nicely in the padded holder just to the right of the shift lever. A more vociferous complaint has been the lack of a homelink provision for an electric garage door opener. I have double-stick taped my standard opener on top of and forward of the center screen. I added a felt pad for tactile I.D. (no look) No, it's not as good as the Gen 1 Volt setup (discontinued, but I hear it may now be a dealer-installed option) but the batteries last forever and the unit has worked fine thru the hot summer.

 

[gjm3]

My initial complaints: takes too long to charge, annoying 'spaceship' noise when starting/stopping the car, regen paddle is abrupt and bites hard, roof / door line is too low (I've hit my head a few times entering), no sunglass holder, no Homelink.

When you say it takes too long to charge, do you mean when at home charging with the portable 110 volt charger? In this case the Volt will default to 8 amp charging, which takes about 19 hours to charge an empty battery, rather than about 13 hours with 12 amp charging. You can either reset it to 12 amps each time you charge at home or you can use the location based charging feature (settings->vehicle->energy->location based charging) for one GPS location (your house) to make it default to 12 amp charging when at that location.

 

[SharkVolt]

To adjust the startup/shutdown sound level, just adjust the volume knob while the sound is playing. This does not affect the regular sound system volume.

You can also look up making an adaptor that lets you plug the stock charge cord into 220 volts, which cuts your at home charge time in half.

You can get less abrupt regen than the paddle by leaving it in LOW instead of DRIVE, which has stronger regen than drive but less than the paddle.

 

[BAZINGA]

You can get ALL the regen you want and more precisely control it with the brake pedal. My wife complains of "car sickness" if I try braking with the paddle.

 

[hellsop]

You can get less abrupt regen than the paddle by leaving it in LOW instead of DRIVE, which has stronger regen than drive but less than the paddle.

Or he could just decide "I'm not going to use that paddle anymore because the wide pedal provides just as much regen, is variable, and can even engage friction brakes if the road is bumpy or slippery."

 

[Joe-Volt]

Thank you all for the comments. Glad to see this is an active forum.

I have bought a sunvisor glass-holder clip to resolve that issue. And I also clipped my garage door opener onto the passenger-side sun visor.
I will look up the manual about turning off the 'spaceship' sound.
I did not realize the brake pedal provides as much regen as the paddle, so I will no longer use the paddle.

In terms of charging, I am referring to the Level 2 (at my work). I do not intend to charge at home.
And I am no engineer/scientist, so I can't speak to kw, amp, etc.
I am simply making comparisons to other cars in terms of 'mileage gained' (it all comes down to range).
Yes, my Volt can be charged from empty in less than 5 hrs at work, which nets me 55 miles. In my old MB B class, in 5 hrs, it recharged 80 miles. My co-workers have eGolf, 500e, Leaf, Model S and they also seem to gain 80+ miles in 5 hrs.
Sorry my description is non-technical, but I just wish the Volt can recharge (drink) faster.

 

[Joe-Volt]

I drove in the rain for the first time yesterday and I felt safe and stable in the Volt. The wipers work really well and the defroster works fast.
The safety, stability, and 'substantial-ness' were all reasons I chose the Volt over other EVs.
I am very pleased.

 

[hellsop]

Yes, my Volt can be charged from empty in less than 5 hrs at work, which nets me 55 miles. In my old MB B class, in 5 hrs, it recharged 80 miles. My co-workers have eGolf, 500e, Leaf, Model S and they also seem to gain 80+ miles in 5 hrs.
Sorry my description is non-technical, but I just wish the Volt can recharge (drink) faster.

The Volt has a smaller battery than any of those cars, and a correspondingly smaller battery charger onboard. Some feel that this is an overabundance of caution on the part of GM, but since the batteries in the Gen 1 cars are doing well at over 100,000 miles.... Well, it's hard to claim that it ISN'T necessary either. In any case, there's nothing that can be done about it -- it's just how it is. (On the other hand, even those Teslas are going to be cooling their heels for 45-60 minutes to do the SECOND 300 miles of the day, and your Volt will be ready again in five minutes at any nearby Kwik Trip. There's different advantages, that's all.)

 

[Guest]

I am simply making comparisons to other cars in terms of 'mileage gained' (it all comes down to range).
Yes, my Volt can be charged from empty in less than 5 hrs at work, which nets me 55 miles. In my old MB B class, in 5 hrs, it recharged 80 miles. My co-workers have eGolf, 500e, Leaf, Model S and they also seem to gain 80+ miles in 5 hrs.
Sorry my description is non-technical, but I just wish the Volt can recharge (drink) faster.

So you only work 5 hours a day? I wish I had your job! The amount of time it takes to get X amount of miles depends on the size of charger in the car. For most people the Volt it takes under 5 hours (at work with a level 2 charger) this gives enough time to a) get to work late, b)take an hour and half for lunch, c) leave early still with a full charge. At home with Level 1 charging it allows you to go to happy hour at the bar, get home in time for supper, plug it in and it will be fully charged when you leave early for work the next day because you were late the previous day, all with a full charge.

 

[Guest]

If you look around fleabay, you can find homelink mirror for under $100. Installation is pretty simple if you're handy.
The Volt can be fully charged in 4.5 hrs via a L2 charger. The portable charger that comes with the car take another 45m to 1hr when plugged into 220V outlet.

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