[dutch husky]

So it's been a little over a week since I bought my Volt. This is a personal car, but I get a car allowance and thus use it for work as well. And I'm finding that as an EREV, it is perfectly matched to my driving needs.

My daily commute from Hamilton to Holland is 32 miles round trip, which means most days I have no problem getting to work and back without using a drop of gas.

But, in the week that I've owned it, my Volt's lifetime MPG actually has dropped from 106 to 104. Why? I had to drive to Benton Harbor Monday, Lansing Tuesday, and Mattawan, near Kalamazoo, Wednesday for meetings. That's an extra 420 miles in three days, on top of my commute. Try that in a BEV! (Ok, try that in a BEV that is commercially available now, and for under $60k!)

But at the same time, in all my driving, I've only used about 7 gallons of gas. Try THAT in an ICE!

When my boss saw I got a Volt, he was happy to hear that he won't have to buy me much gas. And I've had two clients, a 1/2 dozen co-workers, and several friends ask me a LOT of questions about this car. The vast majority of them had no idea the Volt had a gas backup! ("Wait...are we going to make it all the way to Lansing and back if you drive??")

Love my Volt!

 

[Qinsp]

Congrats! The Volt was very well thought out.

 

[alfon]

Our 2016 Volt is my wife's car. She drives to her business 32 mile round trip just on electric. If she does have to go to Portland Oregon or Longview Washington on business no problem or worries about charging along the way. MPG lifetime is now 135 mpg.
Just on gas we have been averaging 45+ mpg. If we decide to take a trip to visit friends or family not a problem. Its like have the best of both worlds.

 

[tmdz28]

Our 2016 Volt is my wife's car. She drives to her business 32 mile round trip just on electric. If she does have to go to Portland Oregon or Longview Washington on business no problem or worries about charging along the way. MPG lifetime is now 135 mpg.
Just on gas we have been averaging 45+ mpg. If we decide to take a trip to visit friends or family not a problem. Its like have the best of both worlds.

I concur 100%, the main reason i bought my Volt is this, My wife can make 90% of her daily commute on battery alone, and on the weekends, the battery range of 60+ miles (at least that's what i am getting) is plenty to do errands. We like to take local road trips to san diego, no worries. Should i decided to drive to Utah, well no worries about that too.

Speaking of battery ranges, last week i got 73 miles on a single charge. HAH! that's 20 miles over the advertised.

 

[dutch husky]

Speaking of battery ranges, last week i got 73 miles on a single charge. HAH! that's 20 miles over the advertised.

Nice, congrats! I haven't come close to that yet, but weather turned cold here just as I bought my car, and I'm still having too much fun feeling the torque of the electric drivetrain every time I get in it, so I can't say I've done much to maximize my efficiency.

Not only is it the best of both worlds in terms of local electric driving plus long distance gas range, but it's also the best of both worlds in terms of efficiency AND fun to drive!

 

[quirkySquirt]

Have you "accidentally" smoked a tweaked out car from a red light yet? I've done this a few times already and find it amusing when these tweaked ICEs rev insanely but haven't even cleared the intersection when I'm already 1/2 a block down the road and can see them in my rear view mirror (barely).

 

[Jernigan]

Congrats Dutch. I am just about four months in with my Volt. It just gets better and better. Many months before I mentioned to family that I was going for a Volt and did my best to explain how it works. My favorite ongoing comments are "it is so much better looking (or sportier) than I imagined" or "it looks normal and not what I expected". What they really mean is that is ain't butt ugly like a Prius or Leaf and piously screams "I am green". Most have no idea about the tech and blows their minds when they see it. I finally I got my 83 year old dad to sit behind the wheel and showed him all of the features. Then we took him and my mom out to see the 250+ goats that my husband herds. Later when they got home, Dad was talking up my Volt above the goats. Trust me, the goats are serious entertainment and I was surprised he was impressed by a car. He hasn't given a flip about any vehicles in his life, so this is a first for him. Have a blast with your new Volt. I sure am.

 

[DA\Volt]

My favorite ongoing comments are "it is so much better looking (or sportier) than I imagined" or "it looks normal and not what I expected". What they really mean is that is ain't butt ugly like a Prius or Leaf and piously screams "I am green".

With all due respect to Gen 1 Volt owner's, who pioneered the path for we Gen 2 owner's, the early model Volt's were "butt ugly" to many people, myself included. Mostly the car's butt end, from my perspective. It was the redesigned rear end of the Volt 2 that caught my eye and put the Volt back on the radar as a purchase option for me. That and the huge battery range, of course.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[vawlk]

The vast majority of them had no idea the Volt had a gas backup! ("Wait...are we going to make it all the way to Lansing and back if you drive??")

I get this a LOT. Chevy not doing a good job explaining this.

People: How far can you get on a full charge?
Me: about 40 miles...
People: (confused look)
Me: And if I need more, then the gas engine kicks in.
People: (less confused) Oh, so it is a hybrid!
Me: Sort of, it is only electric for first 40 miles, then it runs like a hybrid after.

I have had that conversation at least 50 times.