[jmchaffie]

Hello all. I currently own a Chevy HHR. As a field tech I have needed the spae for lugging around tools and parts. I'm moving to a stage in my career where I will no longer need to carry the parts, and I've been wanting a Volt since they came out.

However, I would like to ask and see if there are any other high-miler people out here that own Volts, and if you find them comfortable on regular, long drives? My average day is anywhere from 50 to 300 miles round-trip. Probably average at least one 1k+ round-trip per month.

Obviously... I would outstrip the EV range pretty quick, however - I am highly interested in just using 'Hold' and reserving the electric for driving in the maddening city traffic in the various cities I service. That's my fantastic, scientific plan anyway - I have no idea. So I'm reaching out for anyone who might already be doing this or something similar.

Thank you, and have a great day everyone.
- John

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Well, I can tell you about how well a Gen1 is on the road. My Volt is the 2014 model. I’ve made two cross-country trips, one 8,000 miles and one 10,000 miles. When driving between destinations I drove 500 to 700 mile days, some of them two and three consecutive days. The seat gave me perfect support – no butt or lumbar pain. The Volt is a great road car. I used up my initial battery charge at the start of each trip and thereafter drove in Charge Sustaining mode where the ICE ran the generator (as well as partially providing torque directly to the wheels). My ICE mpg data at the end of the trips were 41.5 and 42.6 (calculated from miles driven divided by gas consumed, as reported by the car, and tallied by me at the end of both trips). The vast majority of the time I limited my speed to 65 mph or the speed limit, whichever was less, with the cruise control set.

On other trips of 3,000 miles (home to Gainesville, Florida, then to Saint Louis, Missouri, then home again) I’ve tried saving battery with the Hold mode. I found that in the grand scheme of things it really didn’t matter to me.

I bought the car new in June of 2015, after it had been sitting with the dealer for a year. The odometer currently is at 49,163. I like to drive this car.

 

[llninja]

I've put 80k miles in 3.5 years on my volt. There's another guy I need Tennessee who has 300k miles on his. It's great for 1 or 2 people long distance. But putting a whole family in the car is torture for the passengers in the back. I wish GM made a bigger Voltec. Anything would do, A Malibu, Impala, CT6 (oh wait they make one of those), Equinox, Silverado, or Suburban would suffice.

You might want to reconsider the hold mode technique as it would suck when you arrived at a city for lunch or dinner and a full battery, only to discover a charging station where you are about to eat or work.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

I drive entirely on the electric charge for my daily commutes of 20 miles. However, I also take a few weeks of summer vacation each year, driving 200 miles per day. In the northern Rockies, I averaged 42 MPG on a 4,000-mile trip, while I averaged only 37 MPG on another 4,000-mile trip through desert heat with the A/C on full power and speeds above 70 MPH. If you need more cargo space, then you may want to buy a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Plug-In.

 

[TheBlueFlash]

Google, "Chevy Volt Sparky". This guy works for a GM plant and has a super long daily commute and has over 300,000 miles. It must be pretty comfortable for him racking up all those miles. I haven't gone more than 7 hours at a time on the road, but I find the gen 1 leather seats to be impeccable. The gen 2 cloth seats aren't as great but still manageable.

 

[TheBlueFlash]

I wish GM made a bigger Voltec. Anything would do, A Malibu, Impala, CT6 (oh wait they make one of those), Equinox, Silverado, or Suburban would

The Malibu has a very mild hybrid version of Voltec (49city/43hwy), that's about as close as you can get at the moment, at least until they release that rumored Buick Voltec CUV.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

The guy Llninja may be referring to is Erick Belmer. He is called Sparkie on Voltstats.net. He commutes with his 2012 Volt 220 miles a day in Ohio. This morning’s stat shows 395,365 miles driven. There is a Youtube video he posted in April, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gySr0NsnrE

The sound quality is not too good with my system, but I did hear him say that he had replaced front wheel bearings 6 times and rears 2 times. I think that he ascribed the replacements to hitting potholes and debris on the road. And I think that he said he gets all parts free and only pays for labor, since he works for GM.

EDIT: haha THBlueFlash snuck in while I was away doing my research

 

[llninja]

The Malibu has a very mild hybrid version of Voltec (49city/43hwy), that's about as close as you can get at the moment, at least until they release that rumored Buick Voltec CUV.

I don't count the Malibu hybrid since it's battery is tiny. Give it 35+ miles of Ev range and I'll be in line (sunless something else pulls me away). I'm hoping the Volvo XC60 or Volvo V60 Cross Country gets their hybrid treatment soon at a lower price point than the XC90.

 

[jakesterpdx]

I've put 80k miles in 3.5 years on my volt. There's another guy I need Tennessee who has 300k miles on his. It's great for 1 or 2 people long distance. But putting a whole family in the car is torture for the passengers in the back. I wish GM made a bigger Voltec. Anything would do, A Malibu, Impala, CT6 (oh wait they make one of those), Equinox, Silverado, or Suburban would suffice.

You might want to reconsider the hold mode technique as it would suck when you arrived at a city for lunch or dinner and a full battery, only to discover a charging station where you are about to eat or work.

Regarding putting your family in the car, I think it depends on the size of the people in your family. My 7 and 11 year-olds were quite comfortable in the back seats of the Volt during our ~2,500 mile road trip this summer.

 

[llninja]

Regarding putting your family in the car, I think it depends on the size of the people in your family. My 7 and 11 year-olds were quite comfortable in the back seats of the Volt during our ~2,500 mile road trip this summer.

The baby in our family loved the Deville at 5 years old, complained bitterly at 11 years old when the Volt replaced the Deville.

 

[vawlk]

Regarding putting your family in the car, I think it depends on the size of the people in your family. My 7 and 11 year-olds were quite comfortable in the back seats of the Volt during our ~2,500 mile road trip this summer.

We went from Chicago to Orlando for 2 weeks in our volt with a 14 and 11 year-olds. The 14 yr old was almost 6' tall. The only complaint the kids had was it was difficult to sleep because there is just nowhere to put your head. Even with all of the luggage, I was still able to see out of the back window a bit. My wife did have to repack from her rigid suitcase to a duffel bag though. You need to be able to smash everything to make it fit.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

I was able to experience riding in the back recently on a road trip. My complaint was that I couldn't find a comfortable place for my feet. I slept on occasion but always felt constrained with the placement of my feet. Not good on long trips.

 

[NickHark]

I've driven from San Jose CA to Las Vegas NV, and ten hour drive each leg, and we are in love with the Volt.

Make liberal use of Mountain Mode and you will have plenty of city miles...

 

[Fourdoor]

I don't count the Malibu hybrid since it's battery is tiny. Give it 35+ miles of Ev range and I'll be in line (sunless something else pulls me away). I'm hoping the Volvo XC60 or Volvo V60 Cross Country gets their hybrid treatment soon at a lower price point than the XC90.

No you won't, you won't be in line for anything until the wheels fall off of your Volt

Keith

 

[Barry]

I find the Gen 1 driver's seat very comfortable on long drives, but honestly, not the Gen 2. This is a personal thing, but the head restraint is too close to my head and pushes me forward into a slight slouch that is uncomfortable on long drives. A lot of different recent model cars have this problem for me, so it is not just the Volt, and many are worse than the Volt. And there are ways to try to fix it by adding a seat cushion or modifying the head restraint.

 

[voldar]

I find the Gen 1 driver's seat very comfortable on long drives, but honestly, not the Gen 2. This is a personal thing, but the head restraint is too close to my head and pushes me forward into a slight slouch that is uncomfortable on long drives. A lot of different recent model cars have this problem for me, so it is not just the Volt, and many are worse than the Volt. And there are ways to try to fix it by adding a seat cushion or modifying the head restraint.

I have a question. Isn't the head restraint there to prevent a whiplash in an accident ? I never saw it as a piece of equipment to rest my head on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0atT11hrD4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkeFAZf7J9E

 

[Barry]

I have a question. Isn't the head restraint there to prevent a whiplash in an accident ? I never saw it as a piece of equipment to rest my head on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0atT11hrD4

You are correct, that is why I did not refer to it as a head "rest." It is a "restraint" and it is for safety. A position too far back is a problem. It can also be a problem if it is too far forward. There is a sweet spot in between, and it can vary from one person to another.

Too few have a way to adjust the horizontal position to accommodate different body types. A big reason for that is the way the safety testing is conducted at IIHS. They test with the restraints in the worst possible position if they are horizontally adjustable, assuming the consumer may or will do the same. It is essentially impossible for a car to get the highest test score with a horizontally adjustable head restraint. And those results are a big marketing concern.

 

[llninja]

No you won't, you won't be in line for anything until the wheels fall off of your Volt

Keith

Funny, the wheels are literally falling off my volt. In May I had a cracked rim that caused a leak. In June I found another cracked rim that didn't start leaking yet, but I replaced it before it could. Then last week, a 3rd rim got bent to an oval causing me to get one of my cracked rims welded as a repair. They also had to change a wheel bearing, and I'm picking the car up tomorrow to see if that gets rid of the growling noise.

But the reality of the situation is that I am starting to shop for the replacement to my wife's 13 year old CTS. Candidates are a Subaru Outback, Chevy Suburban, or any plug-in hybrid SUV that might come along (outlander seems to be a dead end, you can shoot me if I ever get a minivan - Pacifica, lus XC90 and Model x are more than I want to spend). A CT6 is a remote possibility as I've already seen one $10K off MSRP in Atlanta.