Quick Volt questions if you don't mind

srmarti said:

Why not visit a dealer and look at the actual car and test drive it?

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Well, that's a longer story than you probably want. One *HUGE* reason I never really considered the Volt or Bolt is because - where I am at least - the dealerships have zero interest in selling one. I wrote an email last night and got a response this morning. Same response as always: "we don't have one". They have 100's of huge trucks and dozens (amazingly) of Corvettes. Not a single Volt. They can get one in... but I have to buy first. I won't be buying from this dealer if I get one, I'll drive down to Vancouver to do that where they take it a little more seriously. But I'd like to get some questions answered prior to making the 4 hour trip for a test drive, if you don't mind.

srmarti said:

I'm having difficulty envisioning a 5 y.o. still in a car seat getting cramped. If he's still not big enough to not need a car seat how can he not have enough room?

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I'm not sure if you don't have kids (recently) or you just lack knowledge of car seats. He's actually big for his age. He still fits the car seat (designed for 60 pounds). It is safest to keep them in as long as possible, not rush to get them out. But with the seat in place, his leg room is compromised. Soon he'll be out of this particular seat, but the law here still requires a seat until 9 yrs old or over 4'9" (he's not).

I've had a read through all your responses. Thank you so much for the help. Really inspiring to see an active community like this.

- Mountain mode. Awesome! Didn't know it had that, so I'm glad I asked.
- "Thinking man's car"... you don't know how much I see that as a plus
- Leg room. Thanks for your insights. Obviously I'll need a testdrive to tell for sure, but now I know its worthwhile arranging said test. Sounds like it will be fine.
- Cargo. Amazing that I can't find seats down specs. My Fit, for example, is 20.4 cubic feet up and 57.3 down. Its right there in print. I don't know why I can't find that about the Volt. I was starting to wonder if they folded down at all.
- Kid in the back. This still seems like the X factor. I appreciate your attempts at answering, but again... test drive will tell.

You folks are right that we'll outgrow the car. That's inevitable as my son gets bigger. And probably sooner than is convenient (we typically keep a car 7 to 10 years). But I'm committed to driving an EV and I'll put personal comfort on a backburner for that. At the moment, I don't believe there are any EVs that suit our needs for the future other than the Model X - which is just too much $. I hesitate with the Volt because it isn't a pure EV, which is primarily why I've always dismissed it. I figured that if I'm going EV, I may as well do away entirely with the gasser. But there's no non-Tesla EV that works for us as our primary vehicle in this are due to lack of charging infrastructure. For long distance travel, really it is Tesla or bust at the moment. For that reason, the Bolt is out.

The Volt (electric only) meets 90% of our needs and its gas extender makes the other 10% possible. Every short range EV meets our needs for the same 90% but fails completely at the 10%. Long range EVs of course still meet the 90%, but for the 10% its either a minor inconvenience with a Tesla, or a significant challenge otherwise. Actually where I said 10%, I meant 9%. Then there's the 1% where I go north... maybe 1 trip every 5 years or so... no EV can go there. But then for that we'll either keep the Honda (probably not) or rent something.

I said the Bolt is "out", but that's not a final decision. I'll take another closer look at charging to see if it would meet our 9% - in case things have changed. But then... there's the matter of availability, which is worse than the Volt. I've been told I can't have one until 2019 here - but that was by a dealership that I had to convince (and this is just this past May) that it even existed. They kept insisting I meant Volt with a V (*sigh*).

Again, I appreciate the insights. I'll arrange for a testdrive when I visit vancouver on the weekend of the 11th and I'll go from there.

llninja said:

Bob, don't lease. It is often the most expensive way to operate a vehicle. Others in this forum will disagree with me, but I'm against anything that gets you into a vehicle before you can afford it.

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I'm Steve, not Bob I've never leased and I agree about affording it. I always save up and buy my vehicles outright, and this next one would be no different... except that I think we're on a precipice of having a ton of options in 3 years, so leasing may be a better option knowing I probably won't want to keep it (other than to pass on to my son, but that's premature). So that's really my only reason to consider leasing... timing.

BillG said:

The Volt won't have any problem with the 1%.

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Yep, I know. I was referring to EVs with the 1% statement. The Volt will have that advantage over EV no matter what the range is... until we get to the inevitable point in the future where gas stations are rarities. But that's a long time out (I hope I'm wrong! I'd love to see EV take over that completely quickly)

Random said:

If you don't fall in love with either of the Volt or Bolt, I would hold off a year or two.

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I don't want to wait, to be honest. I don't feel safe for my family in the winter in the Fit. I'm a little ashamed that I've risked it this many winters. It isn't very stable and it is horrible in the snow. We already got very lucky in a crash once when my kid was just a baby. That thing just slips out without warning even with top of the line winter tires. Until a couple of years ago I couldn't do anything about it, but then I wanted to wait for the Model 3. Now - honestly - I wish I would have gotten a Volt then.

Random said:

Why did you say it would not work up north?

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Sorry I wasn't clear. I wasn't referring to weather. I just meant that North of me there is zero charging infrastructure for an EV.

[please tell me if I should be starting a new thread]

So... LT or Premier? Any insights?

I *think* I really want Adaptive Cruise Control. However, that appears to be a VERY expensive option. +4100 for Premier (to allow Driver Confidence II package, which is required), + 575 For Driver Confidence II, +575 for Driver Confidence (required for II), + 1375 (ACC itself) = $6625!! Granted, other stuff comes with that, of course. But unless I'm missing something, these are the perks:

- Slightly different wheels (I really couldn't care)
- Leather-Appointed Seat trim (I prefer cloth, generally. However I do like the pictures of that "Brandy" leather)
- Bose sound (does the basic system really suck?)
- Very limited safety enhancements (auto brakes sort of work but only at low speeds and not if the object about to be smooshed is smooshable... do I have that right?)
- Beeping things if the car thinks I'm not driving well (great... my wife gets the car backing her up!)

I think I've just talked myself into the LT, but I'd like to hear from owners if there's more to the Premier that I'm realizing.

Joe! That was so on point, it's creepy! I'm not sure if that was intentional, but the mountain range route in that video is EXACTLY the one I travel. I can't even come close to that kind of performance in my Fit. Surprisingly, the Fit isn't that horrible in the mountains. I pass a LOT of cars going up the steepest parts. It just sounds like I'm killing it (and I probably am) because it drops down a bunch of gears and whines like a banshee. But it isn't great either. Near the end of the video he goes through the tunnel... coming out of that is the hardest stretch. Big trucks are sometimes in the far right lane doing no more than 30kph (20mph). Most vehicles struggle to maintain 90kph (55mph), but with knowing the route and beginning acceleration in the tunnel, I can usually hold 110kph (70mph). Speed limit is 120kph (75mph). The guy in the video, unfortunately, didn't show his speedo at that section. For much of the drive he shows going 140 to 150 (85-95) but I suspect he wasn't able to there. He mentions he's at 130. But whatever the case, that demonstrated sufficient power in my view.

Sold! (almost). The only hesitation I have is at the end where he says he "hopes" GM can pull that off in a Gen 2. Is there some reason why Gen 2 cars wouldn't be as good on the mountains?? Am I missing anything where extra range is traded off for performance?

Thanks.

This mountain mode thing... I'm assuming it is selectable on the fly, right? I looked in the manual and it doesn't specify. I'm sure it is, but thought I'd check. It would be kind of annoying if I had to select when stopped.

Something else I'm not finding in the manual... does this car have an outside temperature display and/or (at least) a frost/ice warning indicator?


[edit]

I finally found this in the manual:

Outside Air Temperature Sensor
The outside air temperature sensor
is behind the front grille of the
vehicle. The vehicle uses the sensor
information to display outside air
temperature.

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That certainly suggests there is such a display, yet it isn't mentioned at all in the section regarding the instrument cluster, etc. I also see that there's an "Ice possible" warning that can come up.

Right on. I appreciate you taking the time to dig up that very personalized video for me Joe.

Really, I appreciate all the great responses here. Awesome community.

I think I'm sold. Premature statement, I know, because I haven't driven one yet. I briefly sat in one years ago but I don't recall much. None of the 4 dealerships within 2 hours drive from me (Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Merritt) have a Volt. Only one seemed even mildly interested in calling me if/when they got one. And that brings me back to why I really REALLY don't want to own a GM product. I really wanted to support Tesla - a company built from the ground up to supply an electrified fleet - over companies like GM, especially, who go out of their way to not sell them. But I can take solace in knowing they didn't sell me one... you guys did. By all accounts, their engineers have made a great car whether or not their management wants to treat it as more than a nuisance.

I'll have more luck near the coast. Several dealerships in the Vancouver area have them in stock and the couple of sales people I spoke to sounded eager (or at least not disinterested) to put me behind the wheel. I'm heading down that way in 9 days and I'll make a point of stopping in and trying one out.

I hedged my bets a couple of days ago by buying a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue for $300. It is registered, plated and insured for road use... and it's going to sit on my driveway (hopefully not leaking too much oil) for the next 5 months + 1 day, and that's when I hope to have the keys to the Volt (Early January). "A $300 Oldsmo-what-now?", you may rightfully ask. In BC we don't have the Federal tax incentive you guys do, but we have a $5000 incentive from the provincial government and a lesser known $6000 private-sector incentive that has some funky qualifications, including:

• Must buy an approved electric vehicle (Volt is the only non-pure-EV on the list. Tesla's S and X don't qualify - too expensive. 3 will qualify, but will conflict with next item on the list)
• There are only so many incentives available. They reset each calendar year and go until exhausted. Last year there were 500 and were gone by end of April. Next year? Who knows, but I bet they'll be gone quicker. Tesla 3 won't be available in Canada until later in the year.
• Must scrap a vehicle in exchange for the incentive. That vehicle has to be insured for road use and in the buyer/scrapper's name for 6 calendar months prior to buying the new EV.
• Several other i's and t's that need attention.

In any event, $11k less $700 ($300 car, $400 insurance to not drive it lol) is not bad! It isn't as good as they get in Ontario ($14k off just for smiling), but it is nothing to sneeze at either!

Actually I think I got a good deal on that Olds. The guy said it barely ran. It stalls every time you come to a stop sign. I topped up the oil, reset the trouble codes (which indicated crackshaft position sensor) and wiggled a wire (to that sensor) and it purrs! I've only gone around the block a few times, but it hasn't stalled since. Almost seems a shame to send it to the scrap yard... until I think about what its mpg's must be. Annoying thing is that the scrappers are just going to tune it up and sell it so it'll no doubt be back on the road. I'm going to keep the keys lol. At least make some trouble for them.

Thanks again everyone. Can't wait to be a productive member of your family. I'll annoy many of you - not everyone appreciates my quirks and I have a habit of feeding trolls - but my background should prove useful to some of the tech discussions.

Cheers.