Relax. Probably it wasn't charged all the way. Also the estimate is based on recent driving history. If all you're doing is turning it on and off and not going anywhere then you could get a very low estimate. But likely it wasn't fully charged.

We have seen any battery issues so I wouldn't worry about this.

 

The battery range can be very inaccurate or very accurate depending on previous driving and current driving as it is based on how the car was driven during recent charge cycles. A fully charged battery always has the ability to go X miles regardless of what the estimate is. Cold weather, heater use, fast driving, max AC reduce range. Slow speed, non aggressive driving increases range. Normal driving for a few charge cycles will improve the estimate. My wife likes it cold and she gets 38 miles on a charge, I use the econ setting for air and get 40 miles most of the time. The car may have been charged by using mountain mode causing the engine to run rather than plugging in. Mountain mode charges to less than 50% and is an inefficient way to increase the battery charge.

 

I would not worry too much about that low mileage on the battery "guestimate"... The dealership could have sat in the car numerous times with the air conditioner or heater running for 10's of minutes discussing the features and functions of the car with other customers before you. That would consume energy that would otherwise have been used towards increasing the mileage...

 

Sorry, writing this from my cell, will give more details in a bit.

 

I hope you will be released soon.

 

Yea mine went from 29 miles to 40 miles after 3 days of charging and driving.

 

it needs to take the time to calculate based on your driving habits.
it will get better after a few times charging and discharging..

Also, did you check to see how many kwH you actually used? That will tell you if it was fully charged or not

 

Squirm, you've been a member long enough that you probably know the things that could potentially cause a 26 mile range. While traveling in EV mode, were there a lot of hills involved, as can be the case in SF? Were you traveling at a high rate of speed? Were you driving into a headwind or pulling a trolley uphill? Were your tires inflated to at least 38 psi? If these were not factors, the car was fully charged (what was the estimate when you started the test drive?), and you weren't involved in an autocross event, something is probably wrong with the car. As you know, the 2015 should easily get 40 miles per charge under normal conditions. Did you check the temp of the rotors to see if the brakes were dragging? Was the car responsive? Is the car new or used? Did you drive 'til the ICE took over? Did you have A/C on in Comfort mode?

 

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies I have read them all. For a more detailed report, my wife and I casually stopped at the local Chevy dealer to test drive a Volt. It was a nice day to do so. While I have ridden in the Volts, I have never driven one. At work we have some consultants that drive them and have been out to lunch with them, but that is all, so here is my first impression.

First I was pretty blown away with the feel of it, feels very solid and good isolation from the road. Hardly any wind noise. Second, I'm a tall guy. Leg room was very nice. I like the seating position of sitting low with seat all back. Sorta sucked didn't have power seats, but no big deal. I can do without the cheesy center buttons though, would just rather have dials and such. Impressed with power, good enough. Exterior/interior looks were good enough. Wife likes the darker colors to hide that strange blackout trim under the windows, but I hate dark colors due to upkeep. Trunk space was good, back seating was good enough too. Again, it had a solid feel. Couldn't tell when the ICE kicked in, is that usual?

The car we drove didn't have the Bose, but that one I wanted did, I believe those have navigation. How is the navigation? Generally I just use my Garmin which works great and never causes issues, but if someone could writeup their usage with it, I'd appreciate it. By the way how is the Bose system? I didn't test out the standard stereo as I was more interested in listening to the car.

Dealer guy was clueless about everything, then again he was just a kid...maybe I'm getting too old.

So my first question regarding the charging came from the parking lot on my phone which after I gave it some thought realized it probably didn't have full charge. But again, thanks for the quick replies very nice of you fellows.

Questions. We have a 45 mile commute each way. Our house is located 1500' in elevation. Our work is about 50' in elevation, the climb starts around mile 30 when heading home. We have chargers at work which are Chargepoint. I believe we have to pay for it, is this normal? How are you billed? I believe it TOU on SMUD, I calculate about $1 per full charge. We are in central CA. Will charge at home too.

Realistically what will be the range on EV only? I would be great to be only EV all the time, doubt the '15 would do that, would the '16? What will the hills do to the range in the morning on the trip downhill to work, I would think extend it, but how bad will it be on the way home?

We test drove a dark grey that had leather seats. They also had white with beige leather seats, but the inserts felt like suede, what is that about?

Also, what is your guess the '16 would go for at the end of the cycle year, such as next year at this time? I wouldn't expect any deep discounts like GM is doing now, but I would think there would be something if demand stays as expected. We're in no hurry to buy anything, but generally I'm a buy at the end of a generation model to get the discounts, but then again I like the regular gas of the '16's and extra range. Still undecided I guess at this point. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Sticker said 8 year 100K battery warranty. I'm in CA, I believe that it goes to 10 year 150k? Is that correct?

BTW, tried to test the collision warning, but couldn't get it to chime even on increased distance. Not sure if the Generals way of distance tracking with a video camera is any worse or better than radar tracking, but does anyone have experience on the collision avoidance system?

 

California warranty as long as its a AT PZEV vehicle will be 10 year/150K miles on battery. ALL new Volts in CA sold by CA dealers are AT-PZEV

By collision warning I take it you mean Safety package 2? If so, it will only work at speeds I believe above 35 mph to stop from driving you crazy in traffic. Still annoyed the hell out of me. Not even loud enough and it has a flashing little car symbol on the instrument cluster you're supposed to notice while you are not looking at the road. Really a dumb thing.

If you are worried about the few pennies in the difference between regular and premium, maybe you shouldnt be thinking about a 30K car?

The beige interior has suede in the door inserts and the seat middle. Some like it, its too light for me.

Power seats rob about 1 inch of head room. Do not ask for them... they add weight and you lose headroom. Theres a reason the VOLT doesnt have them. To me they are silly.

I for one, like the BOSE system... its not a power house but its loud enough. Nice and clear sounding.

But dont forget, you are trying to make compressed music, that gets further compressed through bluetooth sound great.. Ehhhh... not really gonna get there. Sirius and XM are very very compressed. You will need to set each radio mode... ie FM,CD, SIRIUS and Bluetooth and AUX separately in the bass, treble and midrange. DO this once, it should stay the same.

I have a 2014 and I get 48 miles without too much effort. I use 10.8kwh on my battery when its empty. I almost always get at least 4miles per kwh..

 

For the 2015 MY, you should be able to make it to work on a charge but likely not coming back unless you're an ecco driver. the elevation gain and loss = mass X gravitational constant X gain/loss. It will make a difference. You should be able to do both the out and return with the 2016 MY. But realistically it's not a huge difference since you'll likely only use one or two tenths of a gallon or so for each return trip. Just as a comparison, my MY 2011 Volt is rated for 35 miles AER and I usually get 38-42 miles depending mostly on the temperature. The 2015 MY Volt has a larger battery. GM didn't recertify it but the range is likely 40 miles. So say 44-48 without an elevation gain or loss. Will definitely make it out. May not make it back.

The ChargePoint rates vary so you'll need to check with your work as to what the rates are. You get about 3 miles/kWh, so if the charge is $.15/kWh then you'll be paying $.05/mile.

I don't think the NAV is necessary. If you're happy with your Garmin I'd stay with that (I have the NAV FWIW).

Hard to tell if the ICE kicks in unless you need more power. That's because the the ICE puts out average not peak power, so if the car needs peak power it needs to supplement from the battery. If the battery isn't available the engine can stress.

If I were in your shoes I'd buy the 2015 MY. The 2016 MY will be better in many respects but likely not worth the premium (one reason suggested for not recertifying the range was to make the 2015 MY less desireable). Premium versus regular isn't very important because you use so little of it and the Volt gets decent MPG when in CS Mode (engine running).

Can't help with the other Qs. Hope this helps.

 

Regular gas for the 2015 won't make a difference. Here is why. The engineering choice was to be conservative on not letting gas get stale, and premium lasts longer. However in choosing premium it allowed GM to tune the engine and timing to get 20% better mileage than they were getting on regular. So, the trade off becomes, man I have to pay 15% more for gas? Yes, but you get 20% better mileage to make up for it.

With that said, for the 2016 you would get slightly better mileage AND not use premium. However, you also get more electric range, which for most folks, that better gas mileage - will mean even less than it did before. What is the advantage of a car doing something well, when 80% of the time the driver doesn't use it...bragging rights!

 

I just drove a 939 mile round trip to my brother's place and back and spent $62.70 for gas. Figuring a .40 spread, at the maximum, between PUG and RUG, it cost an extra $8.55, again at the max, to use premium. Meh!

 

I would go with the 2016. I agree with DonC that, overall, the 2016 is not so much better that it's worth paying full MSRP vs. a good bargain on a 2015, but in your case, you are going to be at the limit of the range everyday, and probably will see the gas engine come on at the tail end of your daily trips often enough to find it aggravating. With the 2016, in CA, you should have enough buffer to allow even some additional errands.

 

So your saying the Battery Charge ICON was displaying a FULL Charge yet was only reporting a range of 26 miles?

Here's what my car is displaying right now

If that Volt had a FULL Charge yet a range of only 26 miles I would than say it had been driven pretty hard in Sport Mode with the AC cranked to max.

In any event that number is always adjusting based on previous driving conditions. I doubt there is anything wrong with that Volt.

 

I have a 2015. When the weather in mild here at the Beach I constantly get 50 miles indicated range for a full charge. For comparison, my wife's 2012 shows 43 miles under the same conditions.

As to the collision alert, I like it and it works well. It beeps the front speakers. It doesn't apply the brakes, but will kick you out of cruise control. Since I drive in "L" that's almost as good as applying brakes.

The lane departure warning beeps the left or right speakers, depending on which side of the lane you're crossing.

 

Sounds like you live in the Sierra foothills and commute down to Sacramento.

A 2015 Volt should get you down to your destination fully on electricity except during the coldest days of the year where you might use a little gas. Going back home, you'd be going up in elevation which would have you using gas at the end of your drive for most of the year, if not all the time. Best chance of making it back home on full electric power would be during warm weather and if you drive economically.

A 2016 Volt should have a better chance of getting you back home fully on electric power especially from late spring into October when the days warm up. At any rate, you'd be using a bit less gas, perhaps a fraction of a gallon less per day. Not sure if the cost difference would be that important over the course of a year however.

If the comfort and performance of the 2015 are acceptable as you say, then I'd recommend pulling the trigger on one. You'd likely be shelling out less money for the 2015 than you would a 2016, and you'd be enjoying the benefits of gas savings right away.

 

I have a 2014 with a 40 mile one way commute that does include some uphill climbing, although not as much as you would (maybe 500' elevation change for me). You will be surprised at how variable the EV range is. Some days I get 41 miles and make it all the way to the parking lot on EV. Some days I only get 31 miles. Most of my commute is highway driving, and I never see 50 mile ranges under those conditions.

I average exactly what the Volt is rated for: 38 miles EV. I would not expect more, or you might be disappointed.

I do have and use the Nav system. It is OK as all built in systems are. It does have text to speech (my prior car didn't) butI am not fond of how it handles traffic notices. It just tells you "traffic ahead" with no real info. I like that you can get a next turn display on the DIC when you are being routed. I believe it does have lane information which is always useful. Overall, your Garmin probably has all the same features in a better user interface, but I prefer the clean look the built in NAV gives me.

 

It just tells you "traffic ahead" with no real info.

It will give you more info on the delay if you hit the right buttons/icons -- like whether just accumulating traffic or an accident. However, it's tough to figure out and use while driving.