[bcool]

Took our first long-distance trip in our Gen 2 this weekend - 190 miles from St. Louis to Peoria.

It was SO wonderful not having to plan our trip around finding a high-speed charger to enable us to get back home!

That being said, we were able to take advantage of free Level 2 chargers (one at McDonald's, no less!) and were able to run on electric the whole time we were in Peoria. All 3 times we used them they were at our planned stops so we didn't have to alter our schedule to use them - sweet!

Our trip to Peoria and back cost $18.00 in gas. Not bad, indeed.

And the best part is, we didn't have to go out of our way to find a high speed charger and waste time wherever one was, waiting for it to recharge.

The Volt technology is the best all-round use of the technology - kudos to Chevy!

 

[Off Oil]

I've often use the following explanation to those biased against the backup generator: "The backup generator is my Supercharger." They usually get the point with this analogy.

Until the DC CCS system is widely deployed, the Volt is the perfect EV. With my new commute, I will be putting on ~20,000 miles a year on my 2017, and I still will only be using the backup generator for road trips.

 

[volt11]

When all-electric cars deliver a reliable 300+ miles, I'll seriously consider getting one of those. In the meantime, there is nothing else like Voltec for both convenience and electric operation.

The only related criticism I have of my ELR is that the gas tank is undersized. Rated at 31mpg with the performance package, that yields around a 270 mile range on gas. And I do get 30 or 31 when travelling the interstates at 75-80 mph, in quiet and refined sybaritic luxury, which I think is excellent. But I really wish it could hold at least 3 more gallons. Obviously much less of a problem for the new Volt, which gets more like 360 miles on a tank.

 

[HAL8950]

Love my Volt, but I wish Chevrolet had added or given the option for a 7.2 charger in the Gen 2's. when I am able to opportunity charge, would like the ability to get more into the battery in less time!

 

[mbsmd]

Love my Volt, but I wish Chevrolet had added or given the option for a 7.2 charger in the Gen 2's. when I am able to opportunity charge, would like the ability to get more into the battery in less time!

Perhaps in the Gen 3.

 

[rmay635703]

Perhaps in the Gen 3.

For scale they should use the same L2 charger for the 2018 volt as the Bolt

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Took our first long-distance trip in our Gen 2 this weekend - 190 miles from St. Louis to Peoria.

It was SO wonderful not having to plan our trip around finding a high-speed charger to enable us to get back home!

That being said, we were able to take advantage of free Level 2 chargers (one at McDonald's, no less!) and were able to run on electric the whole time we were in Peoria. All 3 times we used them they were at our planned stops so we didn't have to alter our schedule to use them - sweet!

Our trip to Peoria and back cost $18.00 in gas. Not bad, indeed.

And the best part is, we didn't have to go out of our way to find a high speed charger and waste time wherever one was, waiting for it to recharge.

The Volt technology is the best all-round use of the technology - kudos to Chevy!

In a Tesla you'd stop at Scheels in Springfield, IL.
Downsides: drive extra 6 1/2 miles; spend more time refueling
Upsides: use no gasoline; don't eat at McDonalds.

 

[SuperJ]

For scale they should use the same L2 charger for the 2018 volt as the Bolt

Totally agree... i bet the cost difference to GM is less than $50 for the upgrade. The chinzy 3.3kw is lame. ( I deplete twice a day with my 75 mile each way commute)

 

[Fyodor]

Totally agree... i bet the cost difference to GM is less than $50 for the upgrade. The chinzy 3.3kw is lame. ( I deplete twice a day with my 75 mile each way commute)

It's not so much about the cost of the hardware as it is restricting the strain on your home wiring. They assume you are using the same plug you use for your lawnmower and Christmas lights. When I was (briefly) shopping for a Leaf, Nissan wouldn't sell me one without a home electrical inspection.

 

[volt11]

It's not so much about the cost of the hardware as it is restricting the strain on your home wiring. They assume you are using the same plug you use for your lawnmower and Christmas lights. When I was (briefly) shopping for a Leaf, Nissan wouldn't sell me one without a home electrical inspection.

Are you saying they wouldn't sell you the car without an inspection? A 240V charger draws up to 30 amps, and should definitely be inspected, and preferably done professionally. So I'm really not sure what you're saying here.

But I agree with everyone who is disappointed that GM has never offered 6.6kW charging for the Volt, and I think it was especially lame to not make it standard or at least available on the ELR, being a premium product. It seems like GM has never really understood the EV market, despite their ability to make excellent electric cars. In stark contrast to Tesla, whose sales and street cred are directly related to intelligent appraisal of why the people who buy EVs want EVs.

 

[bjrosen]

It's not so much about the cost of the hardware as it is restricting the strain on your home wiring. They assume you are using the same plug you use for your lawnmower and Christmas lights. When I was (briefly) shopping for a Leaf, Nissan wouldn't sell me one without a home electrical inspection.

We are talking about L2 charging not L1. L2 EVSEs use a dedicated 240V line which is sized appropriately, mine is 50A, and a 7.2KW EVSE is only a couple of hundred dollars more than a 3.6KWh EVSE (my ClipperCreek cost $595). The weak charger in the Volt isn't a problem at home, 4.5 hours is plenty fast for that purpose. The place where it hurts is destination charging, 4.5 hours is dinner and an opera, a symphony or a movie isn't long enough. You also get screwed if the charging isn't free. Chargepoint charges by the hour not by the KW so the cost is double for a Volt because of it's 3.6KW charger, in MA it works out to 40 cents/KW.

 

[Loboc]

Volt is a gateway drug.

When 300-mi EVs and public DCFC is ubiquitous the Volt will fade into the antique category. Of course, this includes 300-mi SUVs and Pickups, so, it could be a while. I'm thinking 2025.

 

[mike100]

A...

But I agree with everyone who is disappointed that GM has never offered 6.6kW charging for the Volt, and I think it was especially lame to not make it standard or at least available on the ELR, being a premium product. ....

I sometimes wonder if they left the charging rate on our cars low for battery life considerations. If you can get over self imposed range anxiety, the car will simply go into ICE-- no need for faster charging. I suspect the engineers want the gas engine to be used more often anyhow. The second part of this thought is there was a weight/cost compromise on the smaller charger which supports your argument about it just simply being a premium feature that could be offered, but wasn't.

 

[Sheldon]

Volt is a gateway drug.

When 300-mi EVs and public DCFC is ubiquitous the Volt will fade into the antique category. Of course, this includes 300-mi SUVs and Pickups, so, it could be a while. I'm thinking 2025.

I'm hoping to keep my gen2 Volt for a long long time. Gasoline will still be available in 2025. The limitations of super-charging won't go away either. If a car based on the Voltec concept is no longer be available 2025, then the used Volts will be a one of a kind amazing antique....

My own theory is that battery density will more than double in the next 10 years, so the overhead of an 18kwh gen2 Volt battery will become reasonable for more cars. The transmission and EV motor assembly is already pretty darn compact for the gen2. But the T battery takes up a lot of space.

 

[Bacardi]

Nissan wouldn't sell me one without a home electrical inspection.

Wow, the level dealers go...Sounds like the salesmen that told you that was trying to steer to an ICE...I'll bet you if you call the dealership today and ask "I'm looking to buy a Leaf, is it a requirement to provide a home electrical inspection?" the dealership would say no...

Edit, I believe you meant Nissan wouldn't sell you a L2 vs a Leaf which is somewhat understandable especially if routinely have to cancel L2 orders...

 

[Elemental]

I bet I've seen you.

 

[mvanzanten]

We know that the regenerative braking charges the battery at a much higher level than the onboard charger (3.3 Kwh Gen1, 3.6 Gen2), but nobody charges their battery from fully depleted to fully charged with regenerative braking. I am sure the engineers at GM know what they are doing. If we were to do a full battery charge once or more per day with a 6.6 or 7.2 Kwh onboard charger, it may degrade the battery (which is relatively small in the electric vehicle scheme of things) over the lifespan of the vehicle.

 

[bjrosen]

I sometimes wonder if they left the charging rate on our cars low for battery life considerations. If you can get over self imposed range anxiety, the car will simply go into ICE-- no need for faster charging. I suspect the engineers want the gas engine to be used more often anyhow. The second part of this thought is there was a weight/cost compromise on the smaller charger which supports your argument about it just simply being a premium feature that could be offered, but wasn't.

If it was for battery life reasons then it's a reasonable compromise, if it was just cost then it was a poor choice although I can see why they would have thought that it made sense when they were discussing the subject in their design meetings. They were very conservative when it came to the design of the battery system and it's paid off. They've built > 100K Volts and they haven't had any battery failures which is remarkable (assuming that they aren't covering them up). The Leaf on the other hand goes through batteries like a flashlight which goes to show you want happens when you make bad choices.

 

[Bacardi]

They've built > 100K Volts and they haven't had any battery failures which is remarkable (assuming that they aren't covering them up).

There are reports of failures; I think the report you're referring to is that they haven't replaced any batteries due to degradation...On a positive note, it's reported that ride sharing service SoCal to Vegas Model S which frequently supercharges to 100% reported minimal degradation...So the hope is minimal degradation to all EV owners...Yet if that's a concern, just lease...

 

[Fyodor]

Wow, the level dealers go...Sounds like the salesmen that told you that was trying to steer to an ICE...I'll bet you if you call the dealership today and ask "I'm looking to buy a Leaf, is it a requirement to provide a home electrical inspection?" the dealership would say no...

Edit, I believe you meant Nissan wouldn't sell you a L2 vs a Leaf which is somewhat understandable especially if routinely have to cancel L2 orders...

Remember, I'm talking about over five years ago when Leafs were brand new on the Canadian market. They don't ask for this now. The car came bundled with a level 2 charger which was and is (IMO) the only way to make a Leaf practical. My impression at the time was that the inspection was meant to cover the existing home wiring, but after a test drive in January I lost interest.