GM Volt Forum banner

Volt Vs Mustang, yeah, Volt wins!

7K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  Nick 
#1 · (Edited)


I'm a new owner as of February, and loving the Volt-o-rama.

Tho, sadly, it's in the shop right now to have a heater element replaced. Somehow I managed to burn it out :( But they're doing the recall fix in the process. Two birds and a stone and all.

Anywho, I was traveling last week and had to rent a car for a ~200 mile drive. I ended up with a Ford Mustang, the V8 kind that goes REALLY FAST. It was fun and all... but ... when I got back in my Volt, I was impressed with the Volt much more. I wouldn't trade it for a Mustang :eek:

The Volt is IMHO a smoother ride, is more responsive off the line, is quicker to steer, and is more comfortable. When I was driving the Mustang, it seemed like it took FOR EVER for the engine to rev up and the auto tranny to engage if I punched the accelerator from a dead stop. I'm sure the 30-60+ acceleration of the Mustang is way more than the Volt, but I'm betting that for 0-30, the volt would hold it's own. Anyone happen to know the 0-30 times?

Ok, I know, I sound like a total speed freak and I'm really not. But the responsiveness of the volt in sport mode has made me into a bit of an addict about this - being able to hit the throttle and get an instant response. Must be something in that reptilian part of the brain.

The Mustang did do better at higher speeds. At above 70, the Mustang was incredibly stable and confident. It was easy to get it up above the speed limit without even noticing. In the volt, when I'm running above 70, it's still pretty smooth, but not as smooth or confident as the Mustang. Well, not surprising.

I did once take the Volt up to it's max speed of 101. On a test track in the open desert, of course ;). When it got to that, it said "speed limit reached" and it cut back on the throttle. It does pretty well at higher speeds.

I owned one of the first Prii (plural Prius?). This Volt is soooo much more fun to drive!

One last comment. I took the Volt for a 2,000 mile drive to S. California and back recently. It was a champ. Overall mileage was ~38.2 MPG (according to internal system). Average speed through desert was, well, something I can't really say in an open forum.

I only charged it once on the way there, but on the way back there was no power outlet at the motel. (And, besides, I was in a motel near Area 51, in a blizzard, and the power went off after I witnessed two transformers blow up. It was a spooky night.)

Anyway, thanks to all of you who're advocating for the Volt! I've been an EV buff for a while, I even did the crazy thing of starting a bike shop that focused on electric bikes. It's good to see some momentum building.

OH YEAH, I forgot to mention one more big advantage of the volt compared to other electric-only EV's. Recently the city decided to replace sewer lines, so they shut down our garage access for almost a week. There's no way to charge the car anywhere else around the house, and we had to park it on the street. If we'd been dependent on only charging, the volt would have been dead-in-the-water. Hurray for the backup generator! It's great for when power access is limited.
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
#4 ·
The thing is, as far as I know all of these times are taken based on when the car starts accelerating, not when the driver see a chance. I think the pedal response delay isn't captured in any of the metrics (and on several recent cars it's gotten annoyingly large.) The Volt is faster to respond to me than any other car I've driven, which lets me respond to traffic faster, even though it doesn't have as much power when floored.
 
#5 ·
Hey Walter, that's my experience as well. In the Mustang, I'd floor it (just for grins) and it seemed like a long delay before the whole thing got moving. Once it did, it was fast... but the Volt just seems more spry and nimble.
 
#7 ·
I switched from a Mustang Cobra to a Volt but the Volt has more responsive handling and a more peppy feel in many situations. From 0-20 MPH, they are pretty even in acceleration but after that, the Cobra blows the doors off the Volt. Practically speaking, the Volt really shines where a combination of acceleration and handling are required such as pulling out in a narrow window of oncoming traffic to make a left turn onto a road. The Volt is better because the poor weight balance in the Mustang requires a deft touch to keep the rear tires from sliding out of control. From 35-65 MPH, the Volt's acceleration is pretty pedestrian. The Volt is so much quieter but the noise of the Mustang is partially deliberate as it is designed to draw attention the same way that monkeys use their bellows to make territorial claims at the zoo. There is one clear advantage that the Mustang has: it comes in a converible model. I would sacrifice some MPG and pay more to have a Volt convertible or at least a sunroof.
 
#9 ·
I'm a new Volt owner (less than a week) but so far the car exceeds every need/expectation I have for an automobile. This coming from a life long muscle car/Corvette owner since 1968. I've owned 6 Corvette's my last being a 2007 Z06. In fact I traded in my wife's 08 Jaguar XK on the Volt, so my expectations are rather high.

Real world experiences are all that is needed to tell the true story about the virtues/capabilities of the Volt. I have had more folks stop me and talk about the Volt in 5 days of ownership than any of my Corvette's.

This car is amazing, BTW I was contacted by my Volt Advisor and provided my own personal advisor and phone number. This is the kind of support that will take the Volt and GM to the next level.

Cheers

Tom
USAF Retired
 
#10 ·
This car is amazing, BTW I was contacted by my Volt Advisor and provided my own personal advisor and phone number. This is the kind of support that will take the Volt and GM to the next level.
The Volt is at the top of customer satisfaction surveys and owners think of it as having the highest perceived value, so it's hard to argue that it's not a super solid offering. With respect to the Volt Advisors, no idea who came up with the idea for them but it was inspired. The longer you're around the more you appreciate all they can do. Lincoln has announced that it is going to distinguish itself with a personal service team. Seems that Chevy may have beaten them to the punch!
 
#11 ·
That is an awesome story. I can similarly say that the easy to use, serenely quiet electric car in my garage has made me view my extremely involved and loud sports cars in another light also. Lets say digging the sports cars out after winter hasn't made me hate my daily driver and forget that its there. This has happened every spring until now.

Electric cars done this well are really really something. Its tough to imagine, as another poster mentioned above, anybody really wanting to go back to the world of ICE after a good long time of owning a Volt.
 
#12 ·
...the responsiveness of the volt in sport mode has made me into a bit of an addict about this - being able to hit the throttle and get an instant response. Must be something in that reptilian part of the brain...
It is addicting! I've found myself being challenged at traffic lights or climbing steep inclines through the mountains. In all cases they have ended up in my rearview mirror.... looking at a license plate that says "WattGas"! To me it's more advocating than personal satisfaction. The Volts not a super speedster, I think the main keys are instantaneous response and stealth. Most ICE automobiles would be charged with excessive acceleration due to their loud high revving engine sound.
 
#13 ·
Hi MorganG,
I'm trying to sell my GT 2002 Convertible before to take my new babe (born on March 15)and delivery around on April 20. It was along wait. In 02-03 when I purchase my Mustang and I saw the first drawing of the Volt. I knew that the Chevy should be my next car one day....For my self it is a perfect sell to old car for an revolutionary car. Thank GM.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top