[firehawk72]

Ok, let's get straight to the point. If GM axes the Volt in just a few months, what does a person buy that is on par with the Volt? Basically, not much...if anything...GM might just force me and others to purchase a Tesla for comparable performance. I live in Kentucky where there is nowhere to charge except a Tesla. The Volts power tech was perfect for me. All my local driving was basically gas free at full electric no matter what, speed, full throttle, you name it and the Volt performed. I can't imagine not using this tech in a mid sized to large sized suv like the traverse or equinox...but what is there that can do over 50 miles pure electric without fear of long distance charging for long trips. Seems premature to me by a long shot.

 

[leppard3]

What do you think about the Honda Clarity ?

 

[firehawk72]

What do you think about the Honda Clarity ?

Fugly, no full electric performance, no hatchback, did I mention Fugly, I also operated the radio/enfotainment screen for 20 minutes and realized it was a death trap as there are no knobs and it is about as unintuitive as DOS

 

[alane]

a used volt.

 

[Steverino]

a used volt.

Yes, or a heavily discounted new 2018 or 2019 Volt.

Volvo has a PHEV but pricy

 

[Don M]

What to buy today is pretty much the same as it was last month - Buy what you like that best suits your needs. Sounds like in your circumstance, that just might be a Volt for you, so go get a '19 and plan to drive it for ten years. That was my plan when I bought our '17 and nothing has changed

Don

 

[firehawk72]

What to buy today is pretty much the same as it was last month - Buy what you like that best suits your needs. Sounds like in your circumstance, that just might be a Volt for you, so go get a '19 and plan to drive it for ten years. That was my plan when I bought our '17 and nothing has changed

Don

Oh, I believe you misunderstood me. I have a 16 Volt and I had a 12. To discontinue a model you would think you would ALREADY have a better model. Expect GM to lose a lot of loyal fans in this transition.

 

[FI Spyder]

Four of my six cars are manufacturers that no longer exist, the fifth is a model not in production for almost twenty years (all foreign) the oldest is 42 years old and no problems getting parts although the newest is getting shy on parts. It will be interesting to see what happens down the road with the Volt though. It is supply and demand. Will some one come up with a battery pack substitute to keep them rolling, perhaps a small sized large storage universal pack?

 

[Don M]

Oh, I believe you misunderstood me. I have a 16 Volt and I had a 12. To discontinue a model you would think you would ALREADY have a better model. Expect GM to lose a lot of loyal fans in this transition.

4 door sedans are no longer in vogue - Ford has already said they are discontinuing most of theirs and now GM is too - They just aren't selling. I expect the Voltec powertrain to show up in a mid-size SUV in the near future . . . . something larger than the Bolt. Will it be available as a 2020 model? Doubtful or we would probably already know about it, but it will happen. SUV's are selling well and EV's are the wave of the future. Common sense the two would come together and I think quite soon

Don

 

[VoltAP1]

4 door sedans are no longer in vogue - Ford has already said they are discontinuing most of theirs and now GM is too - They just aren't selling. I expect the Voltec powertrain to show up in a mid-size SUV in the near future . . . . something larger than the Bolt. Will it be available as a 2020 model? Doubtful or we would probably already know about it, but it will happen. SUV's are selling well and EV's are the wave of the future. Common sense the two would come together and I think quite soon

Don

I don't think PHEVs have a very long lifespan ahead of them due to regulatory pressures. CARB and Chinese regulations on how many credits a pure BEV are vs. a PHEV mean it makes sense for manufacturers to just eat the lower profit on a few more BEVs rather than also creating PHEV versions of their regular lineup, even though the widespread adoption of PHEVs would probably yield the biggest CO2 reduction versus a tiny amount of additional BEVs.

The BEV zealots on most online EV news sites would disagree, but I think most vehicles driving 80%+ of their miles on EV power is way better than a small percentage doing 100% of their miles on EV power and the rest being 100% ICE powered.


I view the regulatory skew against PHEVs as a huge blow against reducing people's prejudices against EVs. Once they experience how nice it is to drive around with quiet instant torque and no automatic transmission shifting, it'll funnel more and more people into accepting BEVs in their life in the future.

 

[Cruze2Volt]

Oh, I believe you misunderstood me. I have a 16 Volt and I had a 12. To discontinue a model you would think you would ALREADY have a better model. Expect GM to lose a lot of loyal fans in this transition.

I agree. I've been researching the Volt for quite a while now, but there weren't any for sale when I leased my Cruze. I planned to end my Cruze lease early, pay the penalties, and buy a Volt late next year. Looks like a GM EV won't be in my future after all and I'm pretty irritated about it. My lease is up early 2020 and I can guarantee a replacement EV will NOT be available by then. I'm pretty peeved at GM at the moment as well. I agree with your sentiment that it is pretty crappy that they're going to cancel the Volt without having something else already ready to go. It feels like a decade ago all over again with all the auto manufacturers stopping production of fuel efficient cars.

 

[Steverino]

IIt feels like a decade ago all over again with all the auto manufacturers stopping production of fuel efficient cars.

I agree. On the other hand, I'd also say that your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers played a huge role too. Not enough of them bought the Volt. If there were 200,000 volts flying out the doors, GM would not be canceling it. I'm glad I have mine (and a Bolt EV). A fantastic combination for our two car family.

 

[Whatstreet]

The other PHEVs do not excite me. BEVs are still limited or extremely inconvenient.

Looks like it might be several years before there are any good choices.

I might buy a used i3 rex to hold me over until then to reduce using a half ton SUV for errands. The Bolt is interesting for that also.

I still have the Volt for commuting and I use it for about half of the recreational travel.

 

[KenC]

I'd be looking at a Kia Nero.

 

[VoltAP1]

The other PHEVs do not excite me. BEVs are still limited or extremely inconvenient.

Looks like it might be several years before there are any good choices.

I might buy a used i3 rex to hold me over until then to reduce using a half ton SUV for errands. The Bolt is interesting for that also.

I still have the Volt for commuting and I use it for about half of the recreational travel.

I was thinking about this today. I would probably lean towards a 2019+ BMW i3 REX. ~150 mi of EV range would cover damn near all my driving, and the REX could then truly be an emergency backup generator that's seldom called upon.

I love BMWs, but their modern focus on creating designs that just barely make it through the initial warranty period then absolutely fall apart made me have a strict "NO BMW!" policy on this car purchase. Otherwise I might have given the i3 a further look.

But I think the i3 pre-2016 models had horrible range (~80 mi) to only have a tiny REX that should only be used sparingly where the range doesn't satisfy all your driving maybe a few days out of the year. Even the 2019 model having ~150 mi of range still makes me think it'd need a REX. But at least the offering is at least starting to get compelling (on the used market).

I'd want 250+ mi AER to really think I wouldn't need a REX, and even then, charging gets mighty spotty if you head out due east from Seattle, and you're going to climb some pretty serious mountains out there. I guess that's what I like about the Volt, you can do 95% of your driving on EV power, then not even worry about it in the slightest if you've got to just get in and drive a bunch that day. Sad to see it go...

 

[VoltAP1]

BTW - on the Honda Clarity, I've got to say the biggest drawback is how little acceleration you need to trigger the ICE. I think it'll do 0-60 mph in about 13 seconds if you carefully apply max EV power. Ugh... The 2G Volt is about twice as fast to 60, and probably 3x as fast to 30-35 mph, all on EV power.

I'm not always hammering the car while commuting, but I do make judicious usage of the smooth EV power of the Volt for brief periods. It's one of the strong points of the car IMO. I'd feel like I was driving an old clunker if I could at best keep up with traffic or trigger the ICE.

 

[Fred_B]

Yes, there is nothing currently to replace the Volt. The Honda Clarity seems about the closest, but as others have said it is rather unattractive, not a hatchback, and the ICE will come on if you're not driving slowly enough. I love how you can floor the Volt to get it to really move when needed and it's still all electric. So fast and smooth and quiet. And even when the ICE is running it still has the same electric feel and performance. I'm not sure if the Clarity is still electric drive when the ICE is running.

My Volt is 5 years old and has only about 26k miles so I plan to drive it at least another 5 years. But if I had to replace it today the Honda Clarity would probably be at the top of the list although I would MUCH prefer another Volt.

The Volt was my first GM (and first American) car, and has been the best car I have ever owned. Sad to see it go.

 

[marcusm]

Nothing really like it out there. Don’t want to go full EV until charging infrastructure is better built out. Personally if I was in the market for now I’d get another Volt while they are still around. Parts won’t be an issue for at least 10 years.

Hopefully GM will keep the drivetrain around.

 

[Jim_N_Tonic]

Hyundai Ionic PHEV? Don't know anything about them, but it's an option.

 

[mrick]

I thought I read that this is shared technology and chrysler was using it for a mini van. Kia Soul perhaps?