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Disclaimer: I have always "hated" electric cars and been driving V8 cars for a better part of the last decade. Currently have 1 AMG - 1 GL450 and a 6.0L GTO. All love gas. I enjoy driving each.
Back to the point:
I test drove a Volt - 2 yrs ago, and while everything was great, I absolutely loathed the fact that GM wanted 42k Plus for this. No, I did'nt even try talking numbers. My E550 with warranty for 4 years cost me 31k.
Fast forward to today. I saw a Volt plugged-in in our parking structure. And, I understand, GM dropped the price by 4k and with federal subsidies, it's closer to 32,5k. I am in Texas.
My commute is 18 miles one way. So a total of 40 miles max.
Does this mean, All I do is charge the car at work / home and never worry abt the Gas?
How has your Volt been - driving experience wise?
There's a 2011 Volt with 12k or so miles for $25k. any differences in 2011 /2012/ 2013?
Disclaimer: I have always "hated" electric cars and been driving V8 cars for a better part of the last decade. Currently have 1 AMG - 1 GL450 and a 6.0L GTO. All love gas. I enjoy driving each.
I enjoy gasoline cars, too. But, I really don't care what powers the car so long as it's at least slightly fun.
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Back to the point:
I test drove a Volt - 2 yrs ago, and while everything was great, I absolutely loathed the fact that GM wanted 42k Plus for this. No, I did'nt even try talking numbers. My E550 with warranty for 4 years cost me 31k.
Fast forward to today. I saw a Volt plugged-in in our parking structure. And, I understand, GM dropped the price by 4k and with federal subsidies, it's closer to 32,5k. I am in Texas.
Base price for a Volt is still $38k, but with normally desirable options it can get to $43k pretty easily. My 2013 only had the alloy wheels and premium leather interior, and listed at $41k. I didn't want the two safety packages (back up camera, front parking sensors, etc) or factory nav. With OnStar it still has voice turn by turn navigation, using your phone to connect, so the additional in dash nav is kind of pointless, to me.
If you deal with an internet sales manager, you can get up to $2800 off the top, just through those incentives, and then there's the $7500 federal tax credit (that if you purchase, you won't see until the following tax year. I leased, so it comes right off the top in that case). Plus any state credits that might be available. I've heard that the federal credit will be increased to $10k, so you might want to wait for that... Of course, none of the incentives apply to used cars.
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My commute is 18 miles one way. So a total of 40 miles max.
Does this mean, All I do is charge the car at work / home and never worry abt the Gas?
Yup. If you charge at home, in the warmer months you will see about a 50-60 mile total actual range out of it (42-44 indicated, but I've gone my 7 mile commute using only 2 miles of indicated range, by driving in Low to maximise the regen). Of course, as it gets down to freezing outside, the range drops to an indicated 35 or so, and below 25 degrees, the engine will kick on to maintain the battery pack. If you can charge at work, too, you'll see quite a bit more EV range per day.
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How has your Volt been - driving experience wise?
I love it. It's reasonably quick (280 lb ft of torque at "idle" will do that) and fun to drive, with decent handling and a bit of a sporty feeling. I drive with the trans in Low and with Sport mode engaged for better throttle tip in and agressive regen "braking" when you let off the throttle. The EV thrust is smooth and quiet and actually feels like a big engine luxury car (much like my 740iL). If you drive in D and in normal mode, it feels completely different, as there is little regen and it will coast forever, and you also have to use more throttle travel to make it accelerate quickly. If you test drive another one, make sure you try out the Sport mode and L gear combination, as well as Normal and D. Feel teh difference (you probably had it in Normal and D for your last test drive. Salesmen don't know that there are other modes). You can use L gear all the way up to 100 mph, as it's not really another gear ratio, it just mimics the engine braking of a lower gear ratio by making regen aggressive. It's aggressive enough that I've been able to add a couple miles of range to the car just coming off an offramp of the highway and letting low gear slow the car and put energy back into the battery.
I find the premium leather seats to be more comfortable, and in my case, the Pebble Beige gives suede inserts on the seats and door panels (the black leather interior has no suede and the door panel inserts are smooth plastic.). The base interior is cloth, and it feels kind of cheap, to me. I'd definitely spring for one of the premium interiors. Also, there is a choice, with the black or base interiors, to have the center stack and instrument binnacle to be glossy white plastic or charcoal grey. I prefer the charcoal grey.
A couple months back, my wife took it on a 1500 mile weeklong trip to CT and back, so she used some gasoline (it got about 60 mpg highway, even though it's only rated at 37, but theres a reason for that, as I'll explain in a bit). But since that time, I've gone anouther 2 months without putting fuel in it at all. I have used a couple gallons of gas, since one trip I went 65 miles in one day with no recharge, and a coupe other times I used the 2013's "hold" mode to use gas on the highway in order to save electric range for city use.
Hold mode is new for 2013, and it allows you to use the gas generator when it's most efficient, and the pure EV modes for when they are most efficient. By using hold mode, the generator runs to "hold" the battery charge at whatever level it was on when you changed modes. It'll actually build charge and then shut the engine down while you are driving, as the engine is not used to drive the wheels, until you are doing close to 100 mph (I've had it over 80 mph in normal and sport modes and the engine never fires up...). By using Hold mode, you can improve engine efficinecy on the highway to get about 60 mpg (lowest I've seen if 45 mpg). The car is rated at 37 mpg because the EPA tested it in normal mode and let the engine run after the battery was depleted, at which point you're using it to not only maintain the battery charge, but run at low speeds in town where it's just not as efficient.
Battry range is also affected by using the climate control settings. Fan only is what it says, and runs only the fans. Not bad most of the time, and uses very little power, so you maximize range. Eco is a setting that allows limited heating and AC (it uses electric heat and AC powered by the main battery pack), and works well to maintain temps even at local extremes (I've driven the car in as low as 15 degrees and as warm as 100 degrees since I've had it). Comfort is the max setting and will reduce range by a couple miles, but cools nicely in 95-100 degree heat (I use it to get it to temp in the cabin, then switch to Eco to maintain). In the winter, using the seat heaters will do wonders for inproving range vs using the cabin heater. I just wish it had a heate steering wheel. You may not need any of this in Texas...
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There's a 2011 Volt with 12k or so miles for $25k. any differences in 2011 /2012/ 2013?
Yes, the cars were improved steadily as production goes on. The 2011 and 2012 cars are virtually identical, with the addition of some color changes for 2012 (the blue I got first became available in 2012). 2013 saw improvements in range and the addition of the Hold mode, which a lot of 2011/12 owners wish they had. Without it you run on EV mode until the charge runs out, then the generator kicks in to extend the range. You don't get a choice. So they automatically get worse fuel mileage when running on gas than the 2013s. The 13s also get a few color choices on the interior, and the blacked out panel on the rear gets body color. Small stuff, but I like the way they look.
A number of owners of 2011s have already gone over 20k miles without using fuel at all...
I don't know if I'd buy a 2011 for $25k, since you can lease a 2013 from an effective $27k price. And I'd rather lease new tech like this, as it's likely to become obsolete tech in a couple years.
edit: I was just reading that they are trying to move the 2013s off the lot in prep for the 2014 models. You can get upards of $8k off the price of the car at many dealerships even before tax incentives, which could bring the total price of a new 2013 Volt to under $24k.
I enjoy gasoline cars, too. But, I really don't care what powers the car so long as it's at least slightly fun.
I don't know if I'd buy a 2011 for $25k, since you can lease a 2013 from an effective $27k price. And I'd rather lease new tech like this, as it's likely to become obsolete tech in a couple years.
Thanks a lot.
I actually am obliged to you for putting down so much time and effort detailing all the virtues. Appreciate that.
I guess a 27k leasing price will be a great start for a vehicle which'll save me - $50 / week in just commuting costs. Besides saving on two other factors which C63s are infamous for - depreciation and tire eating capacity. I think I am gonna check out a Volt this week.
Base price for a Volt is still $38k, but with normally desirable options it can get to $43k pretty easily.
edit: I was just reading that they are trying to move the 2013s off the lot in prep for the 2014 models. You can get upards of $8k off the price of the car at many dealerships even before tax incentives, which could bring the total price of a new 2013 Volt to under $24k.
Do you mind posting links to such dealerships - as and when time permits. I'll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks.
Due to a 140 day supply of vehicles and also due to a new model being launched in 2014, GM is trying to move more Chevy Volts:
"The Detroit automaker last week began offering $5,000 off 2012 Volts and $4,000 off 2013 Volts, Malcho said. The deals lower the price of the Volt from its suggested retail price of $39,995; buyers also can qualify for up to $7,500 in federal income tax credits."
"The Volt also can be leased for $269 a month for 36 months, with $2,399 due at signing or can be purchased with zero percent financing for 48 months and receive $3,000 in cash off the price. The cash off, zero percent financing and lease deals run through July 1, Malcho said."
Hey AndyAMG wannabe, believe this, if you lived in Texas, we'd be having a conversation face to face. So here's the layout for you, Skippy. The restaurant is in Devine, Texas, on the corner of IH35S and 173-Google it. The parking lot is on the north side of the building, the restaurant is on the south end. There is a meat market on the north end. There are no windows in the restaurant. Nobody in the restaurant knew about it until you came out. I moved my truck not because it was a volt, but because the car smelled hot.....like a lot of new cars do. I'm pretty particular where I park any of my vehicles and don't mind walking. It has certainly saved to paint from the morons.
Frankly, the Volt solves a lot of problems for folks that make short trips. You certainly don't have the sludge forming in the engine from cold startup and short trips where the engine doesn't get hot enough to cook off condensate. One thing I do have issues with though. There seems to be a move for corporate offices to put charging stations in for these cars. I wonder just how much they are going to charge the users for it? If it's no charge, what are they compensating the gas engine users for coming to work. Either way, no electric car is lowering the carbon footprint. That electricity it's using is being produced somewhere and unless you are in a rare area where you utility provider is all nukes, you're just fooling yerself. A lot of areas don't have the infrastructure for these cars to consume more electricity. We don't have the issue here as we have tens of thousands of wind generators, more than any place in the world combined but it's going to be an issue in some places. And now they are wanting an additional tax on these cars because the road taxes are included in the gas we buy. I guess that's yer reward for trying to maximize resources. States look to tax hybrid and electric car owners to recoup road funding | Fox News
Why do you hate EVS so much that you ignore reality to disparage them? Did one anally rape your grandmother, or are you simply in the pockets of big oil? (being from Texas, you might be).
Any car can burn down, and many do (as I pictured). But Volts have been proven to be safer than the average car.
put in your zip code and look for new Volts within 50-100 miles at dealers, then sort price low to high. First one on the list for Houston was a $40k 2013 Volt that is for sale at $35k. And that's before tax credits. Then negotiate with the GM factory incentives on any of them.
How's the noise level at say, 75mph? Also, how noisy is the generator when it kicks in?
The noise level is very low at speed. And the generator is generally pretty quiet, though it can be buzzy if it's initially cranking up to replenish the batteries, as it's just a GM 1.4 liter 4 cyl. I rarely hear it as for me, it rarely runs.
Another thing, it DOES use premium fuel. Luckily, it uses very little of it (9.3 gallon tank) As I said, I haven't put gas in it in two months of commuting and errand running. I do use a bit of gas, and am down to just over 3/4 of a tak, so at the present rate, I may have to fill it up in another 3-4 months.
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