Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
cvetter63 is correct. I do like the occasional road trip, but most of my driving is on battery power
Absolutely... Volts and ELRs are not "hybrids" in the conventional sense.
The are EVs most of the time. Stomp on the accelerator and the engine does not turn on.
I just bought a 2017 Chevy Volt about a month ago and I really like it. My round trip commute to work is a little over twenty miles. I plug it in to charge when I get home and I only have to charge about 20 to 30% each night because of it's regenerative ability. If I am going to drive farther than the battery's range I use the hold mode so that I run on the engine for the whole drive without using any of the battery. The motor is actually a generator that powers the electric motor. I drove 175 miles round trip yesterday to a wedding. I used a little less than four gallons of gas and I can use 87 octane. The first generation models recommended 91 octane. In my opinion the Volt is a fantastic little car, handles well, and has very good acceleration.
I have a 2012 which requires premium. I feel this kind of offsets any degree of efficiency the hybrid-electric mode has over, say, a Cruze HFE which can get 40/41 mpg on straight gas and a conventional 12V battery.
I've coasted down mountains (5+ minutes of winding downhill) and have never once "earned back" miles in either my Volt or a Prius (2006). Using "L" on the Volt (or "B" on the Prius) will result in too much braking and negate any extra re-gen you might have earned. In these modes, you will need to actively feather the accelerator to maintain speed downhill. It will definitely slow traction battery consumption, almost to a halt, if the grade is steep enough. I wanted to clarify this, and also the fact that using the gas engine to regenerate the battery (mountain mode) is one of the WORST modes for efficiency. During re-gen it yield 19-20 mpg and resumes normal efficiency once the traction battery has 11 miles of range built up.
Mountain mode is ONLY a crutch for extended uphill sprints so that you do not wind up with the message "Propulsion Power Reduced" when 1.) the traction battery runs out, and 2.) the range extender cannot generate power as fast as you are using it.
I have a 2012 which requires premium. I feel this kind of offsets any degree of efficiency the hybrid-electric mode has over, say, a Cruze HFE which can get 40/41 mpg on straight gas and a conventional 12V battery.
Except for the HFE Cruze is a gutless dog of a car.
A better comparison is the diesel Cruze. I have one, it gets great mileage and has a lot of torque.
Still, in most normal circumstances the Volt is not using any gas.
OP is conflating oil production with oil consumption. Norway is a huge producer but they export the majority of it. California probably imports a lot of energy.
As to EV - I think they are great for a commuter car but they aren't there yet for a long distance driving car. But they will be eventually. They are way more efficient than gasoline powered cars - if you take a gallon of gas and use it to power an electric generator, you will produce enough electric power to drive about 100 miles. So they make sense, but the problem is the battery charge time and availability of charging stations for long distance driving. Personally I think hydrogen cars make more sense - they can refill as fast as a gas car and are 100% carbon free.
Pure EV can’t work for me. 100 miles to work, away for four weeks, then 100 miles back to home, and no charger.
A Volt is the better solution for my own needs...except that parking out in the open in a place with brutal sun and sometimes violent weather means that an old beater Civic at 43-46mpg ends up being the ticket.
Pure EV can’t work for me. 100 miles to work, away for four weeks, then 100 miles back to home, and no charger.
A Volt is the better solution for my own needs...except that parking out in the open in a place with brutal sun and sometimes violent weather means that an old beater Civic at 43-46mpg ends up being the ticket.
I’m a marginal case, though.
There are probably more people like you than you realize. Not exact matching circumstances but "impractical cases for EV's with battery ranges less than the average car on a full tank of gas".
If hybrid gets more attention, we would have more 100mpg+ hybrids instead we get so many cost cutting hybrids that can only do 50ish mpg.
A 100mpg hybrid that can also be plugged in would easily overtake any need to EVs in the short term and the less likely consumers would want EVs.
I drive about 400mi/month, my gas bill is only $25 a month with the 11' Prius in the summer getting 48mpg in mix driving.
If Toyota puts a 75kw battery inside and make plugin I can easily get over 100mpg and that would almost eliminate the need to visit the gas station.
EVs are not the best short term solution, hybrids are because it offers the best of both worlds.
I can only hope the manufactures are listening. Lots of practical experience being offered by those who have been there. I'm a math guy who has been making comparisons of E.V.'s, Hybrids and ICE cars for years. I've driven 500 plus miles on a tank of gas in my Corolla but it looks like the Plug in Hybrids have left me in the dust. That said. There is lots to think about it's a big decision.
The vehicle plug-in I would ever consider is something like the Chevy Volt. At least with those you have the freedom to drive it farther than it’s battery range if you want to. No worrying about calling for a tow if the battery runs out.
what's to worry about? the argument is less compelling when Tesla automatically plots navigation routes with charging stations in mind. There is nothing a driver needs to worry about other than ETA with charging added into the mix.
I didn't think I would say it, but I would definitely buy a Tesla (If I could spare the money)
We live 10 miles from town...30- 40 miles to the next town with 100k population...pretty sure the electric car will not make sense at this time. The local Chevy dealer put in a couple of chargers around town...where ? Beats me.
Do you have parking at home, like a garage or some such? It sounds like in your case almost all charging would be done at home since those distances aren’t too long.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I can only hope the manufactures are listening.
