Gushing reviews of the Chevy Volt

cars.com ^ | 4/7/12

[DallasBiff]

"My husband (JDHCalif) wrote a lengthy review and I wanted to add my 2 cents. We are actually now getting nearly 130mpg per day because his company installed an electrical outlet in his office parking area.

The car costs about $2 to fully charge at PG&E rates and each full charge takes the car about 45 miles. Even though we drive 130 mile+ daily commutes we are burning almost no gas...not insignificant in CA where gas is now $4.63 per gallon. The Volt is proving to be more than twice as economical as our Prius...and it drives so much better - even the regen brakes feel better. We are going to sell the Prius and get another fully loaded Volt for me (which net/net costs less than a comparably loaded new Prius)

[Windcatcher]

Why would I spend $41k on a Volt when I could spend (just by way of example—this isn’t mine) 6k for 27 mpg and bank the difference?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Thunderbird-SPORT-1988-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-SPORT-/261003326286?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3cc502b34e

[antiRepublicrat]

My next car will be a turbo diesel.

I've ridden in the Volkswagen/Audi (same thing) TDi diesels, 2.0 and 2.5, and they are very sweet. This isn't your dad's old no-rev smoker. A VW Golf with that 2.0 six-speed is pretty quick and gets 30/40 mpg. Too bad the US still hates diesels, because you can get a GTD version of that engine in Germany with more power and lots more torque.

For small commuters, I really feel gipped over here. Over there you can get a VW Polo diesel 1.2 (75 hp) that gets 50/70 mpg. With diesel costing less than gas over there, why bother with electrics?

[Myrddin]

My current commute is 7 miles to work. Places I like to shop are almost 20 miles out. A visit home to Pocatello....925 miles. Non-starter. My Kawasaki Versys yields 53 MPG. It is perfectly suited to any commuting tasks. I fire up the F150 4x4 on rainy days.

At home in Pocatello, the city is small enough that I could get around with a Leaf. That falls apart if I want to go to the bookstore. The nearest bookstore is 53 miles north in Idaho Falls. Freeway speeds are 75 MPH. My favorite place to visit Spring -> Fall is Yellowstone National Park. 154 miles to the west entrance. The one-way distance from the west entrance to Old Faithful is 30 miles. Non-starter distances. Winter temperatures and snow add a new dimension to the Leaf. The battery capacity is severely impacted by cold temperatures. Having to run the heater and a cold battery are a recipe for an early dirt nap.

[I still care]

I’ll check it out and get back to you.

[antiRepublicrat]

Having to run the heater and a cold battery are a recipe for an early dirt nap.

I have to give Nissan credit, unlike others that just publish big numbers, they also published lower scenario numbers. I believe the range in the worst scenario was cut to around 60 miles. In really cold climates you can get a battery heater option. Yes it uses power to heat the battery, but that gets out more than is used.

But for me on a 100+ degree day running the AC it would still do what I need. It could handle probably 90% of my driving habits, and I have a van for the rest.

[Myrddin]

Mid Spring to mid Fall is air conditioner season in eastern Idaho. I wait until 8:30 PM to mow the lawn in July. The oppressive heat is backing off and there is direct sunlight until 9:13 PM. You need air conditioning in the car during the day. That's why my hybrid (2008 Mercury Mariner) never gets better than about 26 MPG combined average over all seasons.

The plug-in car is going to have appeal to a narrow range of customers. It simply doesn't fit my needs...and I'm not willing to hack back my choices to fit within its limits.