Featured Volt gen II - 106 mpge aer 53 miles, 42 mpg.

Wow, it's a small type car, but if you want to EV like mad on your commute and stray if you want, bingo, here it is.

 

If only it had 6.6 kW charging speeds...

 

Only 42 mpg on gas - falls short on the ice fuel consumption.

DBCassidy

 

That is one of the more common requests. I'm surprised GM didn't make one available as an option.

 

I wonder what it can pull actual on ICE only. But people are buying this for the EV party.
.... and I bet it drives better than a Prius. I like the Volt II interior (pictures) much better than any (3g) Prius.

 

Just to clarify it's not a 2+2, it's a 2+2.5. There is a central spot in the back seat for children and car seats.

As for the car, I can't wait, it's next on my list of vehicles and the one I will retain until BEVs get to the point where they can be a 100% all around car for me. This will eliminate 95% of my fuel consumption per year, just wish I lived in one of the initial roll out states.

 

With a 90% SOC availability on the 2nd gen Volt High Voltage Traction battery and the fact that CARB states require the battery be warranted for 15 years or 150,000 miles - I wonder if GM isn't taking a bit of a financial risk with covering replacement Li-ion battery packs. Still it is nice that GM is trying to push the performance of the Volt. However - I don't think the increase in range EV or higher MPG will amount to more Volt buyers in the DC area - because at its price range the volt is the wrong type of vehicle for the DC area. At the Volt's price range - in the DC area - most driver-buyers prefer a Luxury SUV (the Prius faces the same regional market environment barrier too) .. In my region ..---the Washington DC Metro Area - IMHO people who buy the Volt here are buying the Volt to make a personal statement of their own lifestyle rather than total cost of ownership. Unlike the the Prius, the Chevy Volt is NOT constantly dogged by the question of whether its total ownership cost is competitive with a conventional ice car like a Hyundai Accent .... so the people who buy the Volt have more in common with the buyers of a BMW 8 series or Ranger Rover or a Harley Davidson motorcycle...

with respect of total cost of ownership - My 2010 Prius III cost about 23,000 USD which was about 5,000 USD (hybrid premium) over what a similar equipped 28 mpg 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring automatic would have cost at the time of purchase. At about 59 mpg over 65,000 mile over about 5.5 years - (31 mpg better) I used 1102 gallons of gas vs a hypothetical 2322 gallons of gas (at 28 mpg) - a savings of 1130 gallons of gas - the average price for my area for the last 5.5 years has been 3.25 USD per gallon. So the fuel saving amounts for 5.5 years is about 3672 USD which falls short of about 1327 USD with respect to the extra premium cost of buying a hybrid. Because I drive about 12,000 miles per year - I only use about 204 gallons of gas per year at 59 mpg and with gas prices now at about $2.75 per gallon for regular gas the fuel saving is less (about $561 per year) so unless oil speculators cause the cost of gas to go way up again it will likely take another three years of ownership to break even with respect to the Prius' hybrid premium - that's a 9 years break even period for the Prius' hybrid premium!

But worst yet - unless there is a government subsidy - the Volt premium over a Chevy Cruz (which is the Volt's non hybrid brother) is much much more - about 25,000 USD ...with today's low gas prices under $3 per gallon ( for premium gas no less) - the break even analysis for the Volt plug in hybrid premium will be several decades... much longer than most car last before seeing the junkyard.

My personal reason for getting a Prius was I wanted to learn how to hypermile - the Prius is a hypermiler's car with training wheels - not the best hypermiling car to own but when you add a Scangauge II to it - the Prius is the best car to learn how to hypermile. And very strangely - it is not so much the technology that makes the Prius easy to learn with respect to hypermiling - but the people behind the Prius - the supportive community that make learning so much easier - the sense of community is so much stronger with the Prius. ....think that is what got me to spend my money. I wanted in.

 

Fascinating assumptions...

 

From what I've heard GM is using about 75% SOC availability on the Gen 2, not 90%, I could be wrong though. They only used ~60% on the Gen 1 Volt from what I've read. GM obviously has never given these numbers out so it's all speculation and personal formulas. History has show though, that GM is super conservative with their batteries, so I won't be worrying about it when I buy mine.

I also want to live where you are, my 2010 Prius III cost me $30,000. Only upgrade I got was the 6 disc cd changer upgrade.

 

WRT to cost of my Prius - I didn't have any upgrades - and it didn't even get the floor mats either.
I got the floor mats for 88 usd off the internet. Maybe I was lucky? A new 2015 Prius II starts at about 21,000 USD and a 2015 Prius c starts at about 18,000 USD in the Washington DC metro area. In addition - Maryland is a CARB state so the 15 year 150,000 mile hybrid drive train warranty in in place for all hybrids made 2011 and after ( but Virginia is not a CARB state). My purchase price may have been affected by when I bought my Prius - I bought my Prius when the President of Toyota was getting abused by Congress over the runaway Toyota affair.

Unllike the Volt - the Prius is totally unique- making a hybrid to conventional Ice comparison more difficult. The Volt uses a Chevy Cruz body so people around here compare it to a conventional ice Cruz- when calculating the hybrid plug in premium. Depending on whether one qualified and got the government subsidies/tax breaks the break even analysis results can change. I didn't qualify for the tax breaks or subsidies so my break even analysis changed. What works for one person may not work for another person and look more or less like a fantasy.

With respect to the Prius SOC -NiMH - its been studied to the whazoo - Toyota onboard computer doesn't let the battery overcharge or stay undercharge for long - it's bouncing around between 65% to 45% most of the time.

75% SOC sounds much saner wrt to HV battery life span -90% sounds a bit strange to me - and makes me feel really odd.... Can you help me out here? So when the Inside EV author said:

"The old mantra of Volt owners being able to drive on just battery power for about 80% of their trips has how been moved up to 90%"

Are you saying that when the author is saying 80% and 90% - he referring to something other than the HV battery SOC? I guess I missed something here - can you explain what e is talking about? I am confused. %|

 

Ahh yes, the whole floor mat fiasco, that would have effected prices a bit.

I believe what the author means here is that 90% of the trips taken by an average driver will be only on electric power as long as they charge it up nightly. Nothing to do with battery SOC. Super simple example of this would be a driver like myself who only drives about 10K miles a year, my daily commute over the course of a year would equal up to about 9000 miles (or 90%) and that would be all electric. My longer trips for the year add up to about 1000 miles and would use gas since I wouldn't be able to charge up during the trip. This number changes per driver but on average it will be around 90%. I believe that's what the author is referring to.

 

Faster onboard charger means higher base price, and GM claims the majority of current owners are just using the charge cord in a 15amp outlet. They would see no benefit for the faster charger.

Another one with Prius goggles.

The new ICE doesn't lose power compared to the out going one; it likely has more, and the car itself is lighter.

I have used the Cruze as a comparison to the Volt in an attempt to get idea of the battery cost. When the Volt debuted, a features to features comparison had the Volt at $15k higher. That means the $7,500 tax credit is half the difference between the Volt and the ICE equivalent. Which is how the first direct Prius subsidy from the Japanese government was calculated.

The new Volt may have less luxury features than the very first Volt, but the base price is nearly $10k lower, and the Cruze prices haven't shifted much over time. So a $5000 EREV premium? And hybrids are still at a $2k to $4k one.

 

Oh, I agree completely that the base model should stick with the 3.3kW charger.
All I'm saying is many would pay for the option for a higher trim level with a faster charger.

 

I'm sure some would, but is it enough to cover the cost of sourcing the part?
I would not be surprised to see it become a Volt option soon after the Bolt comes to market

 

It can . . . . only it's a DIY project. Just add the Brusa Charger, as several others have already done.



phil - our own PC member who mod's the L1 portables up in the bay area (so the evse can charge on either 120v or 240v) was the 1st to show this was do-able. You go up from 3.5kW's to over 7kW's. Brusa's they're sweet .... and programable!
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Is the ICE Atkinson?
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