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2013 Volt: 98MPGe, 38miles EV range

Discussion in 'Chevrolet Volt' started by drinnovation, Jun 7, 2012.

  1. drinnovation

    drinnovation EREV for EVER!

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    And the efficiency improvements begin..


    The new 2013 Chevrolet Volt will offer a slightly higher all-electric range, up from 35 to 38 miles. Its base price of $39,995 will not change.
    Next year's Volt will also receive a higher EPA efficiency rating, from 94 to 98 MPGe, or Miles Per Gallon Equivalent--a measure of how far the vehicle can travel on electricity with the energy content of 1 gallon of gasoline.


    The 2013 Volt will be fitted with a battery pack that holds slightly more energy--up from 16 to 16.5 kilowatt-hours--and the car can draw on 10.8 kWh of that total, rather than the 10.3 kWh available in 2011 and 2012 models.
    The changes come courtesy of a slightly altered chemistry in the lithium-ion cells provided by LG Chem.

    .....


    Other changes to the 2013 Chevrolet Volt include a "Hold Drive" button that allows owners to conserve battery-pack energy for use at a particular time or when it will make the car most efficient. This is essentially the "charge-sustaining button" in the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera sold in Europe.


    Read more at
    2013 Chevy Volt Gets 38-Mile Electric Range, Higher 98-MPGe Rating
     
  2. austingreen

    austingreen Senior Member

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    Nice, a 8.5% improvement in AER for the same price, and a 4% improvement in electrical efficiency.
    The bigger difference to drivers might be that hold button, which was requested.

    Do you know when they start shipping the 2013s?
     
  3. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Kudos to GM. They finally made it operate like a plugin hybrid. With the Hold button, you can now use gas whenever it makes sense. Blending gasoline and EV operation (in a single trip) is what Prius PHV pioneered.

    It is great to know they are listening to criticisms. I hope we can finally put an end to that EREV non-sense.
     
  4. scottf200

    scottf200 Member

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    Your comments make no sense. HOLD mode already existed in the Volt's cousin Ampera. Useful to save EV miles for cities where you pay extra if you drive in the city with gas. Or if you start out a long trip on the highway. Or if it is winter and you want to use waste heat for a couple minutes.

    You speak is just spin to help your agenda as it is illogical.

    EREV = by default only use battery/EV until the batter is deplated. EVEN if there is hard acceleration or if you drive over 62MPH as the Volt will go up to 100 MPH while still on the battery. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE VOLT unique compare to a PHEV.
     
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  5. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Hold mode didn't exist in 2010 and 2011 Volts. Ampera became available in Europe in 2012.

    Volt has been promoted as EV for the first 35 miles and then HV after, hence EREV. This is now changing as the driver would be able to use gas or battery whenever.

    Using EV for city and HV for the highway is what Prius PHV was designed for. Now, Volt owners will be able to do the same, but with less restriction (over 62mph or 50 hp) -- I give Volt credit to that but there are down sides to that feel good bragging feature.

    The bottom line, Volt owners will be driving it more like Prius PHV owners. The major difference is, it is automated in Prius PHV but Volt driver will have to constantly switching Hold/Normal modes to optimize according to the driving conditions.

    The wasteful (yet seen as a feel good) feature is what made the Volt unique. The automated optimized blending feature is what made Prius PHV unique. The Hold mode now gives Volt the ability to mimic Prius PHV. I predict the Volt's EV/HV ratio to go up.
     
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  6. gwmort

    gwmort Active Member

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    Adding an ability to choose the best fuel for a particular part of the drive is nice. Being able to handle all of the range of performance on electric without the ICE is even better.
     
  7. scottf200

    scottf200 Member

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    98% of the typical (masses) drivers of the Volt will rarely if ever use HOLD mode.

    EREV means BOTH that the Volt will NOT use the ICE on hard acceleration and ~62MPH/100KPH. Two very separate and unique features.

    I don't consider it a feel good as it means it can be essentially be driven like a BEV for up to ~40 miles -- day after day.

    My last 2500 have used 1.1 gal of gas ... ie. I and many drive it primarily as "electric" car. No powerblend, no typical PHEV.
     
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Sure, if you enjoy hard accelerating with only the battery while lugging the gas engine, into high speed. I doubt a lot of Volt owners will be doing that, knowing a few hours recharge time penalty. They may rather mimic Prius PHV and accelerate with gas, exercising as regular gas engine maintenance.
     
  9. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Forgot to mention that carbon footprint for hard EV acceleration and high speed is greater than using 50 MPG gas engine.

    For an BEV, my statement does not apply since it has no gas engine. I am referring to plugin hybrids.
     
  10. gwmort

    gwmort Active Member

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    You should know better than that. I can drive passively and get home with 20 miles of range remaining, I can drive aggressively and get home with 10-15 miles of range left. It takes me less than 1 hour to charge up the extra discharge. The carbon footprint isn't any different because the whole charge I am putting in at home is solar.
     
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  11. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    IIRC, we were discussing hold mode in early 2012, possibly 2011. With the existence of mountain mode, it was apparent that user override was possible. It likely wasn't offered at first for the same reason that the EV button was left off the Prius. It's great GM listened to the customers and now has it installed. How long did it take Toyota, 6 years?

    With the increase in range, the 2013 is less likely to be driven like a P-PHV. The majority of Volt miles are already driven on electric, and it appears most CS miles are on trips where using the hold button may not have much gain. It's better than the mountain mode games some are playing. For me, with a 60 mile round trip commute, the Volt does get more attractive, but then I was willing to install an EV button hack on my Prius.

    The P-PHV blending may be automated, but it is no different than what the Prius already does. A larger battery and charging means beyond gasoline just allowed the engineers to increase the times EV mode is available for use. It's a low cost way of reducing gas use with a plug in. This doesn't make it worse or better than the Volt. Just different. Which is great since it widens the pool of potential plug in buyers.

    You're right. Standing out in the wind and rain waiting for the battery to fill is such a bother. How will I pass the time? I know. I'll go inside, make dinner, watch a movie, then go to bed.
     
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  12. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    All good points guys. Different people have different commute / charging patterns. It is for everyone to decide which plugin is best for them.

    All I am pointing out is, the things to consider and not just blindly buy into "the more EV range, the better" notion. There are advantages and disadvantages and if you start to think deeper into the consequences beyond the tailpipe emission and start to take account of both fuels (gas+electricity) from production to turning the wheels, my mission is accomplished.

    Initial Volt show-boaters love to concentrate only on gas consumption (or the lack of) and ignores the electricity usage. If you use both, take account of them and report both, in term of gallons and kWh. Whether you use renewable or not, the raw kWh figure can be interpreted by anyone according to the greenness of their own electricity (from their supplier).
     
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  13. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    The reality of only having a finite amount of electricity available and not being able to choose when to fire up the engine was dismissed as spin late last year, by certain Volt owners. They claimed it was just a desperate effort to defend PHV shortcomings. Their quotes are now part of the blogs documenting that history... knowing those claims would abruptly change when Volt got a hold button.

    Say what you want. But it's better simply to move on. Discuss the benefits instead.

    Why would giving the driver a choice be a bad thing?
     
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  14. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Either 10.3 kWh or 10.8 kWh available energy in the battery, it is still limited. A gallon of gas has 33.7 kWh equivalent energy. It is better to use high energy density fuel for high power driving conditions.

    The concept of EREV doesn't work and I am glad GM reversed it in Volt's mid-life refresh.

    Prius PHV got it right the first time and the entire car was optimized for it. Notice, it doesn't weight like a SUV nor have a compact 4 seater interior. The standard feature on the basic package is also handsomely loaded (compared to Volt basic) and it costs less (to both purchaser and the tax payers).
     
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  15. andi1111

    andi1111 Member

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    What are you talking about? Hold feature is there to hold the battery charge, so a driver can drive at the destination city gas free, not so that a driver switches to ICE when driving on highway.

    I'm both a PiP and a Volt/Ampera fan, but your mind works in a strange way.

    P.S.: And your comments on AutoBlogGreen reflect that pretty well.

    P.S.2: And since you bow to the Toyota; how so, that EU PiP switches to blended mode at 51+mph where the US model does that at 62+mph? Is air thinner in the USA?
     
  16. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The switching to blended at 62mph is all about the window sticker. The 51mpg cut off would likely mean a greater usable EV range since it means even more energy intensive miles are done on gas. This is the benefit of a blended PHV. Making better use of a smaller battery to keep space and price costs low had no bearing.

    The 1.8L was for more efficient driving at highway speeds, which start at 55mph. So for the most efficient blending, the ICE should kick in at those speeds. Holding off until 62mph might not hurt overall efficiency that much. At least not enough to go for a higher EV range on the sticker.


    I believe the Volt supporters here have been honest about both. I'm sure Volt fanboys have been spinning to lift up their favorite, or put down the opposition. That's what fanboys do. It's just noise that has no real bearing on the subject's of adoration actual qualities.

    It has been going on here.
    Using SUV when discussing the Volt's weight is spin. Yeah, it's heavy. That's a fact for most batteries. But the Rav4s, CRVs, Equinox, and Escapes aren't the lumbering beasts of the road like the Sequias and Tahoes. SUV covers all of them. The outgoing Lexus hybrid weighs as much as the Volt, and I'm sure other cars do to. Why use SUV instead just listing its weight or simply say heavy for its class.

    Harping about charging time is also spin. The vast majority of people with a plug in are going to charge during the 10+ hours they spend each day at home, which is plenty of time for a drained Volt. Even without a level 2 charger. If available, the 8 to 9 hours at work will also provide the majority of its charge. So the P-PHV charges up faster. It also runs down faster. But this isn't a race. Of course, since recommends letting the battery cool before charging for longest life, the charging cycle should probably take nearly as long as the Volt. How often has a Volt supporter said that here?
     
  17. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    USB, you hit the nail on the head!
    DBCassidy
     
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  18. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    Yes,

    You do have a very valid point regarding the above. Volt owners will more than likely be practicing the Prius PHV method.

    DBCassidy
     
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  19. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    What even beats your statement is: having a choice and not being restricted to electric alone, while carrying the extra weight of an unused, dead ICE.

    DBCassidy
     
  20. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    If you are so adverse with ICE usage, why not remove the ICE. It is extra dead iweight, which, once removed can only increase your electric mode range.

    DBCassidy