Crazy Volt incentives makes me want to trade

The "adult sized" fuel tank in my 1995 Toyota Supra held 17 gallons. Best case fuel economy was 22MPG. That gave me a 374 mile range, but more like a 300 mile range, allowing for some sub-optimal mileage, and some fuel reserve.

My 2003 Acura MDX has a similar sized tank to the Supra, and similar mileage/range.

My PiPa has a 10.6 gallon tank and gets 50MPG best case. That's a 530 mile range, without charging, 430 if I leave a 2 gallon reserve.
Conclusion: When you consider actual cruising range instead of gallons of fuel storage, the PiP has an oversized fuel tank, compared to most cars.

 

Very good point! Of course the volt owners would hate this. Free charging, in their minds, justifies the volt?

You got to be kidding me. That is twisted thinking.

DBCassidy

 

Hey, a low rider Prius would be interesting to see!

DBCassidy

 

Learn how to read, it is in the details.

DBCassidy

 

Lets' see how long that lasts before being "outsourced" to India.

DBCassidy

 

LOL, if you are worried about gas, you got the wrong car!

Get a Leaf and be done with the volt and your "gas" issues.

DBCassidy

 

In my Plebian G3, I run close 10 gallons through the vehicle per tank and I usually get around 500-550 miles. I consider this is be a good working range for a vehicle.
I presumed that knocking over a gallon off of the tank size in a Pip would reduce my tank range, but you do bring up a valid point ion that if you can charge the vehicle six or seven times per tank, then that would make up for the lost capability in an urban/suburban environment.
No apostasy intended...well...

Not much anyway.

IIRC, the Volt has an even punier tank @ 9.3 gallons, so that's something that you can throw rocks into their glass houses over.
I guess I'm just envious of the C-max

 

The 10+ gal PIP fuel tank is good enough to go 500-600 miles. How much do you want? Most cars have less range than that.

Mike

 

Somewhere between 600 miles and 1 AU.

 

Here you go...








assumptions:
PIP: 50 mpg, 11 miles EV
Volt: 35 mpg, 35 miles EV

Up the gas price, Volts wins bigger...until it uses gas.

Of course, this says nothing about initial costs...just fuel costs.

Mike

 

You are in Cali, so not as much of an issue but for those reading the thread in colder ares, in doing calculations don't forget that much of that will be "cold start" (which EPA ignores for Highway test). Not a big deal if one does 11 miles, but more of a problem if doing estimations were there are just 2-3 miles of "highway", as the min or two of the ICE start is much lower MPG as it warms up. My downtown trips in winter (where I may have a 45mile trip), will only get 35MPG on the highway back as its only 4-5 miles. My Engine-runing-due-to-low-temp are even worse mayeb 30-32 as its only for 1-2 miles and only when colder than 25F and soon as engine coolant is up to temp it shuts off). All cars get much worse milage when cold, but it the only time the engine is used is when its cold, you notice its impact more.
So 37 might be a good number for short highway segments, in colder climates, too.

 

Why do PiP advocates always downrate the Volt and uprate the PiP in their assumptions.

 

Where do you find $3.50/gal gas in Northern California?
Try $4/gal.




Here you go...

View attachment 50692




View attachment 50693

assumptions:
PIP: 50 mpg, 11 miles EV
Volt: 35 mpg, 35 miles EV

Up the gas price, Volts wins bigger...until it uses gas.

Of course, this says nothing about initial costs...just fuel costs.

Mike

Mike[/quote]

 

you can get a good idea using www.jurassictest.ch/GR/ . adjust the battery capacity

 

F8L, how far is your downhill trip?

I do 45-46 mostly flat highway miles all year long on battery in my Volt at 55-60 mph while driving into work in the morning. In the coldest part of winter (only 37F with dry pavement) I can just make it on battery at 55 mph with almost no heater use.

In warmer weather I can easily make it at 55 mph with 4-6 miles in reserve or drive 60 mph. I've got a 2011 Volt -- a 2013 is rated for an extra few miles of range (combined city/highway EPA 38 instead of 35).

I've done 31,000 EV miles in 2.5 years and haven't seen any user-visible battery range reduction yet.

I consistently get about 260 Wh / mile (including charging overhead) averaged across my full daily commute. During the switcheroo event in January with Devprius, I drove his PiP during 4 full commute days and got the same 260 Wh / mile EV efficiency on my real world commute. He got about 320 Wh / mile driving my Volt on his commute but 290 Wh / mile doing the same in his PiP. However, he drives faster than I do so some of his PiP miles utilized the gas engine and left the PiP's EV mode with the easier miles whereas the Volt EV miles bore the full brunt of his heavier accelerator foot.

 

Buy one of each, problem solved.