Volt EV Range: It Finally Comes Out

Um, isn't that about what GM predicted the EV-only range all along? After that the engine kicks in to charge the battery while the Volt continues to run on the electric motor. Corrections welcome.

 

Until now, they have only talked about 40 miles. Nothing else.

ps : This is what I don't get. Volt uses liquid cooling (active thermal management). They use only 50% of the 16 kwh battery. Yet, they have as much variability of range as Nissan Leaf using 80% of the not actively cooled battery - but with same 8 yr warranty.

Is the LG battery of the same chemistry (Manganese Spinal) really that dated compared to Nissan's ?

 

Hmmm, a "moderate driver" will see 40 miles. In other words, drive it like a Prius? I do not know if that'll work with the typical GM customer!

 

Volt's battery pack has to work twice as hard as the Leaf. These are the contributing factors:

1) Smaller battery pack (16kWh vs. 24kWh)
2) More powerful electric motor (111 kW vs. 80 kW)
3) Heavier car

 

OH, THE HORROR !!!!!!!

... actually, that makes perfect sense. They've been estimated a 40 mile range. If a "normal" driver (drives with flow of traffic, in a non-aggressive flow) gets 40 miles, a lead foot gets 25 and a semi-hypermiler gets 50 miles, that makes perfect sense, since fuel consumption is not linearly proportional to aggressiveness (think: rate of acceleration), but rather a parabolic relationship (much like wind resistance increases parabolically as speed increases).

 

I think you're all commenting on how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.
Until they actually -SELL- the car nobody will go anywhere on EV.

 

x2.
GM, probably we will never forget the first mileage highlights you gave, so keeping us waiting won't change the (bad) smell of the marketing perfume.

 

The Volt is an awesome vehicle and I congratulate GM for it! We need more of these vehicles. I might buy one.

 

Good for driving around on short commutes but their HYPEBEAST is making any new facts look unremarkable.

 

CS Speculation or a nightmare?

If CS mode with a Volt gives 38MPG (not so bad for a 1.4liter SI or so), let's compare to a 3Gen Prius 52MPG...

Take this example for a weekend trip 130miles long with no charge:

Volt = 35mi EV + 95mi CS 38MPG = 2.5gal
Prius = 130mi 52MPG = 2.5gal

So GM, why did your Volt bring a electric cable along? Maybe to be pulled by a Prius...LOL

 

Okay maybe its just me but here GM got saved by Taxpayer dollars and they invest it in this vehicle that continues to get more and more underwhelming figures and then they will sell it at 42k then offer a "tax credit" to purchasers who lent them their money to make it in the first place.

This is not looking like some true new alternative at all and for the price seems like a giant let down. $42,000 or so before a credit? Nearly twice as much as a Prius? Really?

 

For years GM said "40 EV miles," it is only recently they changed it to *up* to 40.

The person who gets 25 EV miles will have been promised 60% more EV miles. I find the symmetry funny: GM promised $25k, but ended up charging ~ $40k; they promised 40 EV miles, but deliver 25.

 

Yeah, it's about right.

Just like 50 mpg +25% -37% is about right for the Prius.

Not sure why people are getting their panties in a bunch here.

 

I saw a prototype of the PHEV Prius at the Los Angeles County Fair last week and asked the lady working the booth what the electric only mileage would be. She said that on this prototype it runs about 13 miles, then switches to the normal Prius mode, with less mileage, due to the extra weight of the batteries. But they are still tweaking it.