Sweater, gloves required when driving Volt in cold

Certainly am

But a volt wouldn't start it's ICE for heat

And a volt wouldn't let you start the device early knowing you need both the extra power and heat

The volt needs the ice for power, because it's a hybrid

Even if it cost $9,000 to implement a small rotary (which seems a bit too high) a Leaf plus rotary would be the same price as the volt, with much longer EV range and probably similar (crappy) extended range. There's plenty of space in the leafs engine bay

 

Nobody expects to be able to sit with shorts and t-shirt and create a sweat box in the car. The heat on the Prius is a little weak though I've found it adequate to keep me totally warm, even if it's doesn't basically melt plastic like on my minivan or the ICE-only car before it. It's a little slower to get going but it absolutely gets the cabin as hot as I want it once the engine gets fully warmed up. The question is whether the Volt can really bring it to that level of comfort and how much juice it requires to do so.

 

Huh? I'm sure that makes sense to SOMEONE...you?

Do you listen? Read? You're not answering my questions, nor are you responding to what I say. You're off on your own little thing. I have never apologized for anything GM has done. I'll leave that to those who care. I did NOT say I was utterly dismayed that "people don't want to be forced to wear wear a jacket in a $45k car". Re-read what I wrote. No one's forcing anyone to do anything, and in fact, most people will ALREADY HAVE A SWEATER ON. See?

Geez, you'd think that people who were so out to save the world with green cars and ultra gas mileage wouldn't mind putting on a jacket to save some gas. Guess walking is out of the question then?

Blah, blah, blah. I disgust you. Damn. Oh, and re-read (again,) I didn't apologize for anything.

And my question that you haven't yet answered: Does your MODIFIED Prius match the EV range of the horrible Volt? Simple question, really. Second simple question: What is it that you would like to have happen? You want GM to fold up and go home? You just want them to kill the Volt? What do you want?

Ummm, really? That's your argument? You think Toyota is flawless? OK, there's an interesting place to start. Good luck with that!

Ahh, NOW we're on to something! You hate the Volt because of unions, taxes and democrats. That's making some sense. The Volt is your little scapegoat. At least now I understand!

Zhe Wiz

 

Well your first quote says Toyota's EXECUTION is flawless, does it not? Or is my reading comprehension still not so good? Doesn't the pronoun "it" refer to "execute flawlessly?" You honestly believe their EXECUTION is flawless? Again, interesting place to start.

Oh, and you STILL haven't answered my other question: Is your MODIFIED Prius' EV range now better than the Volt's? I'm thinking I know the answer without any help!!

Look, I get that you're mad at GM, but what if the Volt improves to such a degree that it becomes a SMASH hit and GM never needs another of your hard earned pennies? Wouldn't that mean Volt bashing is actually counter-productive? And would that really be such a bad thing, even if YOU don't like the car?

OK, I'm really done now. Enough fun for me today! Bring on the insults, I can handle it!

Zhe Wiz

 

Don't have any clue how cold winter actually gets, eh? The chill from a 10°F car is very uncomfortable, even with a sweater on.
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Really? Looks like someone has some studying to do.
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Anti what? In reality, it's the push of an extremely expensive and not-so-efficient vehicle as the only choice available. One size does not fit all.
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I do, which is why I don't wear a sweater in winter, I wear a coat...oh, and gloves too! So what's the problem again?

What exactly do I need to study? Don't you think the Volt will improve efficiency in the next generation? I do.

One size does not fit all. Don't buy it. I'm not going to. Who's pushing you to buy it? It's a car made available for purchase. It has some problems, some big, some small.

My main point in all of this is and always has been: Why are "we" making such a big deal out of needing a coat in the winter. Most people wear one anyway. Claiming it's a big deal sounds "anti-volt" to me.

Zhe Wiz

 

Even with a sweater and a coat, there's still a significant hit to EV range.
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You said it was impossible. You're also allowing the delay of several additional years... despite the fact that all this was brought up years ago already.
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GM is pushing it. Either GM customers purchase it or a car delivering MPG in the 30's. There isn't anything in the 50 MPG range and a plug is required. It's that huge void that's concern, where there is literally nothing competitive available.
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About time to merge this thread with the other one...
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...rtically-integrated-screw-job-top-bottom.html

 

I realize sarcasm doesn't come across well in forums, need to stop using it. BUT, if you re-read my post, I think you'll realize I was being sarcastic when I said "Impossible". Or at least if you re-read it KNOWING I was being sarcastic it'll make a lot more sense.

And yes, GM is pushing their car. You still don't have to buy it. I still think for SOME PEOPLE it's not a bad choice. I'd rather they buy a Volt than another gas sucking SUV for their single person, 10 mile commute... Even if they have to keep their coat on while driving it.

Zhe Wiz

 

+1

Its probably helpful to read the original article instead of this one that takes one of the negatives and blows it up. MT found that remote start did not warm the car as much as they thought it should. If you don't have remote start, your prius will not be warmed at all, but the volt doesn't do as good of a job as a leaf. It also found that with outside temperatures in the 20s and the thermostat set to 75, the seats and foot-wells were nice and toasty, but the ambient temperature was 65 degrees. It also took longer to warm up then they thought it should. This is not good, but hardly a show stopper. My prius doesn't warm up all that fast when the temperatures are in the 30s. Not a big deal for most, but things that can be improved. If you doin't like the car don't buy it, and the motor trend article points out some things most of us already knew, an ev loses range when its very cold out. I know some of you have been searching for problems with the volt since it was at a concept, its a choice, not a black hole destroying the world and freezing its drivers.

 

Even with the gas engine running, why does Volt take so long to heat up the cabin? I understand the electric heater is not powerful enough.

 

too little, too slowly

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I'm waiting for GM to explain to us that shivering in the winter is a luxury *feature*, found only in the COTY, leapfrogging, advanced technology, future is now, CHEVY VOLT.

No wonder it costs ~ $USD 45,000.

 

austingreen - I like your conclusions to a discussion that was getting out of hand.

Many have expressed a hope that the Volt will be a success ... so the taxpayers can be repaid. Automobile rivals have existed all my life .... in the 50's it was Ford's and Chevy's. I suppose later it was Toyoto's and Honda's and etc.

Part of the problem has been GM's own fault ... remember the 360 mpg claim? Or GM's executive saying the Prius was a geek car he would not be caught dead in? Or the Volt - Prius "killer." Some has not been GM's fault ... "Car of the Year" .... that is like someone we know getting a Nobel Peace Prize when he had done nothing to deserve it.

One last thought: No internal combustion engine will warm quickly at rest. The engine warms best (after the oil has circulated), to drive off and let the engine "work" a bit. The same is true for humans ... while X-country skiing, if you are cold, head for a hill. Work is good for the body, for the soul, and good for an engine.

 

Even in my Corolla, I wear gloves. In my one mile city drive to the highway, the engine heats up enough that by the time I'm at the end of the highway on ramp, hot air starts coming out of my air vents. At this point, I've been in the car for 5-7 minutes, depending on the traffic lights. On the highway, it takes another five minutes for the cabin air to warm up (the cold interior and windows suck the heat right out of the air). It isn't until another fifteen minutes at highway speeds that the steering wheel (metal with plastic around it) has warmed up to where my hands don't become hypothermic just from holding the steering wheel. So, in sum, it's about 20 minutes (15 of those on the highway) before I can take my gloves off and the steering wheel not suck the heat out of my hands. Because the heat coming out of my vents is HOT, the gloves not only protect the palm side of my hand from "freezing" but they also keep the tops of my hands from "burning."

The best solution for any car, to me, would be a heated steering wheel. I've heard that some luxury cars up north actually have that.

 

Yes!! The latest Chrysler minivans have this feature on some models. Would go along nicely with heated seats.

Zhe Wiz