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Why I pay less for my Volt's Premium than I would for regular in a Prius

Discussion in 'Chevrolet Volt' started by drinnovation, Jun 15, 2013.

  1. drinnovation

    drinnovation EREV for EVER!

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    An often heard complaint about the Volt is that it recommends/requires Premium gas. I'm doing a longer trip today (~120 miles) so need to get gas. Since the last time I bought gas was early February, my wife had "earned" .60 off per gallon of gas at the supermarket. We have 2 that give gas points but only one of those have a local station so she uses that one leaving me the other.

    As I filled up yesterday I it struck me.. I've paid less for premium almost every time I've filled up my Volt because I get such a long time between fills I get to accumulate lots of points. This time it was .60 off (so .40 less than regular), in Feb last oct it was 1.00 off (so .80 below regular), and April 2012 I save .80 over regular. My december fill was .20 above because I had not planned on filling up but someone stole my charger at the airport and I did not have enough charge+gas to get home -- but I only put in 3 gallons. Since last May, I have thus averaged .50 per gallon LESS than if I was using regular gas in a Prius.

    Anyone have such stories to share?
     
    #1 drinnovation, Jun 15, 2013
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  2. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    You can do better than using gas in the Volt:

    Replace the ICE and the gas tank for more battery expansion. Then you would not have any gas "issues" with the Volt.
    Its' a win / win situation: both for you and the car.:)

    DBCassidy
     
    #2 dbcassidy, Jun 15, 2013
  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    In an engine designed for it, running premium may work out to the same cost per mile as putting regular into it, because it runs more efficiently with the higher octane. Of course it's YMMV.

    As to gas points, the supermarket/station we use expire the points once a quarter. I top off the most empty car and two 5gal cans then.
     
    #3 Trollbait, Jun 15, 2013
  4. dbcassidy

    dbcassidy Toyota Hybrid Nation, 8 Million Strong

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    Just think, a all electric Volt option. That could compete with the Leaf, Tesla and other EVs!

    That would be cool.

    DBCassidy
     
    #4 dbcassidy, Jun 15, 2013
  5. LDB

    LDB Member

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    Except you'd get the same discount off the regular as well, at least if it works the same way as over here.
     
    #5 LDB, Jun 15, 2013
  6. drinnovation

    drinnovation EREV for EVER!

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    I would get the same discount IF and ONLY IF I could collect 4-5 months worth of shopping "discounts" without using any on regular gas. I could not do that in my 3000 miles since Feb even in a PiP (which would probably have used 35-40 gallons since feb rather than about 7.5 in the Volt.




    Agreed on the premium providing better milage. Had a tank where my wife put in 85 octane (regular where I live) and got about 10% lower milage.

    Many here may not belive volts do well on gas, so here is a pic from my trip today (about 3 miles from home when I noted the 52/52 as I was at a traffic light and liked the symmetry). :

    [​IMG]

    52 miles on the charge + 52MPG. Gotta smile about that.
     
    #6 drinnovation, Jun 15, 2013
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  7. Smurf1000

    Smurf1000 Junior Member

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    The Volt only has a 9 gallon tank. The difference per tank is less than $2.00 for Premium gas compared to regular.

    Considering that for in-town driving it is anywhere from 3 to 6 months between fill-ups for me, I never took much concern in paying the additional $2.00.

    On road trips, it is an extra $2.00 every 300 miles. I would have to drive 1500 miles before I saved 10 bucks.... Still not a big issue...
     
    #7 Smurf1000, Jun 27, 2013
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