Driving the Chevy Volt

Actually a really nice car!

I have been driving a Chevy Volt as a daily driver/commuter car for about 8 months now and can give you all some clear feedback about it.  Overall it has exceeded my expectations.  I have driven fewer miles on less power using very little gas and no loss in the driving experience.  Here are my thoughts;

Electric Range:

The first thing that I noticed is that the EV range number in the lower left of the speedo display doesn't always correspond to the battery life display.  The second thing I noticed is that the battery life display doesn't always correspond to the battery life. 

I use the simplest speedo option.

The Volt's battery is advertised to be 18 kWh but the 10 segment display seems to cover 1.5 kWh per segment.  No problem, I hear it is bad to run a Li-ion battery all the way down so the car pretends that you have a 15 kWh battery pack.  Nevertheless I have never run it all the way down.

The range number seems to be a prediction of how far you could go on your remaining battery based on your most recent driving patterns.  When I drive home at higher speeds the range number is lower the next morning.  When I nurse it the previous day the range can be as high as 57 miles on a full charge.

Hypermiling:

Have you heard about these drivers called "hypermilers?"  They are called that because they use all kinds of tricks to increase the mileage that they get with their internal combustion (IC) powered cars.  They are the ones that started the trend of turning off the engine whenever the car is stopped.  They accelerate slowly and try not to brake.  It is crazy, but efficient.  

The Volt teases you into driving like that.  The display turns yellow if you accelerate too much and the report at the end makes you want to use the least energy to get where you are going. I challenge myself to do my daily commute for less than 10 kWh.

Arriving at work one day.

Use of regenerative braking is a must.  There are three ways to regen in the Volt.

1. Use the "L" mode on the gear selector.  There is no transmission in this thing so why is there a low gear?  It isn't actually a gear but a mode. In "L" the car does light regen whenever you let your foot off the accelerator.  This "one foot" driving takes a bit of getting used to, but Tesla drivers have to get used to it as well.  The nice thing is that when another driver gets in the car they will put it in "D" and get a traditional coasting experience between acceleration and braking. 
   
2. Light pressure on the brake pedal apparently uses regen.  I have yet to really feel the changeover to the grab of the brake pads, but when I need to brake I use the least pressure possible.
3. Best of all is the regen paddle behind the left side of the steering wheel.  I use this as much as possible and only use the brakes to stop the car in a hurry, or hold it still.  This paddle is so fun/useful that I find myself reaching for it in other cars.  That is a problem for me when I drive my wife's Mercedes because she has paddle shifters.  Hello downshift.

The Volt gets great electric efficiency below 70 mph.  It also does better in the city and in traffic than on the open road.  It is the opposite of a traditional car. To that end I accelerate as slowly as I can to the lowest freeway speed that I can.  I anticipate braking and use the regen whenever I can.  My commute is $1.50/day.

When you first drive the car this display is fascinating...later it is boring.

Long Trips:

I have taken a few longer trips in the Volt and it is easy-peasy.  Just drive until the battery runs out and the IC engine kicks on and you keep driving.  Or you could pre-plan and use one of the fancy driving modes like "mountain" or "hold."  

Mountain allows your battery to get down to 20% and then turns the car into a traditional parallel hybrid car.  This means that it uses the battery and engine in tandem to provide the best ride.  I think they call it mountain mode because it could be very useful in hilly terrain to have some battery to help out the 1.5L IC motor uphills.

Hold will turn the car in to a traditional IC car.  The engine is providing the propulsion and you are "holding" onto your remaining battery.  This mode could be most useful on long trips with both highway and city driving.  Use Hold on the freeway and save your battery (when you are driving at high speeds that are perfect for IC and hell on your electric power consumption).  Switch to Normal when you are in town and get the benefits of the battery whenever you are stopping and starting.

Complaints:

Of course not everything is sunshine and puppy farts, a few things bout the car really bug me.  No headroom in the back seat. Blue upholstery trim on a red car. A sticker between two body panels that sticks out a bit. The A/C makes noise over the AM radio.  The larger seat-side lever lifts the seat up down instead of reclining it. Most of all the absence of a built in garage door opener is a real head-scratcher...

The Future:

Is the future electric cars?  Yes, for most applications.  I see 4 major types of vehicle on the road a decade from now.

1. ICE vehicles.  Sports cars, long trip cars, trucks and legacy vehicles will continue to use the road because they are good at what they do for the price.
2. Pure EVs will become a larger and larger segment.  These cars can do what we need them to do with fewer emissions and a focus on efficiency.  Costs will come down with economies of scale and competition. Most city folks and commuters will use these.
3. Extended Range EVs will be a niche segment for two reasons. First, existing hybrid platforms can be reprogrammed into plug-in EREVs and second, a small segment of the population will need one car that can occasionally do a long trip.
4. Exotic fuel EVs will be a small segment of the market.  I'm talking to you, Hydrogen fuel cell car.  They just don't offer any kind of marketplace advantage, but rich folks gotta have something to brag about.

What do you think?

There is often up-front parking/charging for EVs.

This particular Level 2 charging station was free!