How does that fit with your ranking of the Volt as number one amongst hybrids as you said earlier?
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Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?
- Thread starter PrivatePilot
- Start date
I'm amazed that people can take a potential $8000-$10,000 real world gas savings and suggest that a totally unfounded reliability fear (not based on facts, the Volt has been around for enough years to have factual real world reliability data now, and it's extremely positive) would somehow make an alternative hybrid a better choice.
I don't get it.
Our gas savings alone (vs a Hybrid, not even the 300 it replaced) will pay for a majority of what we paid for the car over its life with us.
Here's a 300,000 mile (482,000km) Volt for those considering reliability.
https://transportevolved.com/2016/0...miles-with-one-third-on-electric-power-alone/
And that was a year ago – it's surely well over 500,000 km by now, and is averaging *under* 4.0L/100km lifetime fuel efficiency. No Hybrids are achieving that in the real world.
There's lots of Volts in the high mileage club without major issues and many of them are averaging 1-2L/100KM for those focusing on EV miles. And yes, they're still on original batteries.
However, all that said - I AM realistic, I'm not suggesting that nothing will ever go wrong with it, however for someone to suggest using that fact as a potential pitfall is to ignore the reality that things go wrong with all cars, including the other manufacturers hybrid options. It's also to ignore the fact that the Volt has proven itself to be a highly reliable and problem free vehicle built to a higher standard then admittedly GM's past track record.
They got the Volt right. People need to be willing to admit that. Hell, I've been a lifelong GM guy but have had 2 Chryslers in my driveway for the last several years For various reasons - yes, past quality issues included, and their handling of GM Oshawa - I spoke with my wallet. But I did my homework on the Volt and believe that GM deserves a second chance here.
I am also cognizant of the fact (and have admitted to and mentioned it several times throughout the life of this thread) that a hybrid is quite possibly a better option for some people based on their driving habits, however for us, and many like us who can focus our mileage on electric vs gas, an EV wins hands down - there simply is no contest on operating costs.
I don't get it.
Our gas savings alone (vs a Hybrid, not even the 300 it replaced) will pay for a majority of what we paid for the car over its life with us.
Here's a 300,000 mile (482,000km) Volt for those considering reliability.
https://transportevolved.com/2016/0...miles-with-one-third-on-electric-power-alone/
And that was a year ago – it's surely well over 500,000 km by now, and is averaging *under* 4.0L/100km lifetime fuel efficiency. No Hybrids are achieving that in the real world.
There's lots of Volts in the high mileage club without major issues and many of them are averaging 1-2L/100KM for those focusing on EV miles. And yes, they're still on original batteries.
However, all that said - I AM realistic, I'm not suggesting that nothing will ever go wrong with it, however for someone to suggest using that fact as a potential pitfall is to ignore the reality that things go wrong with all cars, including the other manufacturers hybrid options. It's also to ignore the fact that the Volt has proven itself to be a highly reliable and problem free vehicle built to a higher standard then admittedly GM's past track record.
They got the Volt right. People need to be willing to admit that. Hell, I've been a lifelong GM guy but have had 2 Chryslers in my driveway for the last several years For various reasons - yes, past quality issues included, and their handling of GM Oshawa - I spoke with my wallet. But I did my homework on the Volt and believe that GM deserves a second chance here.
I am also cognizant of the fact (and have admitted to and mentioned it several times throughout the life of this thread) that a hybrid is quite possibly a better option for some people based on their driving habits, however for us, and many like us who can focus our mileage on electric vs gas, an EV wins hands down - there simply is no contest on operating costs.
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Snobike Mike
Banned
There is no $400 hardware cost. Either most or all GM vehicles come with OnStar installed. The $400 is for a subscription for services just like SiriusXM. And yes, that does sound like highway robbery which is why I don't pay for standard pricing SiriusXM either.
Best re-read the posts regarding the OnStar issues. On any 2014-15-ish or older equipped vehicle I t is very much a hardware issue requiring upgrade, and even then it only comes with a lousy 3 month trial after you spend that.
What RE-read? It was obvious from his earlier post he only read snippets then turned straight to the opinion-sharing machine called 'reply'.
slowbird
Well-known member
I never would consider Onstar if it wasn't for the extra features it has for the Volt. Like PP mentioned, you can get notifications to your phone regarding charging status. You can precondition the vehicle from places where the Fob won't work, etc etc.
My brakes too were a tad rusty upon pickup. The rotors had some surface rust but I got rid of that with some normal braking. Brakes work great (as a panic stop when a tractor trailer merged into my lane without looking) Now they just show regular surface rust but still lost of meat left on the pads. Oddly enough the Rotor hubs on my G37 were rustier.
My car charged fine all last night and wiggling the plug didn't cause a problem so I'm beginning to think it might possible be an issue with the power in the garage, like you first mentioned PP.
I don't know if Sunny is referring to my issue as his "hassle" but it's far from that. In fact owning the Volt is making things less of a hassle. Especially with the green plates. More use of HOV lanes, specific EV parking on occasion, Less stops to the pump, more money in my pocket. I don't see the hassle.
In regards to the comment that a Prius is the better choice over the Volt, unless you are driving the kind of commutes where the Volt isn't getting the benefits from its EV range (as mentioned many many times in this thread) then Yes...perhaps. But every review I have read, especially those comparing the Volt and the Prius, puts the Volt over the Prius. Better ride, better handling, better looks, better interior, more power, more fun to drive etc etc.
The Prius is gutless. This Volt has so much instant Torque...very fun.
Here's my "damage" for Monday and Tuesday. Would have been better but I stayed out late and my dink-ey level 1 charger didn't get me the full charge before I had to wake up at 5am:
Still much better than the 11-12L/100kms I was getting in my G....and again, I'm driving it spiritedly. Almost always in Sport mode.
I had a full charge last night and my drive to work today was all EV.
My brakes too were a tad rusty upon pickup. The rotors had some surface rust but I got rid of that with some normal braking. Brakes work great (as a panic stop when a tractor trailer merged into my lane without looking) Now they just show regular surface rust but still lost of meat left on the pads. Oddly enough the Rotor hubs on my G37 were rustier.
My car charged fine all last night and wiggling the plug didn't cause a problem so I'm beginning to think it might possible be an issue with the power in the garage, like you first mentioned PP.
I don't know if Sunny is referring to my issue as his "hassle" but it's far from that. In fact owning the Volt is making things less of a hassle. Especially with the green plates. More use of HOV lanes, specific EV parking on occasion, Less stops to the pump, more money in my pocket. I don't see the hassle.
In regards to the comment that a Prius is the better choice over the Volt, unless you are driving the kind of commutes where the Volt isn't getting the benefits from its EV range (as mentioned many many times in this thread) then Yes...perhaps. But every review I have read, especially those comparing the Volt and the Prius, puts the Volt over the Prius. Better ride, better handling, better looks, better interior, more power, more fun to drive etc etc.
The Prius is gutless. This Volt has so much instant Torque...very fun.
Here's my "damage" for Monday and Tuesday. Would have been better but I stayed out late and my dink-ey level 1 charger didn't get me the full charge before I had to wake up at 5am:
Still much better than the 11-12L/100kms I was getting in my G....and again, I'm driving it spiritedly. Almost always in Sport mode.
I had a full charge last night and my drive to work today was all EV
.
I get it.
Prius hybrid starts at $21 thousand brand new. A Volt starts at around $38k for a stripper?
Prius you can get all kinds of configurations... Prius C, Prius, Prius V
Why
the hell would I want to spend 38 to 42 grand for a volt when I get great fuel savings for almost $20,000 less? thats alot of gas I can buy!
and, legendary toyota quality
and, no need to go searching for a plug every night. that alone is worth the savings, hassle and headache!
**** I am not sure what the gov't rebates are on Volts and Prius. simply basing my argument on MSRP.
A Prius at $21k is a penalty box. Priuses before 2017 (all of them) were and are awful to drive. The new one is supposed to be better, but now it's awful to look at. And while there was an "oops" involving older OnStar's hardware becoming obsolete ... Toyota? Doesn't have it at all. Honda? Nope, not there either.
Rusty brake rotors because a car sat in a used car lot for a while isn't the car's fault. Back when my dad drove Honda cars (1990s) the brake rotors would warp if you breathed at them wrong - and they were expensive.
Rusty brake rotors because a car sat in a used car lot for a while isn't the car's fault. Back when my dad drove Honda cars (1990s) the brake rotors would warp if you breathed at them wrong - and they were expensive.
Please post up some brand new 2017 Prius' that are available for $22K, because pretty much anything I can find is over $25 for a "stripper", and anything optioned out is in the $30K or more range.
Oh hey, optioned out Volts are right in that same price range after the rebates.
If you're going to post figures at least compare apples to apples, sheesh.
Oh hey, optioned out Volts are right in that same price range after the rebates.
If you're going to post figures at least compare apples to apples, sheesh.
And I still don't get your continued insistence that plugging in is such a colossal pain – I actually measured the number of seconds it took last night from the time I got out of the car, popped open the charge door, unplugged the cord from my dock I mounted on the front of the house, and plugged it in – a whopping three seconds.
A whole THREE seconds. Wowzers.
Compared to the 15 minutes I waited at Costco to gas up my Magnum last night (and the 4-5 minutes standing in the howling wind actually pumping the gas), that whopping three seconds sure seemed preferable to me.
The time I spend plugging in equals maybe 30 seconds tops in a 7 day period. Horrible, so inconvenient, what a pain! It's even more painful when I have to plug in at a mall somewhere and get that terribly inconvenient and horrible free electricity. Oh woe is me.
A whole THREE seconds. Wowzers.
Compared to the 15 minutes I waited at Costco to gas up my Magnum last night (and the 4-5 minutes standing in the howling wind actually pumping the gas), that whopping three seconds sure seemed preferable to me.
The time I spend plugging in equals maybe 30 seconds tops in a 7 day period. Horrible, so inconvenient, what a pain! It's even more painful when I have to plug in at a mall somewhere and get that terribly inconvenient and horrible free electricity. Oh woe is me.
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You keep using this lame excuse but you'd say the opposite if we all had plug in cars for a hundred years and then some amazing technology came along that enabled gas operation, like "no need to make a special trip to a gas station every few weeks to wait for the tank to refill, what a hassle and headache!"
Plugging in and unplugging is as challenging as putting your keys away and getting them out whenever you drive. What a hassle!?!
Youre not against plug-ins, you're against change.
The plugging-in at home argument as a point against ... is really dumb way to down talk plug-ins, so full advantage can be taken into consideration. More than likely, people like this will be against any change.
My next new small car (must fit into my crowded garage) will be BEV, without a question. I just hope that by that time there will be something more fun and good looking than the current offerings. I would love Mini-E type of a car ... proper handling, proper steering and pleasure to look at at and sit in, without costing me two arms and two legs .... until then ICE will have to do.
My next new small car (must fit into my crowded garage) will be BEV, without a question. I just hope that by that time there will be something more fun and good looking than the current offerings. I would love Mini-E type of a car ... proper handling, proper steering and pleasure to look at at and sit in, without costing me two arms and two legs .... until then ICE will have to do.
Not true, when they introduce wireless charging for cars, then electric cars will gain traction.
I also think the automakers supporting the hydrogen movement are on to something.
I won't predict a time line, but when hydrogen does take off, we will all look back and laugh and say.... "remember when we used to have to plug in our cars every night? how lame!"
nobody needs OnStar, or it would be an option in every vehicle. we have cell phones and connected cars
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