Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

[PrivatePilot]

Haha, it sounds like he has a short cable that allows you to plug the 120V plug into the 220V socket. Electricians love those.

Yep, that’s it. No, I’m not condoning it, and yes, I realize it’s not code, however if done in a secure fashion so that somebody can’t accidentally plug-in 120V device into what is now a 220V plug, it works.

When the factory Clipper Creek EVSE is used this way it’s still a bit slower than what the Volt can actually charge at (about 3.0kw vs 3.3kw capability) so it’s a little bit slower, however still vastly faster than level one.

I bought the car and didn't get either the rust proofing or the warranty. Hopefully it will be ready for me in a day or two.

Cool, congrats. Pics?

And yes I would not have wasted a dime on any factory rust proofing and crap like that, new cars come out of the factory more than capable of lasting 6-10 years before rust is even a concern, and even at that point I would recommend third-party options like Rust Check long before any dealership profit-centre junk.

You’re getting the car at a good time of year for EV‘s - The worst of the winter cold is mostly behind us and ranges are starting to creep up again. Don’t be surprised that for the first weeks you own it you don’t get the factory estimated range however – you will still be using some heat, and you will quickly fall in love with the perkyness of driving electric, (so you’ll probably be booting it now and then LOL) and both put together will probably hurt your range a little. Once we start warming up into the mid teens and low 20s you are in the sweet spot and will probably be getting over 100km per charge by then.

 

[PrivatePilot]

By the way, ask the dealer to make sure all software updates are completed – there have been some notable issues with the second-generation Volts that have all been addressed by software updates, however if not applied (IE the car was actually built some time ago or has been sitting) it’s possible old versions are still on the computers.

 

[MSRP]

The only reason for a GTAM-er to buy a Prius, especially in light of this thread:
Prius-camping.
There's more than (don't quote me) 6' of clear back to front space with the rear seats folded down.
Not sure why, but Youtube recommended some old dude camping out of his older Prius (the ones that sell for $10,000 all day on kijiji) that he utilized for stealth-camping. There goes an hour of my life.. not completely wasted.

Black out refletix for the windows, heat and a/c throughout the night for like $2 in gas. Gas motor turns on for a few minutes when the battery runs low. Looked damn spacious for what it is compared to my SUV.
Check it out, would suit a lot of those that need a comfy "luxury tent" for race weekends in the summer.
Tow a decent sized (not too tall) enclosed trailer and still get 25mpg. Definitely getting mid-30's if you're just towing an open trailer with a bike in it.

 

[nobbie48]

The only reason for a GTAM-er to buy a Prius, especially in light of this thread:
Prius-camping.
There's more than (don't quote me) 6' of clear back to front space with the rear seats folded down.
Not sure why, but Youtube recommended some old dude camping out of his older Prius (the ones that sell for $10,000 all day on kijiji) that he utilized for stealth-camping. There goes an hour of my life.. not completely wasted.

Black out refletix for the windows, heat and a/c throughout the night for like $2 in gas. Gas motor turns on for a few minutes when the battery runs low. Looked damn spacious for what it is compared to my SUV.
Check it out, would suit a lot of those that need a comfy "luxury tent" for race weekends in the summer.
Tow a decent sized (not too tall) enclosed trailer and still get 25mpg. Definitely getting mid-30's if you're just towing an open trailer with a bike in it.

The idea of sleeping in a car with the engine running could leave me cold. Literally.

At least install a CO alarm.

 

[nobbie48]

I have never found rust protection worthwhile. What recent GM vehicle have you seen that perforated in less than 10 years? I also have my doubts that lifetime in the warranty actually means forever, it is probably pro-rated or useful life or something like that.

That is a pretty pricey extended warranty considering that Voltec covers most of the expensive bits for 160,000 km (unless they have changed something recently?). I paid much less than that for longer coverage on my current car (and I would have been ahead not to buy it, but it was bought to hedge against a specific expensive reasonably common failure).

I'm glad you caught it. The warranty is for perforation not surface rust. My wife's Uplander is 11 years old and just starting to show a little red. It's always parked outside.

I bought a piece of test equipment with a lifetime warranty. In fine print they elaborate that lifetime is the typical life expectancy of the device, not as long as I live.

 

[PrivatePilot]

The only reason for a GTAM-er to buy a Prius, especially in light of this thread:
Prius-camping.

Volt camping is very much a thing as well...heck, there's actually a company that makes custom fit mattresses for them.

The nice thing about the Volt is that you can sleep silently in air conditioned comfort - the battery will run the AC all night without any issue without the engine starting. If you have access to a plug whereever you're parked (IE, a campground) even a 15A receptacle will maintain the AC and keep the battery fully charged without any issue at all.

No engine issues to worry about at all.

 

[mxs]

Volt mattress, eh? Wow ....

 

[nobbie48]

Volt mattress, eh? Wow ....

Electric blanket for the cooler nights?

 

[PrivatePilot]

Electric blanket for the cooler nights?

Totally doable - a small electric blanket only uses a few hundred watts at 120V AC. A small inverter could power that, and as long as the car is left on the 12V battery is silently and constantly maintained/charged from the main traction battery.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Hard to believe it was 1 year ago tomorrow I started this thread musing about the idea of an EV, and coming up on a year (as of April 1st) we actually took the dive.

And now we have 2.

I’ll post a 1 year summary of the relevant figures for my wife’s Volt in early April once the 1 year anniversary has officially passed.

In related news, my wife got word yesterday that it seems like a few Level 2 chargers are imminent at her workplace. Woohooo!

 

[Lunatic]

We picked up the new Volt yesterday, now I just need to pry it away from the wife for a little while to see how it really compares to the Bolt

First impressions are pretty good though, feels a bit more upscale than the Bolt. The Bolt is definitely quicker and the regen is much stronger. Have to use the brakes on the Volt, almost never do on the Bolt.

The wife is going to be the one driving the Volt daily and it has more than enough range to get her to work (and probably back in the summer) on battery. She has 4 level 2 charging stations at work now, with several more ready to install so we'll probably only put gas in it a handful of times a year.

 

[shanekingsley]

Nice Lunatic.
I wish I could get my work to install chargers - not going to happen anytime soon.

If all goes well, I get mine tomorrow and the 240v in the garage next week.

 

[Lunatic]

Nice thing about the Volt is that even on Level 1 at 12 amps it will charge fully overnight. A proper Level 2 EVSE is a necessity with the Bolt. Eventually I'll install a 240V plug to use with the included charging cable for the Volt, but 120v is fine for now.

I just changed jobs to be closer to home, so even I could probably make do with the Volt now, and my office has 2 Level 2 stations, but one seems to be broken.

 

[PrivatePilot]

First impressions are pretty good though, feels a bit more upscale than the Bolt. The Bolt is definitely quicker and the regen is much stronger. Have to use the brakes on the Volt, almost never do on the Bolt.

Don't let the fact that you may have to use the brake pedal on the Volt make you think that it doesn't have strong regen - the pedal 100% favours regen (vs friction braking) quite heavily before resorting to friction. On my Gen1 I can generate 30+kw of regen using the pedal alone before the friction brakes start to get blended in.

Yes, the Bolt does have more on the regen paddles vs the Volt, but the pedal can step up regen quite a lot without actually using the friction brakes at all.

 

[Ash]

Volt camping is very much a thing as well...heck, there's actually a company that makes custom fit mattresses for them.

Do you know what the diagonal length of the sleeping area is on the Volt? I'm still tempted by a Volt just for this overnight air conditioning capability, although I'd much prefer a van layout & headroom instead of having to crawl in the hatch.

 

[Lunatic]

Don't let the fact that you may have to use the brake pedal on the Volt make you think that it doesn't have strong regen - the pedal 100% favours regen (vs friction braking) quite heavily before resorting to friction. On my Gen1 I can generate 30+kw of regen using the pedal alone before the friction brakes start to get blended in.

Yes, the Bolt does have more on the regen paddles vs the Volt, but the pedal can step up regen quite a lot without actually using the friction brakes at all.

I was more commenting about the rate of deceleration as opposed to the power generated. In L mode on the Bolt when you let off the accelerator you slow down a lot more than in the Volt, and come to a complete stop.

 

[GreyGhost]

I was more commenting about the rate of deceleration as opposed to the power generated. In L mode on the Bolt when you let off the accelerator you slow down a lot more than in the Volt, and come to a complete stop.

That seems like a software choice GM made. The Bolt is programmed for people that want different, the Volt is probably programmed to behave much more like an ICE car.

As the chip tuners are going to have to find new avenues of revenue, maybe they will start releasing ECU's that reprogram how your electric car behaves.

 

[mxs]

I was more commenting about the rate of deceleration as opposed to the power generated. In L mode on the Bolt when you let off the accelerator you slow down a lot more than in the Volt, and come to a complete stop.

It's a function of the motor specs and other things ... the Bolt's motor is simply more powerful .... so it makes sense there's a notable difference, there should be if implemented correctly.

I know in my Soul, regen feels weaker than all other cars I tried, which all of them had more powerful motor to start with. Also, SOC, of your battery comes into play as well .... the power the motor generates on regen has to go somewhere .... so if you are close to 100% the system will not allow the car go 100% regen.

But as PP has said, what a manufacturer does with the maximum regen available for a given drive train is up to them. I know for most city driving I can get off-throttle maximum of 75% regen. But if I just touch the brake padal lightly and hold it there (without really engaging the friction brakes) ... I can see the regen goes to 100% and then decreases based on deceleration rate of the vehicle. So there's 25% of regen which I normally cannot reach in city traffic (on hwy ramp coming off high speed, of course it will if I dump the throttle). Which I think is the correct implementation by the Kia engineers, because letting me use 100% regen in low speeds would make for a somewhat jerky ride with a need to re-apply throttle in many situations. On other hand, if they spent a bit more time on development the one pedal function, they could probably make it work. But this car being 4-5 year old design, I am not surprised, they have gone the simpler, proven way.

 

[Lunatic]

Yeah, the Bolt has a true one pedal driving mode, the Volt doesn't. Maybe this weekend I can pry the Volt away from the wife and get some more seat time

 

[mxs]

Most cars coming out now should all have full one pedal driving, even though Nissan would want you believe that it is somehow their specialty ... LOL.