Chevy Volt?

[Telly]

I'm in a mindset to find a better MPG commuter car and I like the idea of an EV or Hybrid. I posted about the Slate truck last week, but now starting to think that would not fit my needs. Anyone have experience with a Chevy Volt? There are a few out there with less than 100k miles for reasonable cost. Similar to the new Scout, the Volt is a plug-in hybrid with about 30-35 miles of battery only range along with an on board gas generator that provides an overall range of about 300 miles. Good on-line reviews for reliability, ride comfort, and tech. I've always liked the styling of the 1st gen Volts too.

My commute is 70 miles round trip and my office has EV Chargers (not free). It may not make sense to charge at the office since I have no idea what a 4 hour charge would set me back.

In theory, I can travel back and forth on battery for about 90% of the commute if I charge at the office. If using the gas generator on longer trips, the Volt only gets about 37 mpg. Replacing the batteries is NOT cheap so that is something to consider.

I could almost justify buying one and keeping my Tacoma. My wife will not agree with this idea and she's always right...dammit.

Thoughts on the Volt?

 

[SteveH]

A former co-worker of mine has had one for years and most of 100K miles, with virtually no issues. Production stopped in 2019, so they should be dirt cheap at this point. There may be battery pack availability issues, if the pack goes south - you might check on that.

 

[IoN6]

no idea what a 4 hour charge would set me back

I am no sparky, but I would hope that 35 miles of juice does not take 4 hours to inject...

 

[ScaldedDog]

I am no sparky, but I would hope that 35 miles of juice does not take 4 hours to inject...

It might. A lot of plug-in hybrids only charge at 16a. When that's the case, it never pays to charge anywhere but home, or where charging is fully subsidized.

Mark

 

[BritKLR]

I have a good friend up here in Eldora that bought one new and with all the rebates and got a heck of a deal on it. He drives it cross country to the upper midwest several times a years and has zero problems with it. Knowing him he'll drive it into the ground before he gets rid of it. FWIW.

 

[Telly]

I talked to the owner last night and he has been using it exactly as I would. He commutes from Thornton to DTC everyday, using the battery to work and gas on the way home. He charges over night with 110v. He has never used the Tesla charging stations nor does he have a 220v setup in his garage. He uses about 1/2-3/4 gallon of gas per day. It's debatable if the overnight charging is worth the gas savings honestly. I could see a benefit of running around town on the weekends on battery only.

My coworker has a new Jeep plug-in hybrid and it works exactly the same with charging 110v overnight and a 35 mile battery life. He loves it.

It's tempting to give it a try for how inexpensive they are right now. I'm looking at a 2014 with 99k miles for about $6,500.