2 months in with my Volt - still thrilled!

[14Accent]

Credit: Voltstats.net for providing the tracking and chart

I'd say so far I'm getting my money's worth out of it! I purchased the car 3/13 but I didn't get Onstar and Voltstats set up right away, so ignore the March readings. And May isn't quite done, those numbers will come down after my Memorial Day road trip this weekend that will be run 99% on gasoline.

I've never really kept track of my driving habits or yearly mileage totals, it's always just been a car. I keep track of oil changes, that's it. It's been kind of neat seeing my driving habits. I haven't been driving the car purely for efficiency, either. I love putting it in sport mode and zooming around town with it. 276 lb. ft. of torque available from 0 RPM in a small hatchback is quite the experience!

Just to give a quick glossary for the abbreviations that aren't obvious:

EV MPVDD: Average electric miles traveled per vehicle driven day. Only days when the car is used contribute to this average, it's not aggregate over the entire month

Total MPVDD: Average total miles traveled per vehicle driven day. Same as above applies.

MPG(CS) Miles per gallon while running in "Charge Sustaining" mode (a.k.a. any time the gasoline engine is being used to propel the vehicle, either after the HV battery is depleted or the Hold drive mode is selected, which sustains whatever state of charge was available when Hold was selected).

 

[Patman]

I'm a big fan of the Volt, good friends of ours had a 2014 and recently traded it for a 2018. I haven't seen the 2018 yet but we've ridden in their old 2014 whenever we visited them in Florida (they go there every winter, but they live here in Ontario the rest of the time) It really MOVES off the line with the torque of that electric motor! I'd love to get one to replace my Civic, it would be perfect for me since my round trip drive to work is only 25 miles.

Our friends drive the Volt from Ontario to Florida purely using the gas engine and I think they were getting something like 37 or 38 MPG in the old car. I have heard the new generation is much more efficient when running purely on the gas engine. (40+ MPG?) Plus it now can run on 87 octane where the first generation required premium, so that helps a lot too.

 

[JHZR2]

I like the concept of that hold drive mode. My only semi-complaint with my accord is that it will randomly shut down the battery when cruising on the highway. Its part of the design, and does increase MPGs, but Id rather keep those battery cycles for around town/commuting where it makes a huge difference, and I routinely get 60-70 MPG.

Id suspect to get the same MPGs as your CS mode, like 41-ish if all highway, which IMO is just fine.

Stats like this are really neat. Good stuff!

HEVs and Volt-type vehicles are the best future, IMO, not straight-up EVs.

 

[Donald]

It looks like Subaru has a HEV version of the Crosstrek.

I want one so I can go from work to home to work (140 miles) without using the gas engine or charging at home. I can then charge at the office for free. (like a lot of people do).

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

We have one at work to use to go to meetings, conferences etc. MPG is great. Comfort is terrible. I hate the seat. Outside bolster / padding is way to thin. Only 20k miles on it and it feels worn out. I never look forward to driving it since I don't have to pay for the gas anyway.