Okay, I had to give the Volt back this morning. I will say "had" because I didn't want to. I didn't think I would like it, but in turn, I really really did.

Here's my total overview...

First, what I liked about it:

• Cost to operate! See cost breakdown later in this post.
• Seats were very nice and comfortable. A 3-hour trip was not a big deal and I wasn't struggling to get comfy at all.
• I cannot stress now "normal" this car felt. At times, I forgot it was a Volt and sorta settled into the thought that it was any other car.
• Acceleration was more than adequate. There was never a time where I said "I wish this had more guts". I expected it to be weak and sluggish. It did great and can deliver as much as anyone can expect out of any "normal" car.
• Interior, fit, and finish, etc. is excellent. Not a creak, not a squeak, not a "cheap" feeling anywhere.
• Roominess was more than expected for this type of vehicle. I didn't expect it to be spacious, but it is definitely not cramped. My son is 5'-10" and fit in the backseat with no problem for a 3 hour trip. Yesterday, I did some testing. I left the driver seat in the same position as I needed to drive, and then got in the backseat behind it. I had plenty of leg and knee room. I could fit my fist between my knee and the back of the driver seat with a bit of room to spare. I got more knee room by relaxing a bit and letting my legs relax, bringing my knees to the sides.
• The two LCD screens were cool (one touch screen) and had loads of information any the press of a button. There was little to no learning curve in using it.
• Great visibility all the way around.
• A feeling of freedom of sorts...knowing that it doesn't cost much to operate.
• I personally think it is a very good looking car, better looking than many "normal cars" out there.

Complaints? A few, but very, very minor.

• I am sure it was my seating position...but my right knee pressed against the center stack when driving. Maybe my posture sucks. I have to think that it is just my personal seating position.
• There was an ever so slight distortion to the windshield right in my line of sight. I couldn't see it all of the time, only when my focus was in just the right spot.
• The generator running at different speeds than the vehicle accelerating takes some getting used to. Just sounds wired (when you notice it) to be increasing speed while hearing the gentle hum of the generator decreasing RPMs.
• At 80mph, going around a highway curve, the steering started to feel twitchy. Otherwise, steering and handling was great.
• The climate controls, radio settings, etc. were all touch sensitive (not the touch screen, the area under it). It was very easy to accidentally bump your hand against one and change a setting. It took a little while to be mindful of where you touch the panel.
• It is very low in the front for aerodynamics and has a breakaway air dam. I was already used to my Camaro being low in the front, but others may have a hard time being mindful of this.
• I couldn't have it for more time.

So the cost of driving it...

It arrived with a full tank of gas and about 29 miles of battery charge left. All told, I put well over 400 miles on it, possibly closer to 450. I suppose I should have paid more attention, but the car is so fun to drive, I sorta lost my focus. Anyway...in the 400+ miles, I did as follows:

• Day 1 - drove it around 25 miles that day, playing with the cool features. I purposely didn't charge it that night because I wanted to see what it was like for the generator to switch on (see video above, more videos on the way)
• Day 2 - Drove to work, which is a 40 mile round trip drive. Made the video posted above of the generator switching on on the way in. Fully charged it that night.
• Day 3 - Drove to Grand Rapids from Detroit, which is about 170 miles one way. The full charge from the night before didn't last the estimated 40 miles as I was on the highway and I'll be honest...I wasn't driving it in an "eco friendly" manner. I was averaging 80-85mph on the highway, and the meter on the dash was rarely showing optimal efficiency. I got around 25 miles out of the full charge when the generator switched over. I had well over 3/4 of a tank of gas at that point. I drove to Grand Rapids, picked up my mom, went to find a place to eat, wen to see a movie, dropped my mom off and headed back to the Detroit area. Halfway back I stopped and put 4 gallons of gas in the tank when I had around 1/3 to 1/2 tank left. I continued my drive home.
• Day 4 - I drove around town running errands, and at the end of the day, I had around 100 miles of range left on it.

So...to recap, I drove well over 400 miles (including perhaps a half dozen "let's see what this baby can do" 0-60 sprints) and a lot of highway miles. In order to travel those miles, it cost 1.5 battery charges and approximately 15 gallons of fuel. So the estimated operating cost for that is $60. This may not seem like terrific MPG, but again, I wasn't driving it gently. I treated this car as if it was my own and drove it how I drive my current car. Had I took the effort to watch the efficiency meter more closely, I am sure I could have gotten a LOT more out of it. Dont; forget that the lifetime average MPG was around 65. It was a little lower when I was done with it.

If I made the same trip in my Grand Cherokee (which has an average of 18 mpg), it would have cost me around 40 gallons of fuel.

If I drove this to work every day, I would rarely use any fuel.

I kinda miss the car, now. I wish I could have it for a year and really see how much savings it would provide for me.

My verdict:

• This was a much better, nicer car than I expected. Not to mention...driving it is FUN. No joke...it is a fun car to drive. Hybrid cars, etc don't look fun. The Chevrolet Volt is.
• I am wondering how well it will do in a Michigan winter, with it being so low in the front and having low-resistance tires to be specifically designed for it.
• More people need a weekend of seat time in it. That will happen soon enough, and I have a feeling the reviews will follow suit with mine.
• If I was in the market for a new car, I would strongly consider getting one. I liked it, my wife liked it, and even my son liked it. Now that I think about it...I want it back!

I will post pictures and more videos soon! Until then, continue to ask questions.

Special thanks for GM for letting me try the car out!

 

I invoked that when I meant to flicker the bright headlights to let someone into traffic. Now I know what it was!

I hear they are making it so it continually makes a sound when in operation. I vote for the Jetson's car sound.

 

Here is a video of the generator running under the hood.

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The generator turns off after I close the hood.

 

Climate Control and Generator Running Inside Passenger Compartment

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That's a safety feature. Even in EV mode the engine will fire up if you open the hood to let you know "hey, I'm still "on" here and you don't want to be up to your elbows next to a belt in case I decide to fire up then instead".

 

I have one more video that I have to edit before I post it.

I really miss that car. Driving to work in my old Jeep was sort of...blech. Noisy, expensive, etc. I used to like it. Now it is so unrefined.

 

No burnout pics?

 

Nope. Couldn't do a burnout.

Here are some regular pics, though!

 

 

Are you getting paid for this?

 

Nope, not a dime. I did get to save some gas money, though.

 

is the pedestrian alert sound like a quieter horn?

if so, why not just make the vehicle send a wireless signal out on a universal radioband to small pocket device for those who would benefit form knowing a vehicle approaches?

i dont want to be rude, but, i feel like most would use their horn instead of remebering a special button, or just alltogetehr forget and yell at the person.

basicaly take the power and authority to alert away from the driver, and directly warn the person who needs to know.

~~
that is perhaps the shortest rear portion of car (after the rear wheels) i have ever seen. is therea measurement for it anywhere? id like to see it compared similar sized segment vehicles.

theres a few too many buttons on that interior for my taste. :eep:

 

Jason...Thanks for the review. Just curious how you were able to get this test drive. Is it your association with this site, your employment, or did you sign up in hopes of someday getting a test vehicle. Do you need to give feedback to GM about your time with the Volt?

 

Through the site and the friends we have made in running it. When someone asked around GM who might want to try out a car or two, our names came up. I guess that is what we get to do after running the site for 15 years and doing a weekly Podcast for 5 years.

BTW...even if they DID pay me for the review, the wording would have been exactly the same.

 

Okay, as promised...I finally got the "Start and Drive" video up.

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