I have been given the opportunity to spend a week with a Volt (2015 not a 2016 but brand new ~200 miles on the ODO). For some background I'm not a Hybrid/ECar guy...I mean I built a Merkur in college, restored a Fiat Spyder, and drive a manual pickup in Atlanta traffic...I might be a Masochist. Anyway here's my log and thoughts so far:
Day 1: I've had the car since Wednesday and when I got it the battery was exhausted. I drove it spiritedly for a day on pure gas - honestly it was a hoot, even in Sport mode. My brother-in-law drove it as well and was shocked both by how nice it rode, fit and finish, and by the time he got out said more than once...I can't believe that's a GM product. I plugged it in late that night.
Day 2: I had 50% charge because it only charged for 6 hours from empty (range said around 25 miles). My commute to work is 10 miles. I set it to Sport mode, turned on the AC, cranked the XM, and went to work. There were times I couldn't believe the speedo given how smooth, quiet, and nimble it is. I returned home and exhausted the battery as I pulled into my driveway (25 miles of estimated range burned up in 20 miles of real driving with some traffic and less than conservative driving). This was the first day ever going to work without using gasoline...I plugged it in early hoping to fill it up before Day 3...
Day 3: Woke up to a full battery. Left the car in 'normal' mode an drove to work more gingerly just to see how little range I could use - battery said 35 Miles and I made it to work (10 miles away) with 30 miles remaining. I went to lunch and found the 'Hold' mode...this is neat...basically the car is like a Prius, only not, I burned a couple miles of gas but still have 30 miles remaining in electric mode. I think I'm going to drive home this way to see how it goes in traffic. Maybe I'll use Mountain mode tomorrow.
