My first Volt test drive

[JDan]

So I saw a volt at a local dealer and couldn't resist. I stopped in for a look and went for a short test drive. My impressions are as follows: It was a fully loaded white tricote with backup camera (~$46000.00). The car in electric mode is so quiet, the only sounds I could hear (beside the salesman) were some minor wind noise coming from the top of the hatch back and some very muffled road noise. The noises could not be heard when the radio was on and not very loud. Overall the performance in normal mode was OK (my car goes 0-60 in 6 seconds for reference) when getting on the highway. But when I entered the highway a second time in sports mode the car accelerated quite firmly. I was very impressed. I also experienced (IMO) the two stage braking. The first stage was mild due to regenerative braking. The second stage was the actual disks which work very well. The car is ever so slightly smaller than my 2007 Saturn Aura XR, but it still felt fairly roomy for my medium 5'10" frame. I did notice that the back seat leg room (when the front seats are all the way back) is a bit thin, perhaps 4" or so. But when I adjusted to my size, the rear leg room looked much better. I think the previous driver was about my son's height (6'4"). I also experienced driving in "L" which I think really could replace allot of minor braking, though I'm not sure how efficient that is. Anyway, the experience was so good that I looked into what I could afford and do. Interestingly in my area the local utility matches the $7,500.00 government tax credit as cash at purchase. My Saturn is paid off, so with all that taken into account I would be looking at a payment between $100.00 and $150.00 per month for a lease which is about what I pay for gas each month now! I live quite close to work so I could charge on weekends and drive gas free during the week! I'm checking to see if the utility still has funds available as they were for the first 25 customers. Here’s to hoping.

[Codyozz]

Sounds like you got yourself just about talked into it! :-) You mentioned your car goes 0-60 in 6 seconds... that ain't the Saturn Aura right??! lol The Volt accel in town should just about match the Aura me thinks. It's when the car hits about 45 that there seems to be a drop off in surge.
You also mentioned that driving in L was good, but you weren't sure how efficient it is. The answer I think is YES it's very efficient way to travel. If you are comparing the L mode to coasting, then maybe you are a bit right, in that the car will travel another 100' (example) further but then again, you wouldn't be adding power to the battery, so when you hit the go pedal again, it would be without any additional juice in the battery. Fig Newtons law applies somewhere here. The energy has to go somewhere, and in the past (or any other non-hybird) it was wasted but now it's used by regen or by coasting.
I hope you get the car. It is at MSRP right???

[voltage692]

My fully loaded white Volt was around $44.5K.

Don't pay over MSRP.

[JDan]

My 2007 Saturn Aura XR has 252hp with the 6 speed tranny so yes it does 0-60 in 6.2 seconds (according to Car and Driver).
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test

And yes I'm working hard to make this a reasonable decision. I think your right on the Volts performance if It's in sport mode. The car I looked at was MSRP, however it was also the dealer demo with the big VOLT badging on the side (i.e. not for sale, sigh). Anyway I still need to do some research on the utility offering.

BTW: As I understand MSRP, it varies depending on the dealer volume.

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Sounds like you really enjoyed it JDan. I understand that it was a demo and you won't be able to purchase that particular Volt from the dealer. If you do decide to go with a Volt, send me an email and I'll look around for some dealers with Volts in stock.

voltsocialmedia@gm.com

[voltage692]

Sounds like some salesman bs'd you pretty good. MSRP is the same across the country. Look on the GM's own Volt site. There's only 1 MSRP in the US:
http://www.chevrolet.com/volt/

BTW: As I understand MSRP, it varies depending on the dealer volume.

[DonC]

Hi JDan

Glad you enjoyed your test drive.

Prices for MY 2012 Volts have gone up if you add all the options. For obvious reasons I suspect your dealer was talking about what pricing would be for that MY not the current MY. If you're interested in a MY 2011, and I think there are some good reasons you might be, consider taking Trevor up on his offer. The VA team provides some incredible service.

With respect to the acceleration, electrics should do better than predicted and what you might expect simply from looking at the test results from magazines like Car & Driver or Road & Track. The times for an ICE usually are done with an experienced/professional driver using the foot on brake and on gas technique with a run out. As you've probably figured out, an electric with all the low end torque doesn't need all that extra babying. As a consequence, in the hands and feet of regular drivers the EV will do better than you'd expect.

[JDan]

Thanks everyone, I'll definitely shop around and post here for feedback as this site is a pretty good resource. Sorry for the price difference but when I looked on their website it was $45k something, now it is showing as $44,680.00 which is pretty closely in-line with voltage692's $44.5K. Here's the dealer link: http://www.budkoutschevy.com/New-Inv...oryId=40588405

[Steverino]

My wife and I drive in L 100% of the time now. JDan. We prefer it to D and wish our other cars could drive in L and regenerate. Hope you can snag a Volt, it quickly grows on you. Be prepared to be spoiled.

[bonaire]

Interestingly in my area the local utility matches the $7,500.00 government tax credit as cash at purchase.

How does that work? Is that a 0% loan for the tax credit or is this some kind of extra rebate (totalling 15K)?