2012 Chevrolet Volt

Rating from car enthusiast

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		4 out of 5
Value for the Money:		4 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"very well designed automobile combining styling,handling, comfort and fuel efficiency. Certified preowned with only 2800 miles, it drives excellent, incredible quiet and with excellent acceleration and did I mention it's fuel efficiency. I really love it."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: Used

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Auto shop owner

(5)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		4 out of 5
Value for the Money:		4 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"Have owned a 2012 Volt for about 2 weeks now. I've driven close to 300 miles total and have used less than 1.5 gallons of gas. I've quit following what's happening w/ gas prices now that I barely use any. The car is whisper quiet when you drive, the features all seem to work well. No complaints right now. I hope future developements will lead to this technology coming into a large vehicle, as I would love to own a large sedan for driving around with the whole family, but for now, this is as good as it gets."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: Used

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Ordinary Average Guy

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		3 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		3 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"Ok, I've had this car for 6 months now. I did not buy it, I have it on a 2 year lease. Let's just say it takes some getting used to it. Honestly, in the summer I was getting 44-45 miles per charge. I didn't do any kind of "hypermiling" or anything like that. Now in the winter (which I live in Michigan so it does get cold) I'm getting 28-29 miles per charge. I'm sure if you are reading this, then you probably have researched it so I'm not going to bore you with facts and figures. My biggest complaint is that EVERY one of these cars should have heated seats. Mine, does not so I'm forced to use the climate controls to keep warm in the winter. Outside of that I must say I like the car overall. Since I got it in July I've only put gas in 2 times, which seems great to me. As for as charging it, I charge off hours on a 240V charging station (which was totally paid for thanks to my local utility DTE). My electric bill has gone up 31-37 dollars a month. When this lease is up, unless there is another great deal on a lease I probably won't get on again. I'd like to try a full electric car like the Nissan Leaf or the upcoming Fiat 500E personally. My car is strictly a commuter car/2nd car. We have a Dodge Journey which we use as a "primary" vehicle so mine just has to get me to work and back and the occasional trip to the grocery store."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Southern NE Volt

(4)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		4 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		3 out of 5
Interior Design:		3 out of 5
Value for the Money:		2 out of 5
Reliability:		4 out of 5

"Here's the real deal on the Volt: These folks here claiming that they average 44 miles+ on a charge? No way. Maybe in Southern California. Maybe on the hottest humidity-free summer days. In real life, in New england. Plan on low thirties in the summer and 23-27 miles per charge in the winter. That's right 23. When the temperature drops below 35F, my "fully charged" volt will display an electric range of 25-26 miles, but actual highway driving at or very close to 65MPH, will yield only 23-24 miles of range before I switch to gas. Oh -- and one other thing no other reviewers have commented on -- the gas drive is LOUD. One other note, the front ground effects are so low that my volt frequently "bottoms out." Hey -- I like the car -- but there seems to be a lot of rose-colored glasses-wearing drivers out there. 44 miles of range -- ppshaw! I've never seen it!"

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Hank

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		4 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"Wow. Chevrolet has built a car of the future at lease for now. Purchased a 2012 Chevrolet Volt back in December 2012 and has loved it since. My daily commute is between 43 ~ 44 miles each way. I am able to make it to the office from home with a full charge and with a 2 ~ 3 mile battery remaining before it is completely depleted. So far, I have driving over 1000 miles and I?m averaging between 220 to 250+ mile per gallon of gas since I had the car. Lived in South California and I drive a lot on the freeway. Well, for those that wonder how I can accomplish this kind of gas mileage. I usually drive with an average speed of 65 mph. It has been working well for me as a work commute car and a family car. Great car for the clean air Environment and minimum trips to gas stations. I am less oil/gas dependent now since I had the Volt. Now, every time that I drive by the gas station it put's a smile on my face. It?s like money back into my pockets. If you are in the market to purchase a Volt "buy it" is a great car to drive, great stereo system, Navigations Remote Keyless entry, smart phone car monitor status, 3 years onstar, and it is fun to drive, comfortable ride, quite inside with an electric motor running and it is very smooth on the road. I would rate this car with a scale of 10 being the best and I will give it a 9.5 The reason not to rate it with a 10 is because there is always room for improvement so therefore, I give it a 9.5 on my review."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: Used

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Wildone

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		3 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I've had my Volt for about a month now. You really can't compare this to any other ICE vehicle out there today. The ride is superior in every way (acceleration , noise or lack thereof, stability...). There is a little learning curve to operate & utilize all the features are somewhat intuitive, charging being the most important and well thought out. Congratulations to the developers in creating a first generation winner, integrating a new technology into a product that is years ahead of its time. For me it's simple: No Gas+No Rush Hour Traffic+No Money To Foreign Auto/Oil=No Brainer"

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Volt

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"Technological marvel-Constantly surprises->50 miles per charge for past 6 months-Gas gen-48.3MPG-Total gas used incl eng maint-1 gal"

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Transporting family

Rating from Red Volt

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I have now owned my Volt for 4 months and 6000 miles, enough time to have driven on a wide variety of terrain and conditions. While not without its peculiarities, the overall experience has been extremely positive. Any vehicle has some compromises and the Volt has a couple of them but are in my overall estimation not particularly important to me as a driver. There is the nagging scraping of the front air dam on many ground obstacles, the lack of power seats and a restricted view out of the car. However these are very minor annoyances compared to the overall performance and feel of the vehicle. The overall experience of driving the vehicle is outstanding. Quiet, smooth powerful, and fun are the words that come to mind. From the power-up to the smooth and virtually silent start of your drive it feels like a very solid and stable ride. It is so much like a normal driving experience and completely lacks the more herky-jerky engagement of the gas engine in a hybrid. There is no shifting, rather a seamless acceleration to the desired speed. This is especially apparent in mountainous terrain where standard autos frequently downshift, resulting in an uneven ride. Across driving conditions there is an extremely smooth and confident ride. It sounds more like riding in your living room than a car, but in a very good way. It is also very fun to drive as the handling, especially cornering is very stable and the car rides far better than other cars of its size I have driven. Fit and finish is very competent and the car feels solidly built. I have experienced no problems with any part of the vehicle as respects the quality of the materials or operation of components. Almost everyone who has stopped me to inquire about the car has commented on the appealing styling. Economy and charging are the areas where the expectations have really been exceeded. The first two months were done exclusively with 120 volt charging cable that is included with the car. There were no problems and the charging times were right on the estimates. For the first month (25 days) the electric bill went up $34.02. Subsequent months have stabilized at $42.00 per month increase and there is now a 240 volt Blink high-speed charger at my residence which tracks the daily charges and reports pricing. For the first 18 days of the current month total electric costs have been $23.93. and I have used no gasoline during the month for a cost per mile of driving of .0299 cents per mile. My previous car at 24 mpg would have cost approximately $133.17 to drive the same distance, a savings of $109.24. The 240 volt charger allows me to capture partial recharges during the day and extend the range of the car to well over 50 miles per day. While the high speed charger allows me to increase my electric bill, the gasoline bill now hovers near zero. Because of the moderate climate where I live, the daily range I get from the vehicle has always exceeded the 35 mile EPA estimate and averages very close to 50 miles every day. On 4 "out of electric range trips" (over 50 miles) the Volt has come close to 40 mpg (gasoline) often with more than 1 person in the car. Even if the battery needs replacement in several years, the savings of the fuel cost should allow me to recapture enough savings to afford a replacement. Service is another great source of savings. Scheduled maintenance is almost non-existent compared to a conventional car. Oil changes for me will be every 2 years, no tune-up of the engine in its lifespan, mostly just rotate tires and inspect systems. The brakes look like new after 5800 miles with virtually no wear detected. There have been no problems with the car to date. Reading other reviews lead me to believe that this overall experience is common. While longer term reliability is yet to be known, the overall experience has been well beyond expectations. I have no trouble understanding why owners have given the Volt the highest satisfaction ratings of any car. If you want to be electric as much as possible, the Volt offers a choice of extended range and convenience that is simply not available in any other vehicle at this time. Chevrolet is to be commended for its engineering skill in making an electric powered vehicle that removes range limitations from that segment of the marketplace. The combination of performance, economy, reliability, design and intangibles have given me the best feeling about vehicle ownership that I could have imagined. Ever."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around

Rating from Fred

(5)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		4 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		4 out of 5
Interior Design:		4 out of 5
Value for the Money:		4 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I probably should use something else for my lengthy road trips, but I am really loving this car. I am a long time BMW driver. LOVE the 3 series, especially on road trips. Balanced, sporty, always feel safe, and on a windy mountain road a joy to drive. Well, the Volt is the first car I have driven that approaches the 3 series. Not quite the balance of a 3 series, but the Volt is a capable mountain road warrior. On the long haul over 299 between Redding and Eureka, the Volt had no issues flying past other cars uphill, and going downhill in "L" made the twisting turns a piece of cake. The only car that could keep up was a new 325i, which stayed in my rear view mirror all the way to the McKinneyville rest area (sometimes just a thought in the distance). Not great gas mileage (36.9) by a number, but that was over 150 miles of racing through the mountains, all on gas! No Prius or Leaf could have done that. My point is that the Volt is a REAL car. It can compete with just about anything on the road, is a good hybrid, and for city commutes an incredible electric car that burns no gas. I have even put the back seats down and slept in it while it recharged for the trip home. This is an incredible car. The stearing, the handling, the acceleration all the way up to highway speeds, oh, and did I mention it can go 40+ miles on just electricity? To pick some minor complaints: The car is about 4 inches too short for a 6 foot person to sleep in the back, the touch "buttons" can be a pain, programmable buttons would be nice, as would the ability to run smartphone apps on the center console screen. Other than that, if chevy can get the car closer to 50/50 balance and a 200hp electric motor..... Oh... I have read complaints about the price. Well, if this was another Prius clone then yea, it seems on the high side. But this car is so much more, and I think you will find that your dealer will be like mine and work with you to get you into the car. Drive it. You will love it. You won't go back to a gasoline engine again."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Having fun

Rating from Environmentalist

(5)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		4 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"Not enough platitudes can be said about this car which we have owned for about 7 weeks. Until we took a vacation to the beach we did not use a drop of gas. It is rated at 38 miles/charge but we get closer to 45-50 when AC is not used. We live in the suburbs and most round trips are less than 20 miles. We charge overnight for less than $1.50 for a full charge less for lesser charges. The car is comfortable for long trips but then you start using gas. In our case we were getting between 40-45 miles on the highway. It regens power when in stop and go traffic so if there is a pileup you get more mpg than if you go straight 65mph. The interior is luxurious and the infotainment center is amusing. I estimate we will save between $100-200/month in gas. Its not ideal for everyone, particularly if your commute is longer than 40 miles each way but it can still save money in those situations. This car has been great and has plenty of pickup on the highway."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around