2012 Chevrolet Volt

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

Rating from Chris

(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 been driving Mercedes Benz automobiles for the past 20 years because I like well built, smooth, quiet rides. You can't get any smoother than an electric motor, so that part I knew would be good. What surprised me most though was the ride. It matched my CLK and bested my wife's C Class. She and I both live and work in a small town so we can stay on electric all the time. Our 80 mile trip to the lake on weekends is now a one gallon each way drive. She will be trading in her Mercedes on a Volt very soon. There is just nothing about this car that I don't like. I hope these things catch on because after the lease is up I don't think I can comfortably go back to all gas power. As an American, I'm very proud of what Chevrolet has accomplished with this car. I wish other American car makers would adopt the battery/generator concept. I'd love to have a Jeep Wrangler with this technology."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around

Rating from DalmightyVolt

(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 was looking for a car to save some gas on my 63 mile round trip commute. Previously was in a cadillac getting 20 MPG. I ran though some numbers and the Volt was on the list of lowest cost of ownership and #1 in least amount of out of pocket expense. I test drove it and that was all it took. I am averaging 50 miles on electric daily, and over 38 MPG on the gas. I have done 250 Mile commute one weekend and averaged 44 MPG on the highway with the air on. This car exceeds every expectation. My payment was about the same compared to the Caddy, but my gas expense has been cut by $240 a month. We are now going to buy Volt # 2 as the numbers play out for both of our comutes."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Puffer Bradley

(5)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		3 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

"It was a surprisingly nice driving car. It seems well made and everything works well. You d have to be careful around the center dash buttons, the faintest touch and the button is pushed. Saying that it seems like a pretty mild complaint because everything else works well. Charging takes 10 hours and I get 45 - 47 miles on the charge. I am currently waiting for a 220 V charger and the charging will only take 4 hours. When the charge runs out the gasoline motor starts and you never notice the change over unless you look at the dash board. We have had the car for just under two months (about 1500 miles) and have only put gas in it once although it could need another tankful but I am not sure. It will warn me when I get low on gas. So far the car has been perfect. We are planning a trip from Houston to Washington Dc and a stop in Ohio before we head back home."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around

Rating from Your Average Guy

(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've had the car just over 3 weeks and I absolutely love it. I've not been to the gas station since I got it and I don't plan on being there anytime soon. My "normal" work commute is about 30 miles round trip. I'm getting about 44-45 miles per charge and I'm not really driving much different than I did when I had my former car. I got the 240V charging station installed free thanks to the local power company so it charges very quickly. Everyone I show the car to is impressed with it and I always seem to get random people asking me about it at various places I go. I don't consider myself a "tree hugger" type person at all, I'm what you would consider you normal average type of guy. I was just sick of paying so much for gas. Now I'm paying about a $1.25 to charge that battery so it's a huge savings. I'm only leasing this vehicle as I didn't know if I'd really like it, but I must tell you that I don't ever want to go back to a gas burning car ever. I'm totally sold on the EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle). I can communte 99% of the time without ever using gas. If I have to make a long commute I know I always have the gas engine to back me up. It's just a great vehicle, did I mention that already."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from CTRider

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

"I had the Volt for about 3 weeks, driving back and forth to work in CT. My commute over back roads is about 22 miles OW. I can usually do the round trip on an overnight charge (120volt). My previous car was a 2004 Caddy CTS. So comfort on a long distance is a little less, but that is mainly due to the Volt seat being a little smaller. Vehicle ride is great. We left CT for New Mexico on a full charge and a full car. We got about 35 miles and went on gas for the remaining 2500 miles. We travel Interstates in the east, and back roads west of the Mississippi. Overall milage was 40 mpg. Western gas is lower octane, so milage always falls off west of the river. The return took us through Colorado and some mountain passes over 10,000 feet. I did not use "Mountain Mode" since I never really knew when I was going to climb until I was at the hill. So I got a lot of messages saying power was reduced. It was especially bad between Vail and Denver on the Interstate. Other than that the car performed well. We got an overall 44mpg on the return trip which was 3,000 miles. My likes - The car in general. My dislikes - The radio - It is especially bad in CT where there is a tree canopy over most roads. Both XM and FM are really bad. My caddy had an in windshield antenna, that I thought was bad, but this is worse. Of course XM doesn't work when there are trees over the road either. The climate control system needs more manual controls. BTW Why can't they update the clock when you change time zones? Onstar gets time from the Cell network, the Navigation gets time from the satelite, but nobody changes the clock except the stupid human. I do love the car, I hope they will re-engineer the radio and climate control, and it would be fabulous."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around

Rating from meillasdad

(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

"The Volt is an awesome car! We have driven almost 3,000 miles and 2,600 of those miles are pure EV. This was our first American car, after driving mostly European. I was in shock how the Volt felt and drove like a European car. It made me question my views on Chevys, but then I read the "Volt Book" GM sent to us after the purchase. In there it stated that Europeans were involved in the Volt's designing, which tied everything together for me. So, if you're looking for a really nice car that feels more European than American, whilst also saving the planet -- then the Volt is your car! Great Job Chevrolet!"

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Former GM lover

(1)
Comfort:		1 out of 5
Performance:		1 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		1 out of 5
Interior Design:		1 out of 5
Value for the Money:		1 out of 5
Reliability:		1 out of 5

"This car is way over rated for what you actually get. It is a joke of a car. Not a good choice for a new car."

I would recommend this car to a friend: No

Primary use for this car: N/A

Rating from Practical Empty-Nesters

(4)
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:		4 out of 5
Reliability:		4 out of 5

"The car is fantastic, with two significant drawbacks. The first is that bucket seat arrangement in place of a real rear seat. It is just too cramped. The second is that the car sits too close to the ground. We scraped bottom repeatedly on our test drive, including coming in and out of the dealer's parking lot! We could deal with the other drawbacks (like the very small side windows), but these two were deal killers for us. We hope that GM will address these and make the necessary modifications. Otherwise, it's really an awesome car!!"

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around