2011 Chevrolet Volt consumer reviews

I've had my Volt since 12/18/10, and it's been the most satisfying car purchase I ever made. The car looks fantastic in person, inside and out, and everyone I show it to and take for a ride seems very impressed. The best feature is obviously that it can run on electricity, and until you've experienced the smooth quiet of electric driving you won't quite know what you're missing. But beyond that, the Volt is just a very pleasurable car to drive, from its solid and well sorted chassis to its impressive levels of refinement and NVH. Fit and finish is first rate, and few cars below the luxury class can compete with its feature set. It's been cold here in the northeast, and use of the climate control, heated seats, and just plain effect of cold on the batteries does reduce range, to about 25 miles in my experience. This will certainly improve as winter passes, as other new owners in the forum in more moderate climates are seeing high 30's to over 40 mile range on electricity. Of course the unique feature of the Volt is that when the battery range runs out, the gasoline engine kicks in, which on the highway is practically imperceptible. Around town and accelerating you do notice the engine much like you would in any other quality 4-cyl. car, only with the Volt the engine speed is controlled by the computer and what's needed to generate adequate electricity, not the need to directly power the wheels. When running on gas alone, I've averaged about 36 MPG. My overall lifetime average with some long highway trips currently stands around 65 MPG, but before my last long trip (where I mostly had to run on gas) it was up around 90. In summary, I've owned a couple of dozen new cars in my lifetime, but none has been as satisfying a purchase as my Volt. I simply love it, and have had no problems with it, despite it being built the first week of production. As a footnote, it's clear on this site that there's one or more haters trying to smear the Volt. Obviously this car has been the subject of political bias, and opposed by GM-haters for whatever their strange reasons. They are entitled to their opinion, but NOT to create outright deception as if they are real owners. This is a place where consumers share and expect real information. Readers beware! For the real experiences of early Volt adopters, a good source is gm-volt.com, where you'll find many owners who feel a lot like me, and I've not encountered anyone there who didn't like (usually love) their Volt or regretted their purchase. Think about it, Volt has made an unprecedented sweep of awards from Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Automobile, and the very coveted North American Car of the Year (voted by a large panel of journalists.) Do you really believe Mr. "Get over it from NYC" who calls it "Scam!" and says he gets 9 miles electric range? I suspect all the very low reviews are being written by one troll, who really needs to get out of his bedroom at the parents' house and get a life!

Just took delivery of a Crystal Red Volt (#679 off the production line), and it is a solid piece of engineering. We charged it up, off our free 220V Coulomb charge point, since it was delivered to the house, and did a 31 mile drive down the delta from Sacramento. Upon our return we still had 6 miles of EV range left. I am impressed with the solid ride and firm handling, compared to our previous 2007 Camry Hybrid (and 2006 Prius). Our LEAF should arrive early next month. Both cars will charge from the same chargepoint and with our home's solar panel array, we will now have ZERO house electricity cost AND virtually ZERO transportation costs (since both of our work commutes are less than 11 miles one way and both of our work sites will also have EV chargepoints in the VERY near future. Is the Volt, in it's current form perfect? Heck no, there should be a wiper on the rear window, and there absolutely should be passive unlocking and locking (without having to use the keyfob); the interior details are more like a $25,000 car than a $45,000 (we got the upgrade leather and backup camera option packages), but the TECHNOLOGY is amazing! The navigation package is MUCH better than on our 2006-2007 Toyota products. The GM delivery process from the submission of the order back in August to the delivery today was SO MUCH BETTER than what we are getting from Nissan on our LEAF order. If there was any other choice for a fully practical and reasonable total EV, I would walk away from my Nissan order, just on the basis of how callous Nissan is treating us as customers.

I don't believe some of the extremely negative reviews. On a drive today to and from Miami at 56 degrees, the statistics are : Out of 95 total miles driven today, 43.7 miles driven on pure battery 51.4 miles driven with the gasoline engine = 75.5 MPG for today's drive ! Today is the first day my car has used gasoline since I received it and began driving it on Dec31st. The car has exceeded my expectations. It is quick, quiet, responsive, and comfortable. A home run ! I paid MSRP

I've been driving my car for about a month now and really find it to be a great car. Average battery range is 36 miles doing mostly highway driving. My gasoline only MPG averages 37 MPG, but I've gotten as high as 43 MPG. With a 56 mile commute, I'm getting very high fuel economy, ~175 MPG...it's hard to beat that! The Volt is a great, quiet ride with quick acceleration and a comfortable, high tech interior. It does come with a high price tag, but you get what you pay for.

You have to plug this car in!?!? The said it was an electric car. No, its a hybrid. No, its a plug-in hybrid. A regular 6 cylinder is able to get better mileage than this. So much for a "green" company car.

I live in New York City and find that the electric range of this car was nothing but a scam. Since I bought the Volt, the best I could manage on electric power was 25 miles without the electric cabin heater, headlights, or radio on. When I'm leaving for work in the morning, it's dark and cold outside so I have to turn on the heater and headlights. This drops the electric range to about 9 miles after a full night's charge!!!! To make things worse, once the engine kicks in, I get about 28 MPG! After the 7k government credit, this car cost me 33k which is rediculous. A Prius costs 24k and will easily achieve 45 MPG. This is the last time I'll buy a GM product

Since taking delivery of my much anticipated Chevrolet Volt I can honestly say it is everything I expected. I have not run out of charge, either, which is why I won't purchase a all electric car. I commute to work trouble free and quiet. The fit and finish are top shelf. Also when you step on the "gas" this thing goes! It handles better than my Camry did. The tax break was a bonus! While my long term reliability remains to be seen, my overall first impressions are outstanding! I am happy I did it, and look forward to years of trouble and gasoline free service!

I ordered my Volt from a dealer in California where I used to reside and paid a staggering premium not mentioned when the deal was made months ago. However, I desperately wanted this car due to all of the hype (giving me great expectations) and my unending commitment to saving energy and the environment. I had the car shipped to South Florida where I spend winters. So afraid of using this sluggish new vehicle when I return to the Buffalo, New York area where I have a summer home. I wish I had purchased a Toyota Prius, Nissan Leaf (although not yet proven - too new, as well) or Honda Insight instead of the Chevrolet. The Volt's price is certainly not worth more than $22,000.00 and it is over double that! The inflated price, slower than molasses engine, poor gasoline mileage and cheap Chevy Cobalt-like interior and exterior quality will likely only amount to a "GM Edsel" debacle. The car is stunning from a visual perspective, but nowhere as attractive as the original concept that caught my eye years ago. The Volt is short on room inside. It looks bigger than it really is judging from sitting inside trying to overcome the claustrophobia caused by cramped quarters, surprising blind spots and my attempting to find a comfortable seating position. It is nearly impossible to relax in this econobox. Trust me. I now fear continued poor reliability, resale value, electrical problems, high fuel costs and an astronomical electric bill. My air conditioner at my home had to be shut off to allow for enough energy to address the thirst of the Volt and avoid blowing a fuse... or worse. this car is a lemon... and my worst nightmare.