2012 Chevrolet Volt consumer reviews

OK, I am an engineer - the person you hire to get the truth, so I promise no marketing tricks or hype or political bashing in this review. I leased Volt in December 2011 and in three and half *winter* months put around 3500 mile on it. Only about 2000 miles on my Volt are electric ones and the rest is composed mostly of three long range trips (400+ miles). As a result the lifetime fuel economy is 82 mpg. As I drive around 1000 miles a month (this is a lease, remember), I spend about about 12 gallons of fuel a month - about $45. My monthly electric bill went up $30. So with my current lifestyle I spend $75 for fuel. My previous car cost me around $175, so savings are in ballpark of $100. Subtract that from the lease price and you realize the car is not that expensive after all. My routine round trip to work is about 28 miles, so, technically I could do much better, but I am not buying car to save money, be super green or get the world record on mpg. Non aggressive gasoline driving on highway results in 35-36 mpg economy. Electric range is temperature depended. My Volt charges from 110V outlet outside on a driveway. My rule of thumb - if temperature is 25F or below expect 25 miles electric range, below 20F Volt's gas engine starts periodically to warm up the battery and I would expect Volt to mostly ignore the battery at around 0F. As temperatures goes up, so does the range. I achieved 38 miles range at 50F and 40+ miles at 60F for my mixed 12 miles highway/16 miles city driving. Highway speeds drain battery fast, think 25-30 miles total (strangely, 25 in the winter anyway). Sports mode reduces range too, but not dramatically. I think, if you have a heavy foot and drive aggressively in sport mode, you can burn down Volt's battery in 20-25 miles depending on temperature. So having these numbers, average daily range, climate and your drive style you may estimate if Volt is for you. Oh, on a side note I estimate my first fuel change to happen after the lease ends plus I do not think I ever use brake pads. Speaking of everything else, the car is very well built, looks great and have futuristic feel and lot of gadgetry. Silent instant electric torque is great source of "fun to drive" factor. Drawbacks? Oh, sure, what car does not have them? Do not plan to have tall adults on a back seat. They won't fit. Cargo space is relatively small, OK for shopping, but I would not use this car to go camping. I would prefer better sound isolation - after silent electric drive the noise of gas engine seems very alien... Well, you may also say "pricey", but for lease it is not at all. So, is Volt for you? Well, if you drive 80 miles a day or plan to use it as a truck or need to drive three kids or want to get 0 to 60 in 5 seconds - then you are clearly outside the "specs" The bottom line - as far as you within the range of assumptions designers put into this car - it's a marvel.

The Volt is an awesome car. Its looks are eye-catching. Nothing boring about this car, in looks or operation. "Futuristic" is what my family says. And no one will shut you down at a light - unless you let them. Never thought I would own a Chevy, but they beat out the competition in my view. The design is great - so many details are really well thought out. It is amazingly quiet and smooth to drive. I can never go back to a gasoline-only car, with their fumes, noise and vibration. Charging is easy on the 110 outlet in my garage, and I have yet to put gas in the tank for the extended range. Of course, it is reassuring to know that the extended range is there, even though I only needed it once. (In two months and 700 miles, I have used .07 gals of gas.) Chevy has handled the battery safety issue perfectly and I have zero concerns about that. I got a Volt with all the premium features (leather seats, XM radio, etc.), and it has more luxury than my former luxury Japanese car. I think the ONStar is standard and it is reassuring to have. The clincher is that it is basically free to drive - it costs me about $1.00 in electricity to go 35 miles in the city. In my old car, that was two gallons of gas. The only concern is getting used to the front window in terms of visibility. Minor negative is the front plastic piece under the front bumper which is there for aerodynamics but which can drag on the ground if you have a bump, like at the end of your driveway. As someone said, however, you just have to view it as a replaceable part like tires. This probably will get worked out anyway.

This is the very best car I've every owned. I drive to work and back home on all electric (about 8.5 KWhs).

Too small, ugly plastic interior, way outdated styling, way over-priced ... I sit in this vehicle and feel no excitement ... GM needs to take a few lessons from Tesla.

The features we most like about our Volt include the mainstream styling, awesome performance in acceleration and handling, the smooth, quiet ride, and most of all, averaging 160+ miles per gallon and passing gas stations. For typical commutes (averaging less than 40-45 miles), we can virtually never use gas. We have actually achieved as much as 49.4 miles on a single charge (versus the advertised 35 mile range), and with the optional 240V in garage charging station, the Volt fully recharges in 3.5 hours. Other features we appreciate include the 30GB media storage for music, photos and video, the Bose sound system, and heated leather seats. Great cargo area, especially with the rear seatbacks folded down. State of charge, fuel tank level tire pressure, & diagnostics can be accessed from our iPhone. In addition, and possibly most importantly, the Volt eliminates "range anxiety" of an purely electric vehicle, due to the "range extending" capability of the gas powered generator that allows unlimited range on extended trips, while preserving the outstanding fuel economy for everyday commutes. All in all, we absolutely love the 2012 Volt!

Our Volt, #644, just turned one year old (plus a little bit). It currently has 17,000 miles on it. Twelve thousand six hundred of those miles are total electric. The generator only runs on long trips. Since the Volt is actually a battery electric vehicle that includes an on-board generator to supply electric power to the motor when the battery charge is below a specified level, I would call the Volt a Transition Vehicle. Eventually, charging stations will be as plentiful as gas stations. At that point the generator would not be needed. After following the Volt?s progress since its concept announcement in 2007 and including a prototype test-drive in 2010, we had extremely high expectations; yet, our inflated expectations have all been exceeded. My greatest disappointment is GM?s marketing. Thus far, I have never seen any commercial that truly communicates the Volts strengths that we have experienced within our first year. Most of the published specifications are too conservative. For example, the 0-60 acceleration specification is nine seconds. I have stopwatch tested our Volt at seven seconds (in sport mode). Two tests were conducted in both directions on the same street with the same results. During an ice storm, my wife decided to take the Volt to an empty parking lot and do some spinouts. No matter how hard she tried, she could not make the car lose control ? even on solid ice. While that spoiled her fun, we are impressed that we have never experienced any vehicle with that level of stability. Being a ?gear head? engineering type, I am drawn to the Volts design. I have spent hours under the hood and under the car examining every element of the car, and it is a true engineering marvel. Every instance where I see something that appears to be a design flaw, further investigation reveals an ingenious well thought out purpose. We were a little worried about losing cargo capacity when replacing our Ford Explorer with the Volt. That worry, however has diminished after easily hauling over eight hundred pounds of landscaping rock and stone in the back of our Volt! ? Repeatedly. We get lots of questions about the Volt in shopping center parking lots and sometimes even at traffic lights. Of all the questions asked, the hardest one that leaves us stumped is, ?what are the cons?? Any cons we can think of are all very petty. For example; since I am an engineer type, I would like to see more real-time technical data, such as motor volts, amps, kilowatts, etc. We could not be more proud to be a part of, and the actual owners of one of the world?s greatest inventions. This one is a definite keeper.

I have had the 2012 Volt for 3 month now w/ daily charges in the evening. My Stats (see also details in graph) : Drove 1826 mile, used 4.52 Gal + 565 kWh (Solar Panels!) My 'kWh' use is measured 'at the wall' (via a separate meter) showing that the L2 charge has 84% efficiency (compared to the Volt display of kWh used). L1 charging is slightly less efficient - 79% (and of course takes longer : L1 charges at a rate of 4 mi/hr = full charge takes ~10 hrs - vs. L2 charges 10 mi/hr = full charge takes ~4 hrs) Observed Electric Range = 39.2 mi (=Avg; Max/Min/StdDev. = 45 / 30 / 3 mi) Charge Sustaining mode uses 35.7 mpg (gas engine ran 14 times in the 3 mo due to extended trips) Overall = 404 mpg (w/o kWh) & 86 mpge (w/ kWh energy) On average I get 3 mi/kWh = 333 Wh / mi (that range is from 2 to 4 mi/kWh and depends on driving style, temperature) The car is a joy to drive: it handles very well & drives super quiet ! It has nice features - all are well integrated in the center console (e.g. display of energy use, navigation, rear camera, audio system - I love the latter w/ SiriusXM !)

I've wanted the electric experience pretty much forever. The smooth and quiet drive cannot be matched by anything with pistons, including ordinary hybrids. This is an extended range electric. It's pretty much all electric all the time, plus it has a gas generator to keep you going when the battery runs low. So the best of both worlds. I'm getting 600 mpg in my mix of commute and errands! Every minute behind the wheel is so satisfying. I've owned more cars than I care to admit, searching for the perfect blend of practical, efficient, stylish, and fun. That last word being one of the most important yet usually being incompatible with one or both of the first two. This is the one! This is the I truly hope to enjoy for a long, long time to come.

Haven't had this much fun since I bought my first new car, a 1966 Chevelle SS. My first drive was in Houston, later my wife drove one at a dealer 40 miles down the road from where we live in Tennessee. About a week later I bought one a little closer to home and haven't had any regrets. Has to be the best thing Chevrolet has ever done in my opinion.

Not using gas makes me happy. Not being limited to the battery range makes the car practical. It does exactly what GM says it will do.