Volt vs Prius

[kevm14]

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2016-che ... 0BE67092AF

These cars are quite different and I think the comparison between them mostly holds true to what has been true in the past.

Highlights:
- The Prius is significantly more efficient as a hybrid-ICE
- The Prius is a lot lighter, even though the Volt also lost a lot of weight
- The Volt carries the pros and cons of being a range-extended EV
- The Prius has a lot more room in the back seat (see above)
- The Volt is substantially better performing. Prius has 121hp combined in a nearly 3,100 lb car and that quickly drops to 95 hp after the tiny battery depletes. 77.6 mph trap on the Prius is...slow.
- As tested the MSRP of the Volt was $10k more but that drops to only $3k more after the EV tax credit
- The Prius uses a 0.75 kW-hr Li-Ion battery (Bob can correct the actual chemistry)
- The Volt uses a 18.4 kW-hr Li-Ion battery (same)

Conclusion:
They are different cars that go about saving fuel in totally different ways (the Volt aims to use none at all), and perhaps as a direct result, feel and act completely differently from each other. This is good.

[kevm14]

According to PG&E (in CA) on the EV-B plan the Volt would cost about $39/month to charge for 40 Miles/day this compares to $59/month for a 52MPG Prius even considering $2.5/gallon gas (average in CA)

NOW, lower gas prices favor gas-cars against electric cars.

However, when gas goes back up (it will eventually) the cost in gas per month goes up to $94/month even for a Prius.

[kevm14]

I question whether this is true, but if it is, that is significant:

You drove the Volt in Charge Sustain mode! That tells the Volt to NOT run as a hybrid! That mode tries to save AS MUCH electricity as possible; so you loose the regen braking. This isn't a good test! You need to drive the Volt until it's battery is depleted and it switches to Hybrid Mode; then test it's MPG.

This is why you noticed that in the city the volt suffered from traffic! Because it wasn't running as a hybrid

Why would you use regen in C-S mode?

[kevm14]

Conclusion:
They are different cars that go about saving fuel in totally different ways (the Volt aims to use none at all), and perhaps as a direct result, feel and act completely differently from each other. This is good.

We all know this but it's this:

I think that comparing the Prius to the Volt is comparing apples to oranges. Obviously, since the Volt uses no fuel for the first 49 miles, the gas doesn't start burning until after 49 miles, whereas the Prius starts burning fuel from the very beginning.

[kevm14]

- As tested the MSRP of the Volt was $10k more but that drops to only $3k more after the EV tax credit

Also worth pointing out:

Also when considering price between these cars; you have to take into consideration the differing equipment levels; the base volt is equipped more like a Prius Three or a Prius four; except the volt has 17" wheels vs the prius' 15", remote start, larger LCD displays (8" vs 4"), onstar and ambient Lighting; all while being noticeably faster, and quieter.

Considering this the Volt is only about $3,000-$5,000 more BEFORE $7500 tax rebates

You can get into a base Volt for $26,500 after tax credit, which is affordable to most people (who accept car loans as a natural course of action).

[kevm14]

Operating the volt in hold mode is the least efficient mode of running on gas, as the vehicle dose not run as a hybrid as it would with a depleted battery. It just runs on the ICE and dose not exploit the regenerative electricity generated during city driving.

Chevrolet engineers would tell you that the vehicle is designed to be driven as an EV first and foremost, then be able to operate very much as a hybrid would after the electricity is depleted. With an empty battery, the car will run on re Gen electricity quite a lot, benefitting city mpg greatly, this is not the case while running in hold mode where the vehicle will retain it's electricity and operate as an inefficient ICE.

The correct way to test would be to run the battery dead and the run the vehicle as a hybrid as its engineers designed.

Your highway mpg was not affected by running in hold mode, as highway driving doesn't generate re Gen electricity to use very often, and your not operating at speeds at which the vehicle uses re Gen electricity on a low charge battery. So it operated as an ICE vehicle much the same as if you were driving in normal mode.

City driving is a whole different case as re Gen electricity is a boon on an empty battery, something that is negated while driving a full battery in hold mode.

Interesting. Maybe the test WAS invalid. Starting the test with a depleted battery would have been correct, and probably bumped the measured city MPG, but not the highway as mentioned. And the city was what sucked the most so there you go. So, in summary, Charge Sustaining mode does not equal dead battery (aka hybrid mode). Maybe they will revisit this.

[bill25]

I like the Volt so let me preface with that statement. It is tough to buy a vehicle based on money savings when going across energy sources. You can buy a car that uses less gas, and know that it will be cheaper to fuel than a car that consumes more gas, but then you have to budget for the odds of a more complex vehicle needing more repairs. For the volt, if your commute is less than 20 miles each way, it would seem like a no brainer. It can be used for the rare extended trip, and uses no gas on the daily commute. What happens when these get more popular, if that is the whole point, and electricity goes way up. What happens to this car when you pay the same in electric as you would have for a gas car, and now you drove up the cost of electricity for everything else?

Fuel is weird. Demand drove up the price of saw dust garbage in the form of pellets and they are currently almost double the cost of oil to heat your house...

[kevm14]

The Volt is an interesting bridge between gas and fully EV. It is also a hedge if you were worried about highly transient spikes in fuel or electricity, since it can drive reasonable distances on either fuel (without needing the other).

The Volt, right back to the original 2010, went from 0 to 101 mph all on electricity, until the battery depleted. It gave you an EV experience with the confidence and utility of gas if you needed it.