This is brief but touches on one advantage of the Volt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Hl0AUxtDw
It's quiet, refined, and drives a lot better than a Prius. It also uses less gas than a Prius in a typical commute use case. Notice I didn't say less energy, but less gas. Basically you get an EV car experience (until the battery is depleted, which is of course, fully managed and not actually dead), with a backup generator so you don't need to buy two cars just to have an EV.
This guy went 9000 some odd miles on 14 gallons of gas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn_osO8bt6U
95% oil life after 9000 miles of driving. That'll last a long time, though you probably should change it annually...
Chevy Volt stuff
Re: Chevy Volt stuff
Cars.com drove one for 18,000 miles. Here's the 4 minute recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NR0RG7VmfM
Overall it reminds me that the Volt is awesome. EV is clearly still a huge compromise, but also offers advantages. It's cheaper per unit of energy than gas. Driving a Volt allows you to experience an EV car until the battery runs out (up to the governed top speed of 100 mph), at which point it becomes a serial hybrid (except over 70mph where it's a parallel hybrid).
Thinking about how the Volt works also makes you realize how incredibly energy dense gasoline is. The battery pack weighs 435 lbs and stores about 16kWh (about 10.8kWh is accessible via state of charge management). You can drive like 40 miles on that energy (25-50). The gas tank holds 9.3 gallons which will take you about 344 miles. 9.3 gallons of gas weighs like 57 lbs. Even adding the gas tank you're still under 100 lbs. And you can replenish that energy ridiculously fast.
Another energy density realization is the range extender/generator. It's an 84hp engine. In car terms, that's not a lot. But in electric terms, that's 62kW. That's a 60 KILOWATT generator. We're impressed if we have a 5kW generator for our house.
Overall it reminds me that the Volt is awesome. EV is clearly still a huge compromise, but also offers advantages. It's cheaper per unit of energy than gas. Driving a Volt allows you to experience an EV car until the battery runs out (up to the governed top speed of 100 mph), at which point it becomes a serial hybrid (except over 70mph where it's a parallel hybrid).
Thinking about how the Volt works also makes you realize how incredibly energy dense gasoline is. The battery pack weighs 435 lbs and stores about 16kWh (about 10.8kWh is accessible via state of charge management). You can drive like 40 miles on that energy (25-50). The gas tank holds 9.3 gallons which will take you about 344 miles. 9.3 gallons of gas weighs like 57 lbs. Even adding the gas tank you're still under 100 lbs. And you can replenish that energy ridiculously fast.
Another energy density realization is the range extender/generator. It's an 84hp engine. In car terms, that's not a lot. But in electric terms, that's 62kW. That's a 60 KILOWATT generator. We're impressed if we have a 5kW generator for our house.
Re: Chevy Volt stuff
This addresses some of the differences between the Volt and Prius.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... mpare-cars
What I am really looking for is an article deep dive comparing Voltec to Hybrid Synergy Drive. I may have to create something myself from wiki articles. I did determine that the Prius has TWO motor-generators. But back to the article:
http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... mpare-cars
What I am really looking for is an article deep dive comparing Voltec to Hybrid Synergy Drive. I may have to create something myself from wiki articles. I did determine that the Prius has TWO motor-generators. But back to the article:
I maintain the fundamental difference between the two cars is the Prius is a gas car with electric assist (and regen) while the Volt is an EV with a gas generator (that can clutch in at highway speeds when the battery is depleted). The Volt cannot be considered a plug-in hybrid because this fundamental difference is STILL present when comparing the Volt to the plug-in Prius.So for gas mileage, the conventional hybrid version of the Prius liftback (50 mpg) does better than the Volt (37 mpg)--when the Volt's engine is running. But the standard Prius gets only about 1 mile of electric range, versus the Volt's 25 to 40 miles (depending on speed, temperature, use of climate control, and other factors). Then there's the Prius plug-in, which falls in the middle, with 50 mpg as well when it's running as a hybrid, plus 6 to 15 miles of battery range--but only at speeds below roughly 50 mph, and under lighter loads. Hammer the accelerator in the plug-in Prius, and it'll switch on the engine--unlike the Volt, whose battery is capable of powering the car regardless of what you ask it to, until it's depleted.
They're very different behind the wheel, though. The standard hybrid Prius is still primarily a gasoline car, and while it can accelerate from rest to about 30 mph solely on electricity, that takes a light foot on the accelerator and a gradual gathering of speed. Otherwise, the engine will switch on, as it will at first when the car is cold. And the plug-in Prius is the same, though it provides a much longer all-electric range and runs in electric-only mode at higher speeds. But the Volt runs electrically all the time, so its power is smooth, quiet, and continuous under any circumstance, regardless of whether the engine is running or not.