Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

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Thanks for the real world experience.

When you say the driving needs to be adjusted, you mean try and take advantage of the regenerative braking? Or something else?
 
Smoother acceleration, more anticipation of slowdowns or stops (IE, not accelerating towards a red light but coasting a little instead), and yes, better use of regeneration - you can only decelerate so quick using regen before the car adds in the friction brakes, which in effect is wasted energy - it's possible to almost completely stop on regen alone given non-aggressive braking.

The eco-gauge thing on the dash is helpful and she understands it, I think she just needs to get used to s different driving style. It will come with time.
 
How does regen engage on the volt? A prius i rode in before had a lever you pulled on the dash (kind of like a hydraulic parking brake). Does it use something similar, come on when you start pressing the brakes or start as soon as you lift off the throttle?
 
In normal drive mode regen comes on with the application of the brake pedal. Push it a little, you get a little regen, push it more, you get more regen - push it hard, you get regen and friction brakes together. It's quite fluid but until you get used to it we've both found it easy to plow through the regen and into unexpected aggressive friction, but again, it's something to get used to - I've got used to it already with just s few days of driving. The closest thing I could explain it as for someone who's never driven one is basically saying "it has really good brakes, don't be aggressive with the brake pedal". ;)

The shift lever has a "L" mode as well that doesn't actually run the gearing (which, there really isn't any) any lower like a traditional transmission, but changes the behavior of regen - as soon as you take your foot off the gas pedal it starts to regen, and fairly aggressively at that. Some people like it from what I've read, but without careful modulation of the accelerator pedal I can see it being wasteful as it's possible to get into a "speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down" cycle without realizing it, which of course is wasteful. I suggested to my wife to simply drive in regular "D" mode instead.
 
@PP

Did you check the tire pressures to ensure they are proper?
Don't trust dealer did it...they couldn't charge the damn car,lol.

Just wondering, why not start the car with gas when you want to preheat? Any option like that?
Use the gas engine the reverse way to warm up car quickly??
 
PrivatePilot said:
Day 1 of ownership complete.


voltday1.jpg


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Just saying, there is a midsize sedan hybrid I've been following, and the EPA rating is 4.7L per 100km.

no range anxiety issues
no "adjusting" to driving habits
no "just have to get used to this vehicle", you just get in and drive
no "Im waiting for my wifes work to install a level 2 plug in" what happens when you change jobs?
no need to worry about heat issues
no need to install a charger at home
no need to worry about pluggin it in every night


Crap on me all you want. it just doesnt make sense. the market realizes this too as most electric cars are slow sellers.
 
Tire pressures are all correct, I checked last night. It has a TPMS as well that shows right on the dash.

Only the 2013's and newer have the "Hold" mode option that runs the engine while preserving battery so that it can be strategically used later - there are some hacks to make the 2012's and lower behave the same, but it does add a layer of extra potential confusion for my wife so it'd probably be something only I'd use. I'll think about installing it when the weather improve.
 
Hey Sunny, can that Hybrid do 2.0-2.5L/100K like my wife will achieve once she gets the plug in at work?

And can it do ~100K worth of weekend city running around on weekends on no gas at all, just a dollar or so of electricity?

When it can, let me know. And post real world fuel economy numbers like I am, not EPA figures that we all know are virtually unobtainable in the real world.
 
What is this range anxiety issue sunny keeps talking about? Why would there be range anxiety you just keep going on gas once the battery is used.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
Scuba Steve said:
What is this range anxiety issue sunny keeps talking about? Why would there be range anxiety you just keep going on gas once the battery is used
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Exactly, but it doesn't fill his narrative. His response is basically saying "Hey, why bother, just buy A Honda hybrid which will burn TWICE the gas!" for all intents and purposes.

BTW again Sunny, hybrid drivers DO have to adjust their driving habits as well to achieve the impressive fuel consumption figures. Put a Mario Andretti wannabe in a Prius and see what happens. Actually, just Google it - there's *tons* of content out there that pops up when you Google "Hybrid bad MPG", including Prius drivers struggling to get 30MPG because they have a lead foot. There's Lots of people that complain about getting ~20MPG in short trip cold weather driving. Surprise, the Volt wins handily there as even with a reduced range because of the cold...the engine still burns 0L.
 
Scuba Steve said:
What is this range anxiety issue sunny keeps talking about? Why would there be range anxiety you just keep going on gas once the battery is used.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
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Was wondering that myself...makes more sense buying this type of car instead of a 100% electric car.
The best of both worlds.
 
-D- said:
Was wondering that myself...makes more sense buying this type of car instead of a 100% electric car.
The best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

if it was such a great idea, Volt sales would be off the chart. Nobody's buying them.

first and foremost, the Volt is a plug in Electric Car with a gas engine. the engine is there to help you with your electric "range anxiety"

It would make the most sense to buy a proper hybrid as the issues mentioned above (no heat, plugging in constantly, adjusting driving to get more range, etc)
 
SunnY S said:
if it was such a great idea, Volt sales would be off the chart. Nobody's buying them.

first and foremost, the Volt is a plug in Electric Car with a gas engine. the engine is there to help you with your electric "range anxiety"

It would make the most sense to buy a proper hybrid as the issues mentioned above (no heat, plugging in constantly, adjusting driving to get more range, etc)
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or buy a Tesla......
 
GateKeeper said:
or buy a Tesla......
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Or a Bolt, for a fraction of the cost, and get a 380K range.

Hey Sunny, I have some new Avatar ideas for you.

- Baghdad Bob
- Sean Spicer
- KellyAnne Conway

Youre right up that same zone with the alternative facts.
 
SunnY S said:
if it was such a great idea, Volt sales would be off the chart. Nobody's buying them.

first and foremost, the Volt is a plug in Electric Car with a gas engine. the engine is there to help you with your electric "range anxiety"

It would make the most sense to buy a proper hybrid as the issues mentioned above (no heat, plugging in constantly, adjusting driving to get more range, etc)
Click to expand...

It's a branding problem. If it said BMW they would be selling like mad.

If Honda said let's put out a 2 seater tiny car and charge $25k+ for it...no trunk, no rear cargo room.
Think it would sell?

Of wait ...brand it SMART by Mercedes and look at them fly off the shelf.

They don't want to mass market these cars because the oil companies would take a big hit or jack the prices.
It is the appearance that they are offering and trying to move away from gas and provide a product for a segment of the market.
 
-D- said:
It's a branding problem. If it said BMW they would be selling like mad.

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BMW has 2 plug in electric cars on the market and nobody is buying those either.

in 2016 bmw sold around 1600 units of the i8 model. By comparison, Tesla moved around 80k units.
 
SunnY S said:
Just saying, there is a midsize sedan hybrid I've been following, and the EPA rating is 4.7L per 100km.

no range anxiety issues
no "adjusting" to driving habits
no "just have to get used to this vehicle", you just get in and drive
no "Im waiting for my wifes work to install a level 2 plug in" what happens when you change jobs?
no need to worry about heat issues
no need to install a charger at home
no need to worry about pluggin it in every night


Crap on me all you want. it just doesnt make sense. the market realizes this too as most electric cars are slow sellers.
Click to expand...
You're out of touch. Plug-in hybrids and electrics are on course to exceed non plug-in hybrid sales this year according to Argonne National Labs.
http://www.anl.gov/energy-systems/project/light-duty-electric-drive-vehicles-monthly-sales-updates

evsales_fig5_2-17.jpg

Not crapping on you, but the transition to electric makes perfect sense since electric power is much more efficient than gas. It costs less per km, uses less energy per km, and depending on the power from the grid, can emit less pollution.

The transition has been happening in front of your eyes and it goes from ICE -> HEV -> Parallel PHEV -> Series PHEV -> BEV. But don't worry your pretty little head about all the different technologies. The gist of it is we're gradually moving to cars with bigger and bigger batteries in order to benefit from the advantages of electric power. And that means plug-in capability is an inescapable necessity which the public has clued in to. I'm sure Honda will figure it out too at some point, like they eventually figured out DI and turbos after everyone else.
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