5 ms·

I saw that too. I have a 2012 Chevy Volt and it still gets on average around 32-35 miles (about original capacity) - The range depends a lot on driving style an

I saw that too. I have a 2012 Chevy Volt and it still gets on average around 32-35 miles (about original capacity) - The range depends a lot on driving style and climate control. I found out how Chevy over-engineered the system to only use 50% of the battery to maximize its life and the advanced cooling system. The fact that it has a built-in gas-powered generator allows it to be more conservative of the battery life.

WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
> it has a built-in gas-powered generator I've always wanted to drive a hybrid vehicle... how is the maintenance on this (I'm a 2005 toyota corolla kinda guy)?
- annoyingnoob 6y ago
  I can't speak for others but I had a 2012 Volt and my assessment overall is meh. I'd say that the Volt nails average, its not great at anything and its not terrible at much. I loved driving electric, no shifting, just smooth power. The gas engine how ever would vibrate the car much more than a normal gas car does. Everything in the Volt is lightened - I think the roof might even be plastic. The rear view mirror would vibrate out of place when the gas engine was running. The gas engine is mostly used like a generator in the Volt, meaning it runs at higher RPM most of the time to charge the batteries. I can't tell you how many times I was at a stop light with someone in the crosswalk right in front of the car when the engine decided to start and run at 3500-4000 RPM. You get surprised looks when pedestrians think you are revving up for them. My advice, skip the hybrid and just go electric.
  - js2 6y ago
    We like our second generation Volt. We bought it knowing that it's 55 mile electric range would be sufficient for 95% of my wife's driving, but we also wanted something she could use for occasional road trips of several hundred miles without range anxiety or needing to find an EV charger. Tesla was out of our price range at the time, but even now, level-2 chargers, much less superchargers, are still not as widespread as gas stations especially to the places she sometimes road trips. The gas engine is somewhat whiny, but I don't find that it vibrates the vehicle. We're at 62K miles, of which 54K have been all electric. I've had to change the oil once. Visits to the gas station are maybe six times a year. I think it's worked out to about 2000 miles per tank of gas. Put new tires on it around 50K. As to build quality, yeah, it's an econobox with a very fancy drive train. Nothing rattles in it though besides all the random crap my wife keeps in the car. She's been very happy with it. Per usual, it depends on your use case and your mileage may vary.
    - annoyingnoob 6y ago
      I live in CA. Driving the 2012 Volt over the Grapevine would cause the electronics to overheat and the car would slow down - it couldn't maintain 65 for the duration of the climb. Honestly, I got tired of adjusting the rear-view mirror. I ended up with about 35K miles on that car, about 65% of them on electric drive.
- pseudoramble 6y ago
  I don't have a Volt, but rather a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid, which I got new. Currently has somewhere around 135-140k miles on it. I don't have hard numbers, but the batteries seem to still be in decent shape. The biggest work I've had done is replacing the brakes. Everything has been standard maintenance. While I'd definitely encourage looking at a hybrid, it may be worth the while to wait a few more years and see how full-blown electric cars hold up. That's my plan at least.
  - WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
    I mean, I'm not "poor" so I can drop $50,000 on a fancy Tesla but until the Self Driving Technology is there (maybe in 20-30 years) I don't see the purpose of spending that much cash. I hate paying for cars, it's a depreciating asset, so I always buy something reliable and cheap.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]

WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago

> it has a built-in gas-powered generator I've always wanted to drive a hybrid vehicle... how is the maintenance on this (I'm a 2005 toyota corolla kinda guy)?

annoyingnoob 6y ago
I can't speak for others but I had a 2012 Volt and my assessment overall is meh. I'd say that the Volt nails average, its not great at anything and its not terrible at much. I loved driving electric, no shifting, just smooth power. The gas engine how ever would vibrate the car much more than a normal gas car does. Everything in the Volt is lightened - I think the roof might even be plastic. The rear view mirror would vibrate out of place when the gas engine was running. The gas engine is mostly used like a generator in the Volt, meaning it runs at higher RPM most of the time to charge the batteries. I can't tell you how many times I was at a stop light with someone in the crosswalk right in front of the car when the engine decided to start and run at 3500-4000 RPM. You get surprised looks when pedestrians think you are revving up for them. My advice, skip the hybrid and just go electric.
- js2 6y ago
  We like our second generation Volt. We bought it knowing that it's 55 mile electric range would be sufficient for 95% of my wife's driving, but we also wanted something she could use for occasional road trips of several hundred miles without range anxiety or needing to find an EV charger. Tesla was out of our price range at the time, but even now, level-2 chargers, much less superchargers, are still not as widespread as gas stations especially to the places she sometimes road trips. The gas engine is somewhat whiny, but I don't find that it vibrates the vehicle. We're at 62K miles, of which 54K have been all electric. I've had to change the oil once. Visits to the gas station are maybe six times a year. I think it's worked out to about 2000 miles per tank of gas. Put new tires on it around 50K. As to build quality, yeah, it's an econobox with a very fancy drive train. Nothing rattles in it though besides all the random crap my wife keeps in the car. She's been very happy with it. Per usual, it depends on your use case and your mileage may vary.
  - annoyingnoob 6y ago
    I live in CA. Driving the 2012 Volt over the Grapevine would cause the electronics to overheat and the car would slow down - it couldn't maintain 65 for the duration of the climb. Honestly, I got tired of adjusting the rear-view mirror. I ended up with about 35K miles on that car, about 65% of them on electric drive.
pseudoramble 6y ago
I don't have a Volt, but rather a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid, which I got new. Currently has somewhere around 135-140k miles on it. I don't have hard numbers, but the batteries seem to still be in decent shape. The biggest work I've had done is replacing the brakes. Everything has been standard maintenance. While I'd definitely encourage looking at a hybrid, it may be worth the while to wait a few more years and see how full-blown electric cars hold up. That's my plan at least.
- WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
  I mean, I'm not "poor" so I can drop $50,000 on a fancy Tesla but until the Self Driving Technology is there (maybe in 20-30 years) I don't see the purpose of spending that much cash. I hate paying for cars, it's a depreciating asset, so I always buy something reliable and cheap.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]