Hello everyone one and welcome to my first report on the 2017 Chevy Volt. Over the first month of ownership I’ve been formulating my opinion of the Volt. I should add some information of other cars I have been driving recently. I am coming off of a 2013 Nissan Leaf. The family has a 2013 Chevy Volt plus the 2013 Toyota Prius that is also part of this long term review. To start off, the Volt is definitely different from the Leaf that I was driving but after a couple of days of use it has become extremely comfortable car to drive.
Overwhelmingly, the 2017 Volt is a fantastic car that will fit into many people’s lives and probably was one of the most functional mass-market electric cars a US manufacturer has produced in recent years.. It is a shame the 2019 was the last year for this car. It’s mix of electric and gasoline make it a great option or ares of the country where the electric car infrastructure has not matured.
I think we are still a few years away from having good electric infrastructure in the US to be as convenient as gas – at which point it will become more convenient to use all electric. Sure, almost every house, building and structure has an electrical outlet which can charge on level 1 or 2 (and the 2017 Volt does both levels of AC charging), meaning you wake up every morning with a full 53 mile “tank” of electricity. But to finally close the convenience gap of gasoline and frankly beyond, pure electric cars need to be outfitted with high power DC chargers and long range batteries which are not here yet.
As a former pure electric car owner, there were a lot of times I had to modify my plans to go everywhere I needed to go on my Leaf’s 50 mile range. It was virtually impossible to travel to my parents’ house and back in a single day. They did not have a level 2 charger so I could only use level 1 charging which would have required an overnight stay to have enough charge to get home. The Leaf was suffering from substantial battery degradation and the battery replacement cost more than the value of the car. Which eventually culminated in the purchase of the Volt.
Speaking of the Volt, every morning when you wake up with the 2017 Chevy Volt can be ready to go with a 53 real miles of EV usage, which is a significantly more accurate estimation than the Leaf provided. If you have a huge commute (over 25 miles), you can opt to charge at work and drive 53 miles of pure electric back. Some people will never finish the tank of gas that comes with their Volt. In fact that is what I have been doing for this first month. I have a charging station at work which allows me to charge for free. As such I charge there most of the time with only occasionally charging at home on the weekends.
The best part of the Volt is when you need to take the “off the beaten path” and switch into gas, the Volt does so elegantly and seamlessly. The internal combustion engine kicks in and you get a very respectable 42 miles per gallon and over 400 miles of total range. Chevy should be applauded for their efforts in building a car that makes the transition to electricity 100% totally painless for just about anyone.
Chevy has somehow fit two separate powertrains into a mid-sized car and still has respectable room in the trunk and back seat. The car also performs as well as any sudan. The EV acceleration will get you to highway speeds in under 7 seconds while lugging a dormant ICE powertrain along for the ride. The acceleration will surprise and delight you if you’ve never driven electric and the sports mode make the car more responsive and fun to drive.
Chevy has also toned down the “look at me, I’m a weird EV” factor in the 2017 Volt design. The 2017 Chevy Volt looks a lot like other sporty mid-sized cars The interior is also extremely nice, highlighted by the captive touch center console display which works great with Android Auto. The seats are comfortable, there are cup holders where they need and the inside experience is fantastic. I would also like to point out that the internal cabin space for the rear seat has improved over the 2013 model.
So far the Volt has performed better than anticipated. There are a few bells and whistles that I miss from the Leaf but that is to be expected since I moved from the top of the line to the middle range entry but where it counts there has been only improvements. The improved range, comfort, and handling out way the gimmicky 360 camera views that were only used in rare occasions.
Finally, what has it cost to operate the Volt for the first month? NOTHING. That’s right I have not had to send any money on the Volt in the first month of ownership. All the electricity I have used has come from free charging stations. Additionally, I still have about nearly a full tank of gas which the dealership provided when I bought the car. As ongoing cost go this is great.