new EPA label for VOLT

[Old Tele man]

...here's the new 'dual-fuel' label being used for the VOLT:



Chevy Volt Gets 37/93-MPG Rating, 60-MPG Average | AutoGuide.com News

[TomEV]

383 wh/mi and 37 mpg... Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed using either power source.

Hopefully real world numbers will be significantly higher than the window sticker.

[Old Tele man]

...35 miles on battery and 379 miles on gasoline.

[camopaint0707]

what a joke

[SVOboy]

Is GM still insisting on calling this thing an "electric car" and not a hybrid?

[ShadeTreeMech]

I don't think you can drive the Prius very far or fast on electric alone, so it's not like any hybrid out there. But in the purest sense of the word "hybrid", it is one. I think Chevy is trying to make its unique method stand out a bit is all.

I realize it may not be popular with everyone here, but I do like the idea of having a car that runs off electric for most of my driving, with the gas engine there as a back up if I'm caught short on electric power.

[luvit]

i find these numbers acceptable.
my daily commute is 33 miles... (45 minutes).
if i can charge my car at work, it may be rare that i drop to ICE.
now on weekends i drive 150mi (each way after a charge). -- but i would mod for more batteries some how. lol.
**here's a question that may already be answered:
can i force the Volt to use ICE on highway miles then force it to use EV on city/rush hour traffic??
.

[Ryland]

The main difference that I see between the prius and the volt is that the volt can go faster and farther on electric.
For the same less money tho, you can buy a brand new prius and a large enough plug in battery pack to give it a 40 mile all electric range, so I can only imagine that once Toyota comes out with a plug in hybrid, that is designed to be driven as a plug in, that it will be cheaper then the volt with a comparable range.

[TomEV]

In a standard 2004 - 2009 Prius, the ICE turns on at around 34 MPH. If the computer in a Prius is programmed correctly, the Prius can go about 52 MPH on electric power. It is limited to that speed to prevent the main electric motor from over speeding.

Various companies that build extra battery pack systems for the Prius use programming that keeps the ICE turned off under 52 MPH, and others use a more simple programming method and use the built-in motor limit of about 34 MPH. My Prius will do 34 MPH before the ICE turns on, but it has not been modified.

The factory plug-in Prius (possibly available in 2011 - I drove one a couple of weeks ago at a car show) is supposed to have a 13 mile range and a top electric speed of around 62 MPH. Above 62, it will turn on the ICE to help drive the wheels, just as the Volt does above about 70 MPH.

The limited battery-only range in the plug-in Prius is because the battery is relatively small. The upside is that this configuration keeps the interior room the same as a standard Prius. In the Volt, there is only room for four passengers because the battery takes up a lot of room down the center of the vehicle interior.

The planetary gear setup is slightly different in the Volt, which allows the electric motor to spin somewhat slower, giving it a somewhat higher top electric speed.

The volt has a 'mountain mode' setting that will force the ICE to charge the battery pack. If the Volt encounters a steep hill with a depleted battery, it will only be able to go up the hill as fast as the smallish ICE can propel the rather heavy Volt. By some assessments, it will likely be in the truck lane after a few miles on long and steep hills, regardless of how charged the battery is before the hill.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by TomEV

The volt has a 'mountain mode' setting that will force the ICE to charge the battery pack. If the Volt encounters a steep hill with a depleted battery, it will only be able to go up the hill as fast as the smallish ICE can propel the rather heavy Volt.

This makes sense, and would make more sense if you could turn it on manually before getting to the hill.

Though I've never understood why most people seem to think of the plug-in hybrid as having/wanting to run on battery only until that's depleted, then running on IC engine alone. Seems to me that on anything more than a short trip, you would get better results using both together.