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The good news is, for the first time ever, we have EPA efficiency data on a PHEV in electric drive, and when running on fossil fuel.
The Chevrolet Volt is a deeply flawed vehicle, and hardly an exemplar of efficient use of gasoline. It has a parts bin, cast iron block, 1.4L engine without Atkinsonization, coupled to a transmission that leaves much to be desired in terms of efficiency. However, it gives us some numbers to compare: 37mpg in gasoline mode, versus 368Wh/mi in electric mode, on the same test cycle.
That is to say, 13.6 KWh = 1 gal, in terms of how far it will drive a Volt.
That's astonishingly close to the numbers I came up with in the first post in this thread. The fact that three different mpge methods are in such close agreement says something.
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