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Old 03-20-2018, 07:34 PM   #19 (permalink)
rmay635703
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere in WI
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Silver - '10 Chevy Cobalt XFE
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecky View Post
I wonder why the Volt gets "such low" highway mpg. Did GM go with a relatively inefficient powerplant? Is it the tires? How efficient is the 1.4? I seem to recall reading that the related hybrids (Malibu?) had higher combined ratings on gasoline.
It’s not just the Volt, many newer cars including the Prius tend to get lower than expected “cool weather” economy.
Even my Cobalt is like that.

I own a volt and have found the best way to improve fuel economy is to optimize my trip for max EV miles

Small changes make big differences in EV range, my EV range virtually never drops below 50 miles,
This more than offsets the winter hit and makes the summer gain amazing.

At my peak during spring, summer and fall I consistently get 68-72 EV miles and 40-50 mpg off the gas pig alone, but I do hypermile a lot.

The summer gain makes up for the terrible winter driving.
But I still think it’s rather sad that my economy is cut in half or more during specific winter drives.
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