Chevy volt gas only mileage

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by ocnorb

Just a comment on Volt gas only mpg. Because I live at high altitude (5000 ft) I decided to try some ethanol free 88 octane gasoline. On longer trips my previous best was 42mpg (gas only).

In November and early December we took the same trip to the in-laws (Thanksgiving and Christmas parties) running the "Clear88 " and it got 46.5mpg each trip. Far and away the best mpg the car has gotten.

Malibu Hybrid (Chevrolet Malibu) | Fuelly

Bigger car, bigger engine, smaller battery, same transmission.

[ocnorb]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Malibu Hybrid (Chevrolet Malibu) | Fuelly

Bigger car, bigger engine, smaller battery, same transmission.

First gen Volts gasoline engine was not optimized for the car. It was a budgetary choice.

The new Volts and Malibu are much better in that department.


The big difference between the Volt and the Malibu is that I rarely have to buy gas at all.

[Ecky]

Malibu still delivers better gas-only economy than the 2nd-gen Volt, despite being a larger car with a worse CdA, higher weight and bigger tires. It puzzles me.

[ocnorb]

When you filter for all Malibu Hybrids with the 1.8l motor it looks more realistic. Still a very small sample size.

Chevrolet Malibu MPG - Actual MPG from 27 Chevrolet Malibu owners

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Malibu still delivers better gas-only economy than the 2nd-gen Volt, despite being a larger car with a worse CdA, higher weight and bigger tires. It puzzles me.

Weight + Aero + Exhaust gas heat recovery

GM spent a lot of time optimizing the Malibu and claims the heat recovery is what makes the MPGs

Too bad they ship shod the Volt

[Ecky]

Certainly took them long enough, it's been standard fare on most cars form Japan for more than a decade. Heat recovery was the norm in Hondas at least since the late 2000's, and the Insight had in 18 years ago.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Certainly took them long enough, it's been standard fare on most cars form Japan for more than a decade. Heat recovery was the norm in Hondas at least since the late 2000's, and the Insight had in 18 years ago.

The Volt like all Chevy cars is VERY affected by rather small temperature changes.

Folks in downright hot areas, especially at elevation tend to get the optimal gas mpgs from a Volt, those of us in temperature or cool areas get much lower MPGs.

My highest FE was during 90F weather.

Which means a WAI is needed on the Volt

And yes my Insight looses much less FE in the cold than the Volt or even my Cobalt, it’s a damn shame that Chevy, dodge and Ford ignore cold weather operation

[19bonestock88]

It is a shame that cold weather is so ignored by GM... comparatively my car really sucks the fuel in the wintertime and my second best tank(personal best before P&G was implemented) was in 90* weather

[roosterk0031]

TD, thinking of trading n the Impala for a 2014 Volt for $14k, 50,000 miles, is that a OK deal, and will you if I drive to you make it FFV. Daughters going to Mt Rushmore to work for the summer so wouldn't be till end of summer when I see it again.

[ProDigit]

If you look at the priuses, used ones can easily be gotten with 300k miles on, that still drive!
I presume it's the electric motor to assist in acceleration, that's the main reason for those engines to last longer (although some older priuses with burnt motor/generators have been spotted, which is a good $3k-5k on repairs).

The most efficient is indeed when the gasoline engine does the job on the highway, and the electric motor is only to assist in any acceleration.

I think that's what most manufacturers are doing right now. And equip a battery powerful enough to capture regenerative braking and provide minor acceleration torque added on the engine.

It would have been even better if they would harvest exhaust energy (like a turbo), but instead of compressing the air in the engine, use the energy to drive a generator, which charges the battery while driving (or drives the electric motors for a tiny amount of power added to the wheels).

The system of a motor charging the battery, while driving, is one that puts more wear on the batteries, and reduces efficiency.

If you want a great deal, take a look at the Ford Fusion Energi.
They say it's a turtle on the highway, but 104 eMPG doesn't sound too bad, does it? Neither does their $9k cash rebate.
Their Energi (a $30k car), Hybrid ($25k car), and regular Fusion ($22k car), all sell for the same price!