Sold the Cruze and Bought a Volt

[Sunnyinhollister]

As the title says, we sold the Cruze and bought a Volt. It's my wife's businees car so her choice. The Cruze had 37k trouble free miles. The only complaints I had with it was the flat black interior was a pain to keep clean and the fuel economy was disappointing. Other than that it was a very nicec little car.

The Volt is a fully loaded model. So far the gas engine has not had to turn on. We drove about 33 miles from the dealership to our house last night and 40 miles this morning all electric. My wife had to go out tonight on a job and it looks like that will be all electric also. Cant wait to get the charging station. The only problem is that it looks like the first oil change will be in 18 to 24 months! I'll be going through withdrawls....

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
As the title says, we sold the Cruze and bought a Volt. It's my wife's businees car so her choice. The Cruze had 37k trouble free miles. The only complaints I had with it was the flat black interior was a pain to keep clean and the fuel economy was disappointing. Other than that it was a very nicec little car.

The Volt is a fully loaded model. So far the gas engine has not had to turn on. We drove about 33 miles from the dealership to our house last night and 40 miles this morning all electric. My wife had to go out tonight on a job and it looks like that will be all electric also. Cant wait to get the charging station. The only problem is that it looks like the first oil change will be in 18 to 24 months! I'll be going through withdrawls....


Nice! I like my cruze a lot, sometimes I miss some things about the focus, but by and large the cruze is a great car. I agree the interior is a pain, and depending on how you drive, fuel economy with the auto is average.

Keep us posted on "mileage" with the volt!

 

[Dakota1820]

As much as i can't stand the vast majority of electric cars. I really do hope one breaks through and works. I also applaud people brave enough to buybl new technology. Hope it works great for you guys. And I have a feeling the fuel mileage on most of these new cars is going to disappoint a lot of people. Most don't do as good as they claim except in perfect conditions

 

[sciphi]

Congrats! Enjoy the Volt! Please keep us informed about how it is as a car, and how the home charging station works, etc.

I like my Cruze, and especially the fuel economy. Last tank was 9.4 gallons over 427 miles, or about 44.5 mpg. Then again, it's being driven in a rural environment at about 45-55 mph all the time. Agreed about the black interior, it's nice in the winter and not so nice now that the weather is warm.

And, can you please post up some pictures? Well, if your wife stops driving it long enough!

 

[JHZR2]

Neat! Please post pictures and keep us posted.

 

[Smokescreen]

I have never been disappointed in the cars I have driven when I look at their fuel economy specs. As I have done on every car I have owned in the past I am fairly confident I can meet and beat EPA on any current or new car.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Congrats on an awesome buy. I know you're not the primary driver, but defiantly keep up updated on your experience.

A Volt would be a perfect fit for my weekly commute: 16-25 miles round trip, all city, and I have charging stations available at work. I could charge at work and be gas free without spending a dime. I doubt I'd even bother doing a charging station at home in the garage.

 

[Cutehumor]

let us know how much your electricity bill is changed. if possible, the dollar spent difference between your increase electric bill vs the gas you would have spent in a gas engine car.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
A Volt would be a perfect fit for my weekly commute: 16-25 miles round trip, all city, and I have charging stations available at work.


Me too, except for having a charging station at work. I could charge it nightly at home and drive the 30 miles round trip each day. A small part of me has a desire for an electric commuter (like a Volt, Leaf, etc), with a toy car for the weekends.

 

[jigen]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Congrats on an awesome buy. I know you're not the primary driver, but defiantly keep up updated on your experience.

A Volt would be a perfect fit for my weekly commute: 16-25 miles round trip, all city, and I have charging stations available at work. I could charge at work and be gas free without spending a dime. I doubt I'd even bother doing a charging station at home in the garage.


If you are in a scenario where you may never actually use gas with a car like the Volt, do they require that you still empty the gas after so long? I dont like the idea of the gas just sitting there for such a long time.

Back on topic, congrats on the Volt! I love the way they look and I find them to really turn heads!

 

[MrHorspwer]

Originally Posted By: jigen

If you are in a scenario where you may never actually use gas with a car like the Volt, do they require that you still empty the gas after so long? I dont like the idea of the gas just sitting there for such a long time.

Back on topic, congrats on the Volt! I love the way they look and I find them to really turn heads!


Stale fuel is handled without any hassle to the driver. It is one of two modes of maintenance operation that are a sort of "badge of honor" for Volt owners.

The first is Engine Maintenance Mode. After six weeks of no engine operation, a message appears that requests the engine to run for maintenance purposes. You can delay for one day, but it will force the engine to run for a set amount of time on the second day.

The second is Fuel Maintenance Mode. If the engine controller determines that your average fuel usage will result in a single tank of fuel lasting an entire year, it will begin a fuel maintaince regiment where it will automatically run the engine with no purpose other than to get rid of fuel so it doesn't become stale. Again, you can delay it only for a day.

The idea is that a single tank of fuel will not sit in the tank for longer than a year. As a driver, if you see either of these messages, you're running pretty much electric-only... hence the badge of honor.

 

[jigen]

Wow, thats a neat bit of information. Thanks for the post!

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
I have never been disappointed in the cars I have driven when I look at their fuel economy specs. As I have done on every car I have owned in the past I am fairly confident I can meet and beat EPA on any current or new car.


I also have been able to meet or surpass the EPA estimates on every car I've owned for at least the last 14 years - except the Cruze. The 2012s and the ECO models don't seem to have the problems with meeting the EPA fuel economy numbers - just the 2011 LT and LTZ models. Good car other wise

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Congrats! Enjoy the Volt! Please keep us informed about how it is as a car, and how the home charging station works, etc.

I like my Cruze, and especially the fuel economy. Last tank was 9.4 gallons over 427 miles, or about 44.5 mpg. Then again, it's being driven in a rural environment at about 45-55 mph all the time. Agreed about the black interior, it's nice in the winter and not so nice now that the weather is warm.

And, can you please post up some pictures? Well, if your wife stops driving it long enough!


I'll try to post some pics next week. I work weekend nights so I won't be able to get to it till next week. I've also got to post my Cruze oil & air filter since I won't be needing those.

 

[Sunnyinhollister]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Congrats on an awesome buy. I know you're not the primary driver, but defiantly keep up updated on your experience.

A Volt would be a perfect fit for my weekly commute: 16-25 miles round trip, all city, and I have charging stations available at work. I could charge at work and be gas free without spending a dime. I doubt I'd even bother doing a charging station at home in the garage.


So far the average fuel economy as stated on the phone ap is 223 MPG. She did a 71 mile round trip today with a little charging at her destination anf 51 of those miles were on electric. Yesterday morning we had to run up to Gilroy to drop pick up a few things and the 40 mile round trip was all electric. Later that night she had to return to Gilroy for a job, and 32 out of 38 miles were electric.

I'll try and post the difference in our home PGE bill in the following months. We do not have the home charging station so I'm just using the wall outlet.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Originally Posted By: jigen

If you are in a scenario where you may never actually use gas with a car like the Volt, do they require that you still empty the gas after so long? I dont like the idea of the gas just sitting there for such a long time.

Back on topic, congrats on the Volt! I love the way they look and I find them to really turn heads!


Stale fuel is handled without any hassle to the driver. It is one of two modes of maintenance operation that are a sort of "badge of honor" for Volt owners.

The first is Engine Maintenance Mode. After six weeks of no engine operation, a message appears that requests the engine to run for maintenance purposes. You can delay for one day, but it will force the engine to run for a set amount of time on the second day.

The second is Fuel Maintenance Mode. If the engine controller determines that your average fuel usage will result in a single tank of fuel lasting an entire year, it will begin a fuel maintaince regiment where it will automatically run the engine with no purpose other than to get rid of fuel so it doesn't become stale. Again, you can delay it only for a day.

The idea is that a single tank of fuel will not sit in the tank for longer than a year. As a driver, if you see either of these messages, you're running pretty much electric-only... hence the badge of honor.

What if you were to..let it run out of fuel? Will it still try to run the engine occasionally?

 

[MrHorspwer]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws

What if you were to..let it run out of fuel? Will it still try to run the engine occasionally?


If the fuel level is low, the vehicle will still go into fuel maintaince mode and it is possible to run out of gas. There will still be the typical "Fuel Level Low" message, just like any other car, when the fuel level goes below a certain point.

If the vehicle is out of gas, it can still be driven in electric mode. A message that states "Engine Not Available Add Fuel" will be display and the vehicle will only go as far as the electrons will allow it. Hopefully, far enough to get to a gas station or an electrical outlet.

Once out of fuel, it will not try to start the engine.

 

[Smokescreen]

Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
I have never been disappointed in the cars I have driven when I look at their fuel economy specs. As I have done on every car I have owned in the past I am fairly confident I can meet and beat EPA on any current or new car.


I also have been able to meet or surpass the EPA estimates on every car I've owned for at least the last 14 years - except the Cruze. The 2012s and the ECO models don't seem to have the problems with meeting the EPA fuel economy numbers - just the 2011 LT and LTZ models. Good car other wise


(mental note to myself) Never buy a Cruze...

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Sunnyinhollister
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
I have never been disappointed in the cars I have driven when I look at their fuel economy specs. As I have done on every car I have owned in the past I am fairly confident I can meet and beat EPA on any current or new car.


I also have been able to meet or surpass the EPA estimates on every car I've owned for at least the last 14 years - except the Cruze. The 2012s and the ECO models don't seem to have the problems with meeting the EPA fuel economy numbers - just the 2011 LT and LTZ models. Good car other wise


(mental note to myself) Never buy a Cruze...


I've averaged 43 mpg since brand-new with my Cruze Eco with the manual transmission. Highway is 42 mpg. Combined is about 33 mpg. So I'm thrilled with the fuel economy of my Cruze.

It does depend on which model, and which year. The 2012's got a fuel economy bump over the 2011's, and ANY Cruze with a manual will do better than a Cruze with an automatic.

Don't write off a model based on one year...

 

[morepwr]

I just returned from a trip where I rented a Cruze and put 2500 miles on it and it averaged 34.1mpg. It was an LTZ and had about every option possible and most of the freeways had 75-80 mph speed limits so I was driving fast on the highway parts of the trip.

I look forward to updates on the Volt purchase.