Anyone here drive an all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m thinking later this year I’ll probably be looking to replace my current daily driver, a venerable '98 Corolla. I’m just starting to look at options, and I was considering a plug-in hybrid or all-electric car. My daily commute is* 15 miles each way. I was thinking of the Chevy Volt. If I can get the advertised 50ish miles of all-electric driving out of it, I’d only ever have to buy gas if I wanted to drive out of the area for some reason. Then I saw that Chevy now has the Bolt, an all-electric car with an advertised 200+ mile range. It seems to be getting good reviews. It looks to have enough cargo space under the hatch for groceries, and even Car and Driver says it’s pretty fun to drive. So that kind of caught my eye. (If I can wait till 2018, maybe I can be an early adopter of the sure-to-be forthcoming Chevy Jolt or, hopefully, the Chevy Dolt).

The other car in our family is a Prius, so if either my wife or I need to drive long distances, we’ll have that as an option. An all-electric car would probably serve me fine as a commuter and grocery getter. But having the extra security of two extended-range cars is a little hard to let go of. I’m not 100% sure I’m ready for the all-electric plunge.

With the tax credit, I should be able to get either the Volt or the Bolt for under $30K, which fits the budget. I’m looking for a small- to mid-sized car with enough space in the back for two child seats and enough trunk/cargo space for a week’s worth of groceries – just basic transportation with limited environmental impact. I want to keep the price under $30K if I can.

There are lots of other all-electric and plug-ins on the market now, though, which I haven’t really looked at yet. A Tesla would be lovely, but it’s more than I want to spend, unless the Model 3 comes out by the time I’m ready to buy.

So… Anyone here have experience owning a plug-in hybrid or all-electric car? What did you like/not like about it? What things should I consider as I research them?

*Well, it will be when I start my new job. I currently work from home, but I’ll be going in to the office again in a few weeks

2

I haven’t owned one, but I did have 4 days with a Volt. It got pretty much dead on 50 miles on a full charge, though this was July. expect less in winter.

3

Other than plugging it in at night, was it “just a car”, or was there anything notably good or bad about it?

4

My wife leased a Nissan Leaf a few years ago on a test basis to see if it would work for her back and forth to work car. Nissan claimed up to 67 miles per charge, she had a 12 mile each way commute, she figured she should get 2 days per charge. The second day she drove it to work it went into a limp mode a couple miles from home, it was at 10% battery charge. After a few other instances of less than advertised mileage per charge, she returned the car.

5

My friends just bought a Nissan Leaf for basically nothing. There’s one on CL in my city right now for under $9k, it’s a 2013 with 24,000 miles. It doesn’t have the same range as the newest version but it’d still get you to work and back.

Less than 2 weeks ago I bought a 2013 Ford C-Max Energi (plug-in hybrid), it has 28,000 miles and I got it for under $14k. The window sticker I found in the glove box had an MSRP of over $38,000.

A lot of these cars are expensive because of the batteries and wouldn’t sell without the tax credits. Big automakers are forced to make them anyway in part due to market demands, but mostly (I think) because California law requires it. If they don’t meet 0 emissions vehicle targets they’d have to pull out of the state.

The Volt hasn’t depreciated as much, and the Prius has gotten past it’s “OMG the batteries might die!” phase, but I think there are plenty of options, like the C-Max and the Leaf, where they dropped off of peoples’ radar because they were expensive ($30k for a very basic compact car in the case of the Leaf, $34k-ish for the C-Max plug in) and riddled with compromises (80 mile range for the Leaf, very little cargo capacity in the case of my C-Max). But as they say, hit 'em where they ain’t. Look at the used market where the original buyer’s tax credit is baked into the price and depreciation has done it’s work. If you buy new you might get the tax credit, sure, but unless it’s a Tesla or a Prius, the market hasn’t been friendly to their residual values.

6

Just an additional comment about my C-Max, I bought it because it’s a nice car. Loaded, panoramic glass roof, it parks itself, leather 8 way power seats, 9 speaker stereo, voice commands, navigation, bluetooth, sirius, quiet and comfortable on the highway. It’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned. The cargo capacity does indeed suck, and it only gets 36 mpg highway (revised EPA numbers and my limited real-world experience), but we’ve been good about keeping it charged and leveraging it’s ~17 mile electric only range*. If you think of it as an odd little mid-sized hatchback, it’s a great car, unbeatable for what we paid for it. If you think of it as an earth-saver, it falls short of a lot of its competitors.

*with the heat off and ambient temps above 35 degrees.

7

We have a BMW i3, which the spouse uses as his daily commute vehicle. So far, aside from having to watch the range (around 70 miles on a charge) it’s been just like a normal car. He works at a company that has on-site chargers, which is nice. We also have a charger in the garage (it was a bit expensive to have installed, requiring an electrician to come in and beef up the wiring, but very convenient).

We bought it (leased, actually) because it allows him to drive to work in the HOV lane, which cuts a big chunk off his commute time. Another nice thing about it is that it lets you get some really nice parking spaces while shopping, if they have chargers or clean-air-vehicle-only parking spaces.

An odd thing about it is that it gets its best mileage in stop-and-go traffic (because braking helps charge it up) and its worst on the freeway, exactly opposite to a gas-engine car.

So far we haven’t had any issues with running out of charge. The only slightly inconvenient thing is that we have to always take my car on long trips now. We looked at a Tesla S, which has a much larger range, but by the time we got it specced out the way we wanted it (it doesn’t come stock with a nav computer, which adds about $5K to the price), it was more than we wanted to pay.

8

Also a C-Max Energi owner. Although I get 23 to 24 all-electric in good weather and just good gas mileage in winter with the heat and defrost on. And I get 43 plus usually when driving as pure hybrid. But yes very truly YMMMV! Nice car. Some little quirks (like rarely the charger port door has frozen shut and other little oddities that are not plug-in related). Nice to save the hassle of stopping off at the gas station as often. Less frequent oil changes. Good pick up.

If buying now, now that the Volt seats three in the back, would possibly choose the Volt. Bigger all-electric range. I just don’t like the calling attention to itself with its name.

9

:frowning: Bummer. I wonder how common that is. You bring up leasing, which I hadn’t thought of. I might look into that as a hedge against the problems your wife had. If the car is a lemon, I assume returning it under the lease is not too painful?

That’s good feedback, thanks. I’ll need to do the math, but with 17 miles electric only, and 36 mpg thereafter, I might burn less gas with the plug in Prius, which I think has shorter electric only range but better mpg after that.

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I think even now, the “third seat” in the Volt is pretty cramped. But we can never put three people in our back seat anyway because of the kids’ car seats. So that doesn’t bother me a lot.

11

I felt it was a nice car; unlike the Prius it doesn’t go out of its way to tell you it’s a hybrid. I hate (HATE) the funky interior ergonomics of the Prius. Plus in EV mode it feels way faster than its 178 hp rating would let on.

12

A year ago November (2015), we bought a 2016 Chevy Volt for my SO. We have been very pleased so far. It was to be her commute car, but then her work situation changed right after we got the car, so she hasn’t put quite as many miles on it as we originally anticipated.

We (I) decided on the Volt as opposed to a fully electric (this is confusing, the Volt “runs” on an electric motor, but also has a gas generator to charge the battery) just for the “backup” when the battery runs out. We wanted to have the option for longer distances as well as the savings from only using electric for in town. I was also concerned about my SO forgetting to plug the car in (which happens a lot) and being stranded with an all electric car.

It runs great. I have an '08 Prius and the Volt rides smoother, and quieter. The Volt has plenty of pickup and is really comfortable to drive.

The 53 miles per charge does vary with terrain: the more hills, the less mileage. So the rating is based on relatively flat terrain.

We got the 220 volt charger, and I would highly recommend it. The car setup allows you to only have the car charge during “off peak” hours, so you can utilize the electricity to charge at the lowest rates. A very cool feature. The one disappointment is that the cost per kilowatt hour varies with time of day, but the “delivery” charge is constant. So you get some savings, but you need to consider both rates.

The 2016 Volt has a roomier trunk than the previous years, and is fine for a typical grocery story run. Depending on how often you go, you might need to use the backseats for a CostCo run, though.

We have had a couple “fluke” issues (all covered by warranty). Unclear whether these are particular to the 2016 or just our vehicle. The dealer has been very good about taking care of them, and even gave us an extended warranty for free for our troubles.

The most annoying thing, and this is not particular to the Volt, is kind of like all the pre-installed trial software you get when you buy a new PC, the Volt comes with all this “trial” stuff: On-Star, Sirius XM radio. And the annoying part is when you want to discontinue the use after the trial period - they keep bugging you to continue. Sirius was particularly annoying about this.

Not sure if you had any specific questions. But feel free to ask if I haven’t covered anything.

13

I’ve heard that about the Bolt too. I’m not a car guy really, but AIUI you get all the torque pretty much instantly when you hit the pedal, so it really zips between stoplights. That could be fun. :slight_smile:

14

Reminds me of another thing that takes some getting used to: yes, they’re quite zippy, but you can’t coast to a stop. Pretty much when you put your foot on the pedal you get power, and when you take it off, you stop. It’s not a big deal, but the first few times as you try to coast to a stop behind another car at a light, or perform low-speed maneuvers like parallel parking, it’s a bit weird and unsettling.

15

I’ve been driving a Ford Focus electric for a year and half and love it. It’s very comparable to the Leaf; we just liked the ride and layout of the Focus a little better. I hear good things about the Bolt, but it wasn’t available when we got ours. We get ~85 miles city and ~75 miles highway driving in warm weather. Running with the heater on full-time can take 30-35% off the range.

The extra range available with a Volt with its gas engine backup seems nice, but keep in mind that one of the advantages of an all-electric is its simplicity and minimal maintenance. Once you add an ICE, you have to worry about oil changes and all the other maintenance needs. IMO, it’s not worth it “just in case” you need the extra range. If your second car in an ICE, then just use that if you’re in danger of exceeding the range.

I highly recommend leasing. Because the tax break is only for the initial purchase, electric cars lose value more quickly, and the rapid improvements in technology mean they become obsolete quicker. The Leaf and Focus had the best available range at around 90 miles for an affordable 4-5 seater when we got ours mid-2015, and already the new Bolt has over doubled that range.

Indeed. Electrics are a lot of fun to drive.

16

the Volt (and Bolt) let you coast normally, and have a small “regen” paddle on the steering wheel which you can use to slow the vehicle faster and dump some charge into the battery. When I had the Volt I did most of the “braking” with the regen paddle, only stepping on the pedal to bring it to a final halt.

17

I’n not surprised. Many specs for many things rely upon ideal conditions. In this case, it would be ideal temperatures, smooth roads, constant speeds, little use of accessories, including headlights, and new batteries. Anything else – which would be 90% of typical use – would degrade the performance.

18

I’m a little worried about this too (only I would be the one forgetting). So the Volt does have that in its favor. Although, with a car with the range of the Bolt, I doubt I’d forget enough days in a row to leave me stranded if I’m only driving 30 miles a day.

Good tip, thanks. Can I ask how much the 220 volt charge cost you?

Very helpful, thanks!

That would be weird. Although I think the Bolt has two driving modes, one of which is supposed to be more of a traditional feel, where you can coast, while the other is theoretically “one pedal” driving. Not being able to coast would take some getting used to for me. I’m used to coasting for as long as I can as I approach a stop. I wonder, when you lift your foot off the pedal and the car immediately slows down, do your brake lights go on?

That’s a great point, which I hadn’t really considered. What is the maintenance schedule like for your Focus EV?

I’ve never really been one to lease a car, but this is making me seriously consider it.

19

So far, I’ve refilled the washer fluid and inflated the tires. That’s it. I think the first actual scheduled maintenance would be at 30 or 45K, which will be after our 3-year lease is up.

I was the same as you. This is the first car I’ve ever leased, and I’m very glad I did.

20

I love my 2012 Volt. It is a higher end car and is a pleasure to drive, and quality electronics. I’m getting 240 mpg lifetime, so I use a little gas. I’m going to check out the Bolt when it’s available, if it’s as nice as the Volt, I’m trading. 200 mile range is plenty for me.