PREMiERdrum Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Washington — Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.'s flagship vehicle makes economic "sense."The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover of the April issue — the influential magazine's annual survey of vehicles — but the GM vehicle comes in for criticism. "When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy," said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. "This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer." The magazine said in its testing in Connecticut during a harsh winter, its Volt is getting 25 to 27 miles on electric power alone. GM spokesman Greg Martin noted that it's been an extremely harsh winter — and as a Volt driver he said he's getting 29-33 miles on electric range. But he noted that in more moderate recent weather, the range jumped to 40 miles on electric range or higher. Champion believes a hybrid, such as the Toyota Prius, may make more sense for some trips. "If you drive about 70 miles, a Prius will actually get you more miles per gallon than the Volt does," Champion said. But GM has noted that most Americans can avoid using gasoline for most regular commuting with the Volt, while its gasoline engine can allow the freedom to travel farther, if needed. The magazine has put about 2,500 miles on its Volt. It paid $48,700, including a $5,000 markup by a Chevy dealer. Champion noted the Volt is about twice as expensive as a Prius. He was said the five hour time to recharge the Volt was "annoying" and was also critical of the power of the Volt heating system. "You have seat heaters, which keep your body warm, but your feet get cold and your hands get cold," Champion said. (continued at link) LINK - Detroit News Edited March 1, 2011 by PREMiERdrum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmm55 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So CR is back to promoting Toyotas? I'm not surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So CR is back to promoting Toyotas? I'm not surprised. I think the author's criticism was largely based on the economics. The Volt doesn't make sense, because is costs so many more "cents", and has little advantage over the 1/2 price Prius. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 CR forgot to say that harsh, ultra cold, winter weather hurts the fuel mileage of ALL vehicles, especially EVs and full hybrids like Prius. Duh, batteries have hard time in this harsh winter. Better to compare the Volt in more normal temps that we have 8 months out of year usually. It's amazing to me that in such cold, snowy weather that the Volt batteries can push a Volt 25 miles on electric only. This kind of winter is hard on all mechanical equipment. CR is something else sometimes. I know a full hybrid Prius, Fusion, or Escape don't work as well in this weather either. The motor has to work harder. Hell, even my Taurus loses fuel mileage in this ultra cold environment and slower go slogging through winter conditions with heater and defrost going full blast. Leave it to CR to give results of EV in worst condtions imaginable that usually only occur two months out of year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 CR forgot to say that harsh, ultra cold, winter weather hurts the fuel mileage of ALL vehicles, especially EVs and full hybrids like Prius. Duh, batteries have hard time in this harsh winter. Better to compare the Volt in more normal temps that we have 8 months out of year usually. It's amazing to me that in such cold, snowy weather that the Volt batteries can push a Volt 25 miles on electric only. This kind of winter is hard on all mechanical equipment. CR is something else sometimes. I know a full hybrid Prius, Fusion, or Escape don't work as well in this weather either. The motor has to work harder. Hell, even my Taurus loses fuel mileage in this ultra cold environment and slower go slogging through winter conditions with heater and defrost going full blast. Leave it to CR to give results of EV in worst condtions imaginable that usually only occur two months out of year. If it affects all vehicles then the mileage performance is relative and the criticism regarding whether it makes sense from economic perspective is still valid. Wow...I never thought I'd ever be defending CR! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerM Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Leave it to CR to give results of EV in worst condtions imaginable that usually only occur two months out of year. Unless you're going to call in sick for two months out of the year, it still matters to most how bad it could get. I know if a car won't do what I need it to do (possibly for months at a time), I'd like to know before I spend my money for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 That's one advantage of a small Ecoboost engine, even in cold climates they still give good fuel economy. Imagine Focus with a baby Ecoboost engine, great torque and fuel economy that makes you forget all about hybrids.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Car Examiner Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I don't think it was ever in dispute that the car doesn't make economic sense for most people. If it did -- if the fuel savings offset the extra cost -- then there would be no reason not to buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I don't think it was ever in dispute that the car doesn't make economic sense for most people. If it did -- if the fuel savings offset the extra cost -- then there would be no reason not to buy one. Yeah, I think most people with even basic math skills can figure out if Volt makes economic sense for them. So they don't need CR to point that out. And most understand that batteries have hard time with low ambient temps. The Volt is a technology tour de force and those who love high tech will love the Volt. Those with lots of money also. And there is a novelty to being able to drive up to 40 miles a day most months of year without using a drop of gas from the Middle East. At least bragging rights to be sure. And if you want to drive farther on any given day or weekend, it's extended range also. I see why every Volt made this year is spoken for and GM feels that it can sell up to 60,000 next year without even trying. I wish it success and even CR can't stop this train. Increasing fuel prices only make the Volt case more convincing. I noticed Chevy dealers are marking up price $5,000 as they only wish they could get more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Yeah, I think most people with even basic math skills can figure out if Volt makes economic sense for them. So they don't need CR to point that out. True but some people buy on emotion not logic. This article is for those people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Ford has the answer to cold weather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Ford has the answer to cold weather So, what you're saying is... FORD has a better idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summer Cruiser Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 The article by CR did say that that cold weather does cause poorer results since it had to keep the cabin heated and such. The standard still fell within GM's 25-50 mile expected range. In a way it seems CR is continuing its Japanese bias, but at the same time, GM carries some of the blame - they should not have released the car in the winter! That's when initial press fleets get their hands on it and the impressions for the writing. I only hope they also tested the Nissan Leaf and similarly bashed it for shorter-than-expected range. Ford's solution is good, but in a way it does not compare. They have to try and maximize battery life since it directly affects overall range of the vehicle. The Volt doesn't need it, it has its combustion engine to keep you from getting stranded. If I made enough money to satisfy my desire to be enviromentally friendly in a technologically supportive way, I would buy the Focus EV or the Volt. Unfortunately, I do not have an extra $30,000+ to buy such a car at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weiweishen Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (continued at link) LINK - Detroit News The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy So I guess a 1.0 ecoboost engine plus a Focus electric motor will be very impressive to CR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) I only hope they also tested the Nissan Leaf and similarly bashed it for shorter-than-expected range. They did. Regardless of any purported "bias", Consumer Reports is absolutely correct that the Volt is not the most pragmatic purchase. Either the Leaf or Focus EV would be a better buy as a second car. Edited March 1, 2011 by aneekr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 So CR is back to promoting Toyotas? I'm not surprised. I was thinking the same thing. The Fusion Hybrid is a better car by almost every measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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