Chevrolet Volt

[Fummins]

There was a thread about the Hyundai Ioniq so why not the Volt? They're getting older and becoming cheaper like me. Right now I'm not wanting to buy an ioniq or prius prime for $20-30,000 but found a Volt not too far away that peaked my interest.

[Dodge Aries K]

I mean, it's got a Chevy logo on it so I'd be afraid of it hahaha.

[Fummins]

This is true. I have more faith in the older one
Probably better one day.

[Loren]

I know two people who bought used Volts for right about $14k each... maybe 2-3 years ago. Was a fantastic price at the time. They both bought into them for the geek factor. I did drive one of them one, and it's pretty impressive. Silent running. Plenty of torque if you want it. Comfy and fancy. Very high tech. You can geek out on all the power stuff (battery state, discharge, regenerative braking, fuel economy, etc, etc, etc... sort of like a Prius), or you can ignore all of that and just drive the thing.

Both of those guys were very pleased. One of them got traded for a C6 Corvette. Yeah, he's "that guy". He liked the novelty of the Volt, but it didn't last long. The other one still owns his. He's doing grocery delivery for Shipt with it and absolutely loves the car!

[precisionxt]

I absolutely love the aesthetic of the first-gen Chevy Volt. The rear end especially. If just looks like Chevy put more effort into that car.

[Top_Fuel]

Not to complicate your decision...

While you're looking at used Volts, check out some used Bolts, too. Used Bolts (in the US) are pretty attractive right now. Many get leased...so there are tons of lease turn-ins available. $15,000 can buy a 3 year old Bolt with 40K miles (in the US).

A Bolt is a pure EV...so there's no engine, transmission, fuel system, etc. It's a mechanically simpler vehicle.

A 2017 Bolt has a 383 kilometer (238 mile) range on a full charge. To be fair, that range will be significantly reduced in winter months. But even if the range was cut in half, you could probably drive it multiple days before recharging.

Bolts have an 8 year/100K mile warranty on the battery and electric component coverage. So a used one would still have battery warranty left.

The Bolt is a functional hatchback with a lot of interior/cargo space. If you carry kids and their junk, it might be a better utility vehicle than a Volt sedan.

If you get a Bolt with the DC Fast Charging option (mandatory if you plan on taking it on really long trips), you can add 100 miles of range at a commercial fast charger in 30 minutes. A 240 volt home charger adds about 25 miles of range per hour of charging. Plugging a Bolt into a 120 volt outlet gets you about 4 miles per hour of charging. For most people, even that would be good enough.

[Fummins]

If you can find me a bolt for that cheap in Alberta let me know. Cheapest one I found was $27,000 used.
They never offered provincial ev or

[Dirk Diggler]

I see old Bolts/Volts all the time down here.

[Top_Fuel]

If you can find me a bolt for that cheap in Alberta let me know. Cheapest one I found was $27,000 used.
They never offered provincial ev or phev rebates or incentives here so there just aren't as many around here.

It's hard to keep track of EV rebates/incentives...even in the US. Some states here have crazy incentives...others don't have anything.

You can buy a new Bolt (in the US) for $15K off MSRP right now. If you're a Costco member, you can get another $3K off on top of that. So a 2020 base model Bolt is getting close to $20K down here at some dealers...which is nearly 50% off. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on one at that price point...even though I need a new car like I need another hole in my head.

[7milesout]

I don't know a lot about the Bolt. If it is EV only, then I'm not on-board with that. What would happen if suddenly I had to go out of town to any particular family members house that is a couple states away? It could do it, but I think I would have to stop for a couple extended periods of time to charge.

The Volt however, can go endlessly, with just 5 minute stops for gas. The "concept" of the Volt is the best hybrid idea going. I don't know if that powertrain platform carried over to any other vehicle or not, once the Volt production stopped.

Around town in a Volt, hundreds perhaps thousands of mpg are achievable. But if for some reason I had to get across country. No problem in a Volt. Not so in a Bolt (if it is pure EV), or Leaf or Tesla. The Prius is also a great concept. But in my opinion the Volt concept is better. If I had to own either for 10 years+, it would be the Toyota product. Not to say the Volt wouldn't be just fine, but I have greater confidence in Toyota having worked there and know their mindset. A buddy of mine flew down from NY, bought a Volt in Atlanta a few years ago. Last I checked he was still driving it (in NY) and loving it.


7milesout