In this video we're gonna look at what it's like to travel long distance with
the Chevy Volt and also what charging options are available.
OK it is almost 10 o'clock on a Friday and we're gettin on the road. Hopefully we will be there in time for dinner.
So starting out on a road trip the first bit of course you get the benefit of the electric.
Unfortunately on the highway because of the higher speeds you only
get about 20 miles and then you're switching over to the gas engine.
The Volt is limited to charging levels 1 & 2. For this highway trip it's
primarily higher speeds that are along the way, higher speed charging, so that really won't do any good.
With the level 1 and level 2 charging means is that at home
120 or a 240 volt charging. So a regular plug versus say a dryer plug.
240-volt will require a charging station. That's an extra expense.
So you'll have to weigh
your options whether you want 12-hour charging on a regular plug,
versus three or four hours on a level 2 charger.
Chevy tweaked the 2013 version of the Chevy Volt to get a little more mileage
out of it as far as electric range. It was about 35 miles they bumped it up to
about 38 with some efficiencies. For travel once that electric range is gone
then the four-cylinder engine kicks in. Don't really notice the change from
electric to the gas engine. Maybe some in the pedal as far as vibrations.
But especially at higher speeds there's not a noise difference.
Once the EV range is gone it then functions as a regular hybrid.
I've seen miles per gallon anywhere from 37 to 42 for the Volt.
So as the saying goes your mileage may vary.
Sunshine or rain the Volt seems to do well as far as holding on the road.
It's raining right now and it does great. Because of how low it sits to the road I
don't know that I would trust it to that much in snow or ice but as far as rain
it does great. I've had no issues there.
I've mentioned it in a previous video but one of the downsides of taking a longer
trip is that it requires premium fuel so there's that extra cost if you're not
going to be charging. I did stop at a couple of fast chargers just to see what
they're like. I stopped at a Electrify America and also a Tesla Supercharger.
I did download the Electrify America and
ChargePoint app to see what those were like.
Pretty intuitive. You do need to put in credit card information in order to get
them going and be able to use the chargers.
Again because the Volt is just level 1 and level 2
I couldn't take advantage of the but I wanted to find out more about it on this trip.
But there are starting to be more Chargers around, so that's helpful.
As far as ride and comfort on the highway the Volt does great.
Again the batteries slow down is a big help.
Our other car is much bigger and more comfortable in a lot of ways
but we tend to take this because it's quieter
the rides better and we just enjoy driving it much more.
Space or cargo in the back can be an issue. It is a hatch which is convenient.
But the floor is fairly high.
But for a weekend or maybe even a week if
you pack fairly light it's not bad.
If you're gonna do a ski trip it's not gonna work.
We've taken it as a family of four and done very well with that.
As our kids get bigger that's going to be more and more difficult.
Almost missed my exit.
As far as the handling on the highway
it does great.
Crosswinds really don't seem too affected that much.
Again part of that's probably the weight.
Some of its the aerodynamics.
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