A time to reflect on the Volt -- my first fill up

Yes, it's true. After 5 months and 3,800 miles I filled up my Chevy Volt for the first time. At this critical juncture of owning a Chevy Volt, it is an appropriate time for reflection on my impressions of the car during my first 5 months of ownership.

The Mileage and Range
Let's look at the numbers. I drove 5 months on less than 9 gallons of gas. That is a surprising 426 mpg. However, that number in some ways overstates the mileage. When you are using electricity you are running at some "gas equivalent" mileage. If you look at my "equivalent" mileage it is still an impressive 82 mpg (I signed up for voltstats.net that tracks equivalent mileage). Any way you slice it the car gets great mileage.

LIFETIME ECONOMY FUEL 426MPG ELECTRIC 37kW-hr/100 miles Data as of 04/25/12 at 11:48 PM PDT

The range on battery power alone keeps growing. I bought my Volt at the end of November when the temperature was 30-35 degrees. Back then my range was around 33 miles per charge. I read on GM-volt.com how to improve my range by putting the gearshift in "L" to maximize regeneration from taking my foot of the gas. Also, I learned from the site I should pump my tires up to 40 psi for better range. I started getting 37 miles per charge (the weather was warming too). Then we started seeing 60+ degree weather and I'm getting 42 miles per charge. I like this trend. I consistently get 4+ miles per kWhr and I used to only get 3. When it gets cold again, I assume I'll drop back to around 35 miles per charge.

Charging
Speaking about charging, I have my own 240V charger that was installed in my garage. It is so convent to come home, plug in the car, and know it will be ready in the morning. I set my charging to be ready by 4 AM so the charging happens during off-peak time. I want to protect the grid from having to add more capacity. At work they added 240V charging stations too. They are free for now, but they start charging $1.2/hr for charging with a max of $6 a day. When I travel to the public libraries in my area, there are free charging stations. When I travel to "electric avenue" in downtown Portland there is free charging and always available parking. When I travel to the Portland waterfront, I can park in the Portland General Electric (PGE) parking garage on weekends, there is free charging ($4/day for parking). Portland also has chargers at the popular Fred Meyer stores and at the Rose Garden (where the Portland Trailblazers play). Charging the battery at home only costs around $1.20 (11 kWhr x 10.7 cents). I buy the green energy plan from PGE so my electricity costs more that average in Oregon.

Global Warming
I bought my Volt to do my part in combating global warming. If I owned a car that got 37 miles per gallon, I would have burned 103 gallons of gas (3,800 miles/37 mpg). That would be a lot of pollution. And a lot of money -- $412 (103 gallons x $4).

Ride, Comfort and the Usual Car Evaluation
The Volt really drives well. It is so quiet. I find when I drive an ICE car I'm surprised how clunky and noisy it is -- the engine roar, the gears shifting, the constant braking (without regen slowing the car). It seems like ICE cars are the "old way."

The comfort of the car is wonderful. The leather seats are nice and comfortable. The cabin system for climate control is comfortable. Lots of room in the hatchback too.

Surprises -- What I didn't expect
Now to my surprises. The iPhone integration is superb. I listen to podcasts during my commute. The menu that pops up makes it so easy to navigate your music and podcasts. The bluetooth works well with the phone too. It is so simple to take and receive calls.

There is surprising room in the Volt hatchback -- I can fit 2 bikes. You have to find ways to protect the car from getting scratched, but I like to be able to put the bikes in and go for the ride.

I was surprised the factory didn't install a carbon filter. With my allergies it is important for me to have one. So I found a filter that works on GM-volt.com and installed it quite easily. I hope it keeps the pollen out.

OnStar is cool with turn by turn navigation. After the free 3 years, I'll probably keep paying the $299 because I like it so much. I love calling OnStar when I don't have an address. They look it up and download the directions. Then I am off to my destination. Once my daughter and I went to see the movie The Artist. It was sold out at the theater. I called OnStar and they found a theater that had it playing, sent us the directions, and we made it. We happened to watch The Artist the weekend before the Oscars, so it was nice to see it win best picture.

My kids really like the back seats. The buckets are much more comfortable then a bench seat. Sometimes my daughter proudly says "We are the only ones on the road with an electric car." When she grows up I predict electric cars will be much more prevalent.

That's my Volt. I still smile every time I drive it.