A Chevy Volt Owner chimes in with how Chevy is better

[Comanchepilot]

1. No external charge indicator

2. No Charge timing - you're gonna cost me another $100 to buy a 220v timer?

3. No touch screen Nav- omg really? It's 2015. My 1971 AIRPLANE has touch screen nav.

4. No working app for the car.

5. No WEBPAGE for the car - you MUST use a kludgy app?

6. Incredibly inefficient motor [2.8 - 3..2 mi/Kwh?]

7. Can't get back into D-Auto once you are out.

8. Dealers and sales staff have NO clue about the car, its options and how to work them - they could NOT sign us up for MBrace. did not know how or how to troubleshoot the app.

The sales woman told us yesterday at delivery that we could a) schedule a charge, b) that recouperative paddles work with D+ being the most recouperative level, and c) it would charge in 3.5 hours no matter what 220v system you had . . . .

I bet her a 220v install she was wrong about all of them. . . . . she gave me the 'you are an 'arsehole' look - and refused to take the bet and then discovered she was wrong - the dealer sent us to dinner while they educated themselves about the car.

Here we are less 24 hours out from delivery but we are 4 hours late on a promised phone call to clear up a few hiccups they promised at delivery but we don't have yet . . . . .

 

[stu1021]

I agree with some of your points but just to be fair - My 1955 Airplane has touch screen Nav but I don't see how that applies since it most certainly didn't come with it from Piper - neither did your 1971. My EVSE came with WiFi and a remote app with timer function so that hasn't been an issue for me. Technically, there is a vehicle web page and an app (for Android at least). I don't think it is a motor efficiency issue as much as a larger, heavier vehicle issue - depends on what you want. If you use the paddles to toggle to D+ or D- then you get back to D Auto by holding the paddle for longer than 2 seconds. Hope that answers a few of your questions. I too had to research and educate my dealer on a number of things about the car but I am certainly enjoying it now that I have had it for a couple of months.

 

[sixpak]

I agree with some of your points but just to be fair - My 1955 Airplane has touch screen Nav but I don't see how that applies since it most certainly didn't come with it from Piper - neither did your 1971. My EVSE came with WiFi and a remote app with timer function so that hasn't been an issue for me. Technically, there is a vehicle web page and an app (for Android at least). I don't think it is a motor efficiency issue as much as a larger, heavier vehicle issue - depends on what you want. If you use the paddles to toggle to D+ or D- then you get back to D Auto by holding the paddle for longer than 2 seconds. Hope that answers a few of your questions. I too had to research and educate my dealer on a number of things about the car but I am certainly enjoying it now that I have had it for a couple of months.

Also, from D+ D- or D, you can pull down the shift lever like you were putting it into D Auto when you start off and it goes back to D Auto. Didn't know about holding the paddle for over two seconds to get to D Auto but will give it a try (I like that better).

 

[tomt]

There is no question but that MB could have done better with the ED than they did and that in many areas the Volt - particularly the 2016 - IS much better... But it is a somewhat apples and oranges comparison...

 

[rdavis0521]

I'll agree things are far from perfect, but I think most of my disappointment is in the software and app. But a couple of points.

* As mentioned, pull either regen paddle for 1 second, and you go into D-Auto.
* The MBrace app works well, and the SendToBenz feature is awesome. I rarely try to get an address in from the car controls, but use my phone to locate an address, and have it sent to the car.
* You can do the same from Google Maps, you can send the destination to your car.
* The "kludgy" app is a web page. You can access it from a browser, in fact it works better for me. The largest problem I've had with the app is that it doesn't sync when you first run the app. However, clicking on Climate Control -> Activate, seems to force a connection to the vehicle, and causes re-login and sync happens. So far this has worked very well, although it's a couple of extra clicks.
* The mpkwh gauge as per Tony Williams is wall to wheels, not battery to wheels as you would expect. The correction factor is 1.2. I routinely get about 3.3 indicated or almost 4 mpkwh real. The car is definitely bigger, heavier than some EV's, and as such it's not going to be quite as efficient. However, I've taken a couple of 100 mile drives, and I know others that do that routinely as well.
* No delayed charging. Yep a major miss. However, there are plenty of chargers out there with timers. Or, as you've mentioned, an inline timer (which is what I did, at $70, rather than purchasing a new EVSE)
* No external charge indicator? True, but I've never really needed it.

It's not a perfect car, but there's more I like than I hate. I'm sure the Volt is a great car, I just don't have any need for a gas vehicle, even with good battery range. Personal opinion only.

 

[SoCalBclass]

We own both a 2015 Volt and 2014 B Class and I can agree with some of the points made, however, the build quality and materials used by Mercedes are far superior. I can also drive up to 115 miles on pure electricity with the extended range option. We love this because we can comfortably drive from San Diego to Disneyland. BTW, Disneyland has about 10-12 ChargePoint connectors in their parking structure and you get closer parking because the connectors are located near the tram loading area. It's great to spend 4-5 hours at Disneyland and have a full charge when you get back. The Disneyland ChargePoint connectors will charge the B Class about 20 miles in an hour. 4.5 - 5.0 hours of charging and you're good for another 115 miles back to San Diego.

It is nice the Volt has delayed charging, a hatchback, and is efficient. I see 3.5 - 4.0 Miles per kwh with an full load, which is nice, but that's about where the advantages stop. The B Class has a much better on-board charger. I use the JuiceBox Classic 40AMP connector and see 25 miles of range per hour. The Volt charger is so slow it's painful. The interior of the Mercedes is more sophisticated. The Volt has very poor infotainment/climate buttons below the display. I never really know if I pushed the button or not. Can be confusing when you're navigating the menu and you hit the auto climate button. Has happened to to me many times.

We just took a long road trip in the Volt to Utah with a full load and it was not as bad as I envisioned. However, as we were climbing Bakers grade we did see an in dash warning, "propulsion power is reduced". I bit scary at first because we couldn't drive faster than 55-60MPH. We later read through the manual and used mountain mode before any major climb and the car was fine. Mountain mode keeps the gas engine on and charges the battery to give you enough battery and gas power combined to climb a major mountain. You do have to remember to keep a charge and turn mountain mode on 5-10 minutes before the climb, and not deplete the battery fully before you use the mountain mode or you won't get enough charge from the gas engine to get you up the grade faster than 60MPH. You're basically stuck with just the gas engine running which puts out a measly 83HP.

 

[wtzouris]

The efficiency and D-Auto complaints are wrong, the lit charger port and delayed charging complaints are whatever (It IS a converted B-Class car) and the webpage/app issues, while annoying, aren't a reason to avoid buying the car.

-Actual driving range is excellent, as advertised, extended range charge 87-115 miles, regular standard charge 77-100 miles (Winter-Summer)
(The GOM (Guess-O-Meter) will show as little as 61 miles range in winter even though the car can go 80-84 miles on that charge))
-Reliability of drivetrain/gateway software is excellent for most of us -- 9500 trouble free miles for me
-Power/handling is excellent
-On-Board charging at 9.6 kW (40 Amps) is excellent
-Style/Luxury is excellent IMO
-Technology is excellent (Front/Rear Sensors, Radar based regen, Blind Spot Warning, etc)
-Air Conditioning (cooling) in the summer is super efficient and can be used all the time with no impact on range.
-Value -- The 3-year lease deals are excellent.
-Safety, Headlights, Visibility are excellent
-Seats are extremely comfortable
-Cargo space is good for a small car (big on the inside)