Happy Volt owners save at the pump
Chevrolet Volt owners in the United States are consistently achieving the published Environmental Protection Agency-estimated mileage of 98 MPGe (34.8 km per litre) "petrol-free miles", and many are even exceeding it. Their experience contributes to an ou
The typical American Volt owner who regularly charges the vehicle is going 1,448 kilometres between fill-ups of the gasoline engine that powers the Volt’s on-board generator. That saves about $1,300 (Bt37,300) at the pump.
In the United States, MPGe is a measure of the average distance travelled per unit of energy consumed. The Environmental Protection Agency uses it to compare the consumption of alternative-fuel vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and other advanced technology vehicles with the fuel economy of conventional internal combustion vehicles expressed as miles per US gallon of petrol.
And some drivers are all but avoiding petrol.
“I have driven more than 23,500 miles [37,600 km]in my Volt in 21 months, and have been to a gas station twice,” said Brent Waldrep of Auburn Hills, Michigan. “The last time, was in August 2012, and I still have about 65 per cent of that tank left. I go about 9,000-10,000 miles between fill-ups.”
Waldrep is not alone.
“It’s been more than 5,000 miles and I’ve only filled up once, not including the dealer fill,” said Larry Read of Canyon Lake, Texas.
Paul Friday of San Jose, California, says he gets about 11,300 km between fill-ups and adds about 11.4 litres of gas to his Volt every three months.
“We’ve seen and heard from our Volt owners that they are achieving fantastic performance numbers with their vehicle as many are beating the EPA label estimates,” said Chevrolet Volt marketing director Cristi Landy. “Our Volt owners are showing the performance potential of driving electric, and having fun doing it.”
American Volt owners remain the most satisfied of any in the entire industry for the past two years with more than nine in 10 telling a major consumer publication they would buy another Volt.
When the Volt is fully charged, the power used for driving up to 80 km is supplied by the electricity stored in its 16 kWh lithium-ion battery. A petrol-fuelled engine kicks in and generates electricity to sustain the charge of the battery, once the battery’s energy is depleted.
