New Volt will outperform our FFE

[gary945]

http://www.plugincars.com/general-motors-tries-again-ev-leadership-volt-and-bolt-130431.html

 

Chevrolet is coming out with their 2016 Volt later this year. It has a bigger battery that is lighter and has a range of 50 miles. Come on Ford, let's see some improvements to the FFE!

[Russael]

The first car that popped in my mind within the first second of seeing the new volt was "Honda Civic".  BUT - from the photos, I do think it looks better.

 

The Bolt concept has my interest too.  If they can do a BEV with 200 mile range at 30k?  That's a game changer.  Bye bye Focus Electric, Nissan Leaf, and every other BEV out there that has a 60 - 80 mile range.

[meyersnole]

Things are finally getting interesting in the plug in market.  The model III from Tesla, BMW, VW, Nissan, Fiat, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Smart, Audi, Kia, GM, and of course Ford.  

 

Now if we can just get to the next generation of batteries in a reasonable amount of time...

[meyersnole]

http://www.plugincars.com/general-motors-tries-again-ev-leadership-volt-and-bolt-130431.html

 

Chevrolet is coming out with their 2016 Volt later this year. It has a bigger battery that is lighter and has a range of 50 miles. Come on Ford, let's see some improvements to the FFE!

 

Not sure if the Volt really competes with the Fusion. The new Volt claims 5 passengers, but from the pics I have seen the 5th better not have any legs. Need to see it in person. 

[jeff_h]

Not sure if the Volt really competes with the Fusion. The new Volt claims 5 passengers, but from the pics I have seen the 5th better not have any legs. Need to see it in person. 

 

Here's a pic from the side with the passenger seat removed, note how the rear cup holders go all the way to the reat seat... so that "5th" seat is only good for a child car seat (maybe the intent all along) or for someone to straddle the holder (try that on a long trip).

 

Edited January 24, 2015 at 12:47 AM by jeff_h

[Doug0716]

It would take way more than an extended range for me to consider it as a vehicle that "outperforms" the FFE.  I test drove it and had decided I hated the car by the time we got off the dealership lot.  I decided to give it a bit more time so I drove around the block and confused the sales person when I turned around and headed back to the dealership explaing that this was the worst car I had driven in my life  (well, maybe a tie with my POS car in H.S. that didn't even have A/C.. in TX).

The fusion on the other had is almost as nice as my Mercedes CLS, and it's hardly fair to compare the drive of a $90K+ 5.0L sports car to a $35K plug-in!

[Dan's Energi]

This thread title is misleading.  The Volt has always outperformed the FFE in EV range, nothing new here.  It's ALWAYS lacked in passenger room and that's what they needed to address.

 

Here's a pic from the side with the passenger seat removed, note how the rear cup holders go all the way to the reat seat... so that "5th" seat is only good for a child car seat (maybe the intent all along) or for someone to straddle the holder (try that on a long trip).

 

This photo proves to me that Chevy isn't actually listening to their customers.  We've been telling Chevy that we (and our friends who would consider the car) needed that 5th seat.  So, what do they do?  They add a 5th seat but nowhere for legs to go.  Ridiculous.  Is that passenger going to sit, spread-eagle, to straddle the hump?  What a waste of time and money.

 

They obviously know they need that 5th seat. They should have removed hump part of that "T" shaped pack, made it longer and wider and then it would have been a contender for families.  We are really happy with our FFE but a 5 seat, mid-size, 40 mile EV Volt would have us back with GM.

[meyersnole]

And an article on this topic posted today on Green Car Reports...

 

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096365_2016-chevrolet-volt-seats-five-but-not-really-on-a-fifth-seat?fbfanpage

[shaggy314]

Do you think Ford will EVER sell enough Energi's that somebody will make a newer chemistry higher capasity battery for us? If nobody ever does it for the Leaf or Volt, I know I'll be out of luck. I just want over 30 reliably to get to work even in winter.

[murphy]

The software in the car would have to be modified to know how to charge and use a different battery.  Unless Ford does it it's unlikely to happen IMHO.

 

My ideal car would be the Fusion Energi with the Tesla battery.

[lonzo71]

Personally, I'm tired of midsize cars pretending to have 5th seating and really tired of people expecting midsize cars to have it too. You want 5 seats, then go with a minivan, SUV or a stationwagon. Midsize cars really only have the room and safety for 4.

[meyersnole]

While I would not want to have 5 in the car on a trip this car is great to take 5 out to lunch.

 

Not so sure you can fit 5 adults in a Volt. The other issue I had with the old Volt was anyone near 6ft tall wont fit well in the back seat as the ceiling slops pretty quickly and your head is right up against the side as well.

[Rexracer]

Personally, I'm tired of midsize cars pretending to have 5th seating and really tired of people expecting midsize cars to have it too. You want 5 seats, then go with a minivan, SUV or a stationwagon. Midsize cars really only have the room and safety for 4.

 

Whats the point of a midsize sedan if not to be able to have the option of seating 5? Sure they are not going to be as comfortable as a large SUV or Van. And a station wagon is typically only a midsize (or compact i.e. Focus Wagon) with a wagon tail end, so no extra space there.

 

While I do agree in a way (i.e. dont buy a midsize sedan if you are ALWAYS going to have 5 people with you), I would NOT buy a midsize sedan that I CANNOT put 5 people in. Even compact cars can fit 5 in a pinch (going to co-workers to lunch, your kids have a friend over, etc).

[Rhynri]

The Fusion is vastly more car than the Volt could ever hope to be.  It's much more upscale and comfortable to drive.  There really isn't any comparison.  That and Chevy's dealers are just slimy, at least the ones around here.  They had no interest in helping me get a Volt.  Ford was like "We can do that" even though what they offered sounded fairly impossible to me, and they got it done.  Chevy wouldn't even help me get a used 19k Volt.  Ford put me in a 43k Fusion.  (Before you ask, I have good credit, but my financials look really weird on paper because I'm medically retired Army.)

[Rexracer]

In all fairness, Ford dealers can be just as slimy (having worked at one I know). Its all dealer to dealer depending on your experience. The interesting thing I saw, was that Land Rover actually has the lowest customer approval rating of any service center.

[shaggy314]

The first car that popped in my mind within the first second of seeing the new volt was "Honda Civic".  BUT - from the photos, I do think it looks better.

 

The Bolt concept has my interest too.  If they can do a BEV with 200 mile range at 30k?  That's a game changer.  Bye bye Focus Electric, Nissan Leaf, and every other BEV out there that has a 60 - 80 mile range.

 

First car should be the Chevy Cruise...   ;)

[Russael]

I drove a 2011 or 2012 Cruze as a rental for a business trip.  I remember that car so well because the seats were AWFUL.  Everything else was OK.  The A/C was cryogenic.  :)

 

I also drove a 2012 - 2013 Chevy Impala for a business trip.  Funny... I had the same complaint.  The seats were awful.  I'm quite sure they used burlap sacks as the seating material.

[Fat Fusion]

Personally I'm five foot fourteen, so having the headroom of a mid sized car is critical.  I'd live just fine if it were a two seater, and I suspect many, maybe not most, but many buyers in CA would feel the same way if that space were taken up by batteries and had a better trunk.  Obviously I don't have kids, but as an original owner of a 6 seater 99 F250 Crew Cab 4x4 I do see the value in having the seats.  Just lots and lots of folks in CA are using them for commuter cars and have something else to drive when necessary.

 

Having the competition from Chevy is great.  It's the best thing that can happen to the Fusion.  It will ensure the Ford engineers will come up with something better, sooner.  Just look what is happening with the Camaro Z28 and the Shelby GT350.  Those cars are both bad-to-the-bone and the reason is each other's competition.

[Rhynri]

I want to know what happened with Chevy's seats.  The seats in my old s10 blazer were the thrones of gods.  Even if it was a rust bucket.  It sure was fun to take it's narrow, tight turning rusty corpse down fourwheeler trailers though. Park it with two wheels off the ground.  Ahh, good times.

Edited March 11, 2015 at 03:59 PM by Rhynri

[VoltDriver]

I'm currently driving a 2013 Volt. I plan to jump GM ship when my lease is up next year. Tired of dealer service dept's incompetence. I am 6' and while I can slide the seat to have plenty of legroom, that leaves no space for rear passengers. I'm drooling over the FFEs and hope to be able to get a good deal on a '16 next year or see if the GenII is selling yet. The Volt was a case of too little, too late.. CS fuel economy is abysmal, using the heat decreases EV range by 50%.

[Doug0716]

Just to keep your expectations realistic, running the heater on the the Energi models kills your EV mileage as well (man I love per-conditioning on 220V though!)

[jeff_h]

I'm currently driving a 2013 Volt. I plan to jump GM ship when my lease is up next year. Tired of dealer service dept's incompetence. I am 6' and while I can slide the seat to have plenty of legroom, that leaves no space for rear passengers. I'm drooling over the FFEs and hope to be able to get a good deal on a '16 next year or see if the GenII is selling yet. The Volt was a case of too little, too late.. CS fuel economy is abysmal, using the heat decreases EV range by 50%.

 

I have been evaluating the 2016 Volt as the size of the HVB makes it a much better candidate for my daily drive, and the back seat room is not a factor since there's only 2 in the car.

 

However from reading various posts on the Volt forum it appears that while the Volt and the Energi can both perform remote starts via fob and online -- that only the Energi has "GO Times" that allow the HVAC preconditioning, and that the Volt does not have such a feature and the owner would have to manually perform a remote start each time via fob or via Onstar?

[Hybridbear]

However from reading various posts on the Volt forum it appears that while the Volt and the Energi can both perform remote starts via fob and online -- that only the Energi has "GO Times" that allow the HVAC preconditioning, and that the Volt does not have such a feature and the owner would have to manually perform a remote start each time via fob or via Onstar?

I think you're right. This is one area where Ford really excelled. While many complain about MyFord Mobile, it seems to have more features & functionality than any of the other apps for other EVs.

[stevedebi]

I have been evaluating the 2016 Volt as the size of the HVB makes it a much better candidate for my daily drive, and the back seat room is not a factor since there's only 2 in the car.

 

However from reading various posts on the Volt forum it appears that while the Volt and the Energi can both perform remote starts via fob and online -- that only the Energi has "GO Times" that allow the HVAC preconditioning, and that the Volt does not have such a feature and the owner would have to manually perform a remote start each time via fob or via Onstar?

The Volt has active cooling on the battery, hence there is less need to precondition the car. I'm not sure if it has a battery warmer as well.

 

The "Go" times are for the benefit of the battery, not the passenger.

[jeff_h]

The "Go" times are for the benefit of the battery, not the passenger.

 

I'm not sure if we are referring to the same thing - the below is the owner's manual description of the feature of which I'm thinking:

 

"Cabin Conditioning: Get the most miles out of every charge by conditioning your vehicle while it is plugged in. Set the cabin temperature when you set your My GO Time so you use energy from your home (or charging station) instead of your vehicle’s battery."

 

The scheduled timing of this feature is the one that I don't see as being available on the Volt.  It looks to me like both have the capability to enable the owner to use the remote start feature via fob or via app, but as for setting a couple different times for each day that the owner wants to have their cabin prepped by the HVAC at the set time (and thus preserve the amount in the HVB as much as possible, as noted in the owner's manual), it doesn't look like the Gen 1 Volt has that (I have also PM'd a couple Volt owners and they've said no it does not do that).  So I'm curious to see the forthcoming documentation for the Gen 2 Volt to see if it is offered for that model.

Edited June 28, 2015 at 01:32 PM by jeff_h