Chevy Volt has mostly good points, some bad

I drove to Orillia and back at the weekend in the Chevrolet Volt. It was a trip down Memory Lane.

I started in the newspaper business 50 years ago this summer (yes, that’s correct: fifty) at the Orillia Packet & Times. I was a reporter and photographer and I did everything, from writing about traffic
accidents to reporting on hockey and baseball.

I particularly liked being sent out to do “Man on the Street” interviews, in which I would ask pretty girls the questions and then convince them to give me their phone numbers.

I had a great time in that town.

I loved the Volt. I particularly liked the get-up-and-go. You hit the throttle and it feels like there’s a 12-cylinder engine under the hood. So the power is terrific.

Now, I’m tall and it’s not easy for me to get into cars that are low to the ground like the Volt (which is why I’ve always favoured vans or SUVs for my personal vehicles — you climb up into them, rather than down). But once you’re into the Volt’s cockpit, it’s cozy. The steering wheel and the seat can both be adjusted for maximum comfort and the controls are functional and within easy reach.  

My wife and my youngest son are both tall – Duncan is more than six feet and still growing – yet found the back seats to have plenty of room, which can be a real plus. They particularly liked the “bucket”
seats in the back, which gave them a sense of security as well as comfort.

The reason they were in the back was because my Aunt Jean was beside me in the front seat. Aunt Jean – Jean Snell, retired secretary to the principal at the long-gone Duke of York Public School in downtown Toronto – was born in 1917 and has known about cars her entire life. In fact, she’s owned four of her own (and drove them herself until three years ago, when she decided to pack in that part of her life). She was very impressed with the electric Volt but wasn’t sure if she would buy one.

I drove the Volt around Toronto all day Saturday and plugged it into my 110-volt garage outlet when I got home to Mississauga around 7 on Saturday evening. When I went out Saturday morning at 9:30, it was fully charged.

However, and here come the negatives, the full charge was only good for 69 kilometres. Orillia is a lot farther away than 69 kilometres – 140 kms, to be precise. Yes, I had a tank of gas and I know that an onboard gas generator produces electricity to keep the car going. But the point – for me, anyway – of driving an electric car is to not use any gasoline, period.

So my full charge of 69 kilometres was only good to get me about halfway up Highway 400 to Barrie
before I was out of juice and had to go on the gas. Now, the transition is seamless and that’s good but
when I got to Orillia I couldn’t find a charging station, so after I walked around for four or five hours I drove all the way back to Mississauga on gasoline. I wasn’t really saving any fossil fuels, or so I felt.

In an event, I plugged in the Volt at 7 p.m. when I got home and when I went out the next morning at 6:30 a.m. to take the car into Toronto for work, it only had 62 kilometres of power stored. So a 110-volt current isn’t enough to fully charge a Volt battery in under 12 hours and I wonder about that.

I know EV batteries are works in progress but somebody’s going to have to pick up the pace if these things are ever going to become popular.

I wasn’t crazy about the jumble of information presented on the dashboard; in fact, I found it distracting. And the centre console needs a redesign because I kept hitting my coffee cup with my elbow (I’m not making that up; the beverage holders are so far back you’d think they were really there for the back-seat passengers).

But at the end of the day, I was impressed with the Volt. I was pre-disposed to not like it, but the positives outweighed the negatives for me.

I’m still not sold on an EV as my primary vehicle – my round-trip commute from home to the Toronto Star is 70 kilometres, so I couldn’t do the trip in the Volt on electricity alone – but for two-car families in which the second is primarily used to take the kids to ballet or the family to the mall or grocery shopping, I don’t think you could beat an electric car.

At the end of the day, that’s maybe how they’ll be marketed:

“Chevrolet Volt EV – the perfect second car.”

NORRIS McDONALD, Wheels Editor

It is like driving a

It is like
driving a toaster oven – it doesn’t need to warm up, you press the
button and it is totally ready to go - I drove the Leaf to Ikea in Etobicoke
and my friend Maryanne drove it back
- This is no race car and the steering seems loose, but an incredibly fun
ride – Lorraine Campbell
 

Great Little Volt

Iv’e been hearing about electric cars since I was a kid (I’m almost 60) and it’s always been the realm of science fiction.

That’s why I couldn’t help but break into a huge grin while recently driving the Volt on the 401 to my Whitby home. No … I’ll never walk on the moon (like many people will some day) and I’ll never experience a flying car (that will never happen, anyway) but at least I’ve been able to see and touch a
prediction that has been bandied about for a long time.

Yes … I know we’ve had various forms of electric cars for a long time. But finally we have a product that is viable. The technology is there … but is the will?

WILL the cost of hydro go up as the wonderful vehicles start proliferating our neighbourhoods and the power companies see profits rising. making them expensive to run?

WILL the cost of gas drop — tempting us to hold on to our old technology — as the oil industry sees profits sinking.

Only time will tell.

But right now it’s reassuring to knowing that science and engineering have the capability to produce an alternative form of transportation to the internal combustion engine. And don’t think communities aren’t taking note.

Every night I've had the car in my driveway, I've been approached by men and women walking their dogs or strolling (while I do my best at gardening), wanting to know what the car is all about. I answer as many questions as I can, but I’m no expert.

But everyone says the time is nigh that we quit fouling our air with carbon deposits and relinquish our dependency on oil rich countries — including our own.

Many of my neighbours are in their 30s and 40s and are very, very ecologically attuned. Recycling is treated like a Holy Day with curbs filled with material that will be reused. One close neighbour knocked on my door one night asking for a ride in the vehicle — he was so interested — but it wasn’t
available. I gave him a rain check.

My only complaint about the Volt was the fact I found too many rear blind spots. I always feel a bit uncomfortable when changing lanes, thinking perhaps I had missed something approaching.

But other than that, it’s a great car.

PAUL IRISH, Toronto Star Reporter
 
 

 

Nissan Leaf was a very pleasant surprise

My only experience with electric vehicles up to this point has been
golf carts and streetcars. Not exactly smooth rides as they both start and stop
with a jolt; two speeds, really; stop and go.
So it was with some trepidation that I took at the Nissan Leaf electric
vehicle for a test drive up to York
Mills Rd. and Leslie St. to meet with the folks at the
Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).
I was more than pleasantly surprised. I’d say it drove just like
a regular car, which is mostly true, but there was one big difference —
the Leaf doesn’t have a transmission, which means no gear changes, just
smooth acceleration. And boy, did it accelerate! Step on the gas and off you
go! Fast! It certainly made my heavy foot happy and it was a breeze to pass
slower moving traffic up the Don
Valley Parkway.
I had a great meeting at BILD and was happy to see my new toy sitting
in the parking lot when I left. BILD, afterall, is on the leading edge of
energy conservation, with solar panels from Pure Energies on their roof and
green energy supplier Bullfrog powering their electrical needs.
Gale Beeby, Real Estate Editor
gbeeby@thestar.ca

Blog www.thestar.blogs.com/galebeeby

Follow on Twitter @galebeeby

 
 

Our only fear was having too much fun

We are city gals. We love to hit the town and make the most of everything great Toronto has to offer. But once in awhile, you just gotta get outta town for a change of scenery. So that’s what we did. We took the Nissan Leaf on an, albeit, short roadtrip for a girls daytrip o’ fun. And we even took a visiting New Yorker along with us to punch the fun up another notch. We quickly got over the quiet engine and the strangeness of driving a car that wasn’t our own (no fear here) and hit the road with careless abandon.

This scenery is not impressive. At all.

The Leaf offered plenty of room for the three of us, with lots of head space for us to bob up and down to the blaring tunes (adequate sound system and good air condition for summer road tripping).  It also nicely fit all our camera equipment, sweaters and road snacks. We decided to head to the Pickering waterfront and have brunch on a co-workers recommendation. We decided to take the more scenic route, skipping the DVP route and potential traffic jam, driving the 34.7 kilometres each way from the Star newsroom at 1 Yonge St. to the Wharf of Pickering and back. It was a comfy trip. No sore bums here.

We discovered a lot of motel rooms and some sketchy scenery along the way. Our guest wasn’t all that impressed by the Kingston Rd. motel strip or the city waterfront. Neither were we. But we would soon find more scenic routes once we got a little further out of the city. We brunched at a lovely restaurant (Port), took some pictures and then decided to make things interesting on our way back.

Ladies who lunch

Serena, the candy fiend, was determined to make a stop a Bulk Barn to see how many pounds of basmati rice, quinoa and hot lips one could fit both inside the Leaf’s trunk

Lots of room for goodies from the bulk barn. We stocked up on candy and sensible grains.

We love quinoa!

And inside the car

Candy. Lots of candy.

It turns out, a lot.

Determined to make our day of fun even … um … funner. We used the navigation to steer us in the direction of the Scarborough Bluffs for scenic picture taking. The system frustrated us a little bit. As did the GPS woman’s voice who, it turns out, is a bit of a nag. We were also a bit concerned when she didn’t speak for prolonged periods of time. (Was it something we said? Would it kill her to check in with us to see if we were okay?)

But we finally made it and the Bluffs seemed to impress the visiting NYC’er. Score one for Toronto.

Serena tried her hand at some nature photography, but this squirrel was not co-operative.

 

Re-enacting a scene from the roadtrip movie Crossroads starring Britney Spears. Life lessons learned.

 

Finally, we made our way back to town.

 

Trying to get somewhere

 

We love to day trip. But there’s no place like home.

-Serena Willoughby and Sabrina Melchiori, Toronto Star digital desk

The Nissan Leaf vs. a torrential downpour

As a city dweller who relies solely on the public transit system (and her feet) to get everywhere, a chance to cruise around town in a slick ride for an evening is not to be passed up. Upon turning it on, I was revelling in the comfort, quiet and air conditioning of the Nissan Leaf as if it were a luxury-class vehicle (I guess those of us who don't own cars forget the subtle virtues and conveniences of getting around in an automobile).

I left the office parking lot with a smug sense of satisfaction at skipping the rush hour crowds on the subway in the high-30s heat, but the atrocious traffic in Toronto's downtown core gave me a swift reality check; the "brief" errand I wanted to run took the better part of an hour.

As I inched along the streets, I used the time to explore the Leaf. For my first experience driving an electric car, I was duly impressed. I navigated all the dials and functions on the dashboard and the GPS
system without a problem, and I'm speaking in layman's terms here, but the whole set-up was intuitive and easy to grasp. I found ECO mode is a great option for conserving the battery while moving at a snail's pace through the city, and it's a testament to the power the Leaf harnesses because its fierce acceleration, which is palpable in Drive mode, becomes demure in comparison when switched to ECO.

So where does a downtowner go when they have no plans and are handed a car for the evening? One word: IKEA. This may also be a good time to mention that the sky was rapidly progressing from overcast to ominous. Suddenly, the branches of trees were buckling from the forceful winds. I considered postponing my trip to the palace of mass-produced Swedish ingenuity, but figured that a little rain never hurt anyone. Shortly after turning onto Mount Pleasant toward North York, the sky opened up.

The torrential downpour that followed lasted at least 15 minutes. Traffic slowed, and I worried at first that the little Leaf would be swept downstream with the rest of the debris in the street (I think I
saw a couple stray cats and the roof of a shed float by...okay, I exaggerate), but after I adjusted to driving with an approximately 12-inch visibility, the car handled like a champ. It got me steadily,
assuredly and safely to my destination (where I restrained myself from buying too much cute but useless stuff my apartment doesn't actually need).

The Leaf impressed me in some inclement weather - I think next time we should take on the icy streets in winter to see how it fares.

Anna Farber

Cruisin' and hoopin' with the Nissan Leaf

I like the Nissan Leaf. It’s sporty, smooth, quick, and solid.

But I don’t think it’s good for cruising—and I love to cruise. 

Cruising is a relaxation ritual of mine. Occasionally, I wander downtown Toronto in my car on a weekend afternoon, while listening to music. This eases my mind and makes me feel refreshed. I live in Markham, so this kind of cruise can cover 100 kilometers and last a couple hours. I tried cruising with the Leaf. Driving it from Markham to downtown Toronto using the highway took up much of its battery life. This made me frequently worry about not having enough battery power to make it back home. So I didn’t cruise for as long as I normally would, which was dissatisfying. Worrying about the battery defeated my purpose for cruising, which is to relax! So I think I would have to give up my love for cruising if I were to own a Leaf.

On the plus side, I was impressed with the amount of space inside the Leaf. Before driving it, I assumed it is too small for a six-footer like me. I had a preconceived notion that economy cars cannot be spacious. But I was very comfortable inside the car. I drove the Leaf after playing an intense game of basketball. When I got out the car, my long, exercised legs felt fine. A car with little legroom would have stiffened my legs after a workout. There’s plenty of driver legroom inside the Leaf.

So the only negative I see in the Leaf is its battery life.

Baseer Syed
Web Editorial Assistant
Thestar.com

Fathers day volt getaway

I've had the pleasure of using the Chevy Volt for a fathers day weekend getaway with my son Thomas. We are at the Michigan 400 nascar race at Michigan International Speedway. The ride has been smooth and quiet. We were able to get 65 kms on the pure battery charge. We are getting an average of 37 MPG and it is fortunate that there are no plug in stations available ... The technology is great and I look forward to when we can set up an infrastructure that will accommodate electric car technology.

Paul Gallo

Their future looks green

It was a running gag that kept us mildly entertained during the three-hour drive to Kingston for our daughter’s graduation ceremony at Queen’s.

As I packed up the Volt and unplugged the charger from the garage, my wife wondered whether I had made arrangements with the hotel to recharge the battery for the drive home. I replied I had not, partly because borrowing the Star’s Volt for the trip was a game-time decision left up to Bonnie, since she was the one who had worked so long and hard to reach this milestone in her life.

I suggested we could ask when we got there, but would likely just rely on the gas backup for the return trip. To which Bonnie added, in a suitably snooty accent: “Excuse me good sir: We shall be requiring a place to plug in our electric automobile. The concierge has been made aware in advance of our situation.”

We all chuckled as she repeated this line whenever there was a lull in the conversation during our journey. So you can imagine the look on our faces when we pulled into the hotel parking lot. There, right next to the lobby, in front of one of two spots reserved for check-in, was a green vehicle recharging station — just like the ones installed at the Star building for our Green Project.

As I sheepishly confirmed with the front desk that I could leave the Volt plugged in overnight, I started to realize electric cars may have a future after all, beyond the current narrow niche of green fanatics with deep pockets.

Yes, the Volt needed the gas-powered backup to get to and from Kingston, but it was a seamless transition that I never noticed over the sound of the radio. And the fact we got about 50 gas-free kilometers on each leg of the trip helped reduce the overall fuel consumption to 6.0 L/100 km — about half what I would have needed in my own vehicle.

The savings were even more significant on my round-trip 90-km commute to work, and a 200-km round trip to Orillia on the weekend. In both cases, the electric charge took me most of the way (all the way, in fact, on my downhill drive into work), and would greatly reduce my commuting costs.

This despite the fact most of those kilometers were at highway speeds, and a personal driving style that had the Volt’s nanny-like guide spinning in protest over my lead foot and late braking. (I also kept selecting the less-efficient Sport driving mode, which really should be the default, since the Normal mode is annoyingly sluggish.)

At $40,000, I won’t be rushing out to buy a Volt tomorrow. But I can, for the first time, foresee the day when an electric car may make sense for suburban drivers, and be a no-brainer for city dwellers.

Doug Devine
Page Editor

Driving the Chevy Volt to an oil pipeline hearing

It didn’t occur to me, until I was already rolling down the 401 toward London, Ont., that someone might take exception to a reporter driving an electric hybrid car to a hearing on an oil pipeline.

But that was the assignment – covering a National Energy Board hearing in London, to consider Enbridge’s plans to pipe western Canadian oil through Ontario. The Volt was surprisingly normal to drive, once you got over the initial oddity of not having to stick the key in the ignition.

For some reason I’d expected it to be sluggish, but it responded to the accelerator pretty much like a conventional car. I wish I could pinpoint some quirk in the way the car handled, but I can’t.

For a highway trip like Toronto-London, I did wonder what was the point of having an electric car. The battery lasted until the far side of Mississauga. The transition to gasoline-charged electric was seamless, but from Mississauga to London, and then back to Toronto, the Volt was essentially being powered by gasoline, albeit a gasoline engine charging an electric battery.

So if you’re doing mostly highway driving, why bother? You’ll still be driving on gasoline most of the time.

The one quirk I did find was in the touch-screen control panel. Fiddling with the radio dial to try to find a new station, my hand must have brushed a sensitive spot on the screen. All of a sudden it was asking me to set the temperature and ventilation controls.

But that’s just a function of driving the car for the first time. If you drove the car regularly, you’d soon figure out how to deal with that.

The only other problem was finding a parking spot that was far removed from the pipeline hearing room. You wouldn’t want all those oil men seeing you drive up in an electric car.

John Spears  

 

Comparing the Volt and the Leaf

It wasn’t too surprising to hear the Chevy Volt  was initially more popular among Toronto Star staff invited to take test drives of the two Project Green vehicles. After all, the electric Volt, with its gasoline engine providing backup,promises never to leave you stranded. And it is comforting to see the dashboard display promising 500-plus kilometres before a fill-up or recharge becomes necessary.

But after back-to-back long weekends trying out both vehicles, I decided that, personally, the solely-electric Nissan Leaf was the more compelling ride, for several reasons.

First, while sports car fans will probably disagree, I found the Volt’s low-profile shape a little claustrophobic (I’m only 5-foot-5), and my 6-foot-3 husband found it downright uncomfortable. I was disconcerted by what felt to me like poor sightlines in the rear and in the front when turning corners.

The seat gave me lower back pain after 20 minutes. The dash display in the more spacious-feeling Leaf was more intuitive and the controls easier to use — ironic, since it would seem to be the more revolutionary of the two cars. And there was deeper cargo space in the Leaf’s rear hatch.

But the biggest drawback just might be that gas engine business.

The Volt starts out in full electric mode. As the charge dwindles, gas engine automatically fires up — not to run the car, like a hybrid does, but to recharge the battery. It continues to cycle on and off to keep you going for another 500 km or so.

Sounds great, right? Sure, on a long trip. But — and it’s a big but if you’re really committed to zero tailpipe emissions and cheap commuting — what if you’re routinely using the car for shorter runs? Say, my husband’s daily 90-km round trip commute.
 
The Leaf promises 160 km at full charge (though that may be closer to 120 if you’re driving at expressway speeds or, so I've heard, in more extreme temperatures). Jeff could get to work and back daily without a recharge. The Volt, however, goes into gasoline mode after less than 70 km, meaning he’d be burning at least some gas every day.

(And by the way, the Volt requests premium gas.) One of my test runs took me from home in Oakville to an appointment on Eglinton East. From there, I decided to do a little exploring on a subject I’ve edited many news stories about, by checking out the future route of the Eglinton LRT all the way to Kennedy station. Then I rolled down Kennedy and, since it was a gorgeous day, rambled east to Bluffers Park.

By the time I’d cruised through the park and was headed back toward Oakville, the gas engine had rumbled (well, quietly vibrated) to life. At trip’s end, the monitor was telling me I’d averaged 2.1 litres/100 km for the trip. Okay, that’s sterling by normal mileage standards, but it’s still using fossil fuel on a 106-km run I could have done solely on the Leaf’s battery charge. Given the two cars are similar in price, the everyday operating cost advantage definitely goes to the Leaf — at least as long as the hydro bill for an overnight charge stays dirt cheap compared with the equivalent in gasoline. But which of the cars you might prefer will ultimately depend a lot on your own driving requirements and tolerance for a little “range anxiety” on unfamiliar trips, at least until quick-charge stations become as ubiquitous as gas stations.

Doreen Martens, City Team Editor