hingisfan
Well-known member
My wife and I test drove a 2013 Volt today, immediately followed by a 2012 Leaf.
I have researched both vehicles heavily, and driven the Leaf before, but not the Volt. My wife has driven neither and knows little about both.
We get to our local GM dealership and see 2 Volts outside by their charging station. We go into the dealership and all the sales guys are busy, but they have another one in the showroom, so we check it out while we are waiting. I sit in the driver seat and right away I notice the windshield and door mirrors are not very tall at all, and my visibility out the front seems tight from a height perspective. I don't say anything to my wife as I want to get her actual reaction from both cars.
Finally a sales guy comes over and gets us setup. He informs us of the "standard route" to take for the test drive. I ask "why does it matter where we go?" He replies that it's a nice short route with a mix of city and highway and they don't want us to go further so they can keep the mileage down on the demos. (Really? You should be ecstatic that we are interested in this car at all, and telling us to take it as long as we want!) FYI, I hate my GM dealership and never go there unless I absolutely have to!
So, we head out on the "recommended" route. I drive first. Car has nice smooth pickup, handles great, love the steering wheel they chose, LCD screens are very nice, but the sight lines are terrible. Short windshield and big pillars in the front corners. I also don't find it noticeably faster than the Leaf. I was expecting it to be faster.
We switch halfway and right away my wife complains about the low windshield right away as well, but likes the drive as well. I am 6'2" and she is 5'8".
On to Nissan and I let her drive first as I have already driven the Leaf. Right away she can't believe how much bigger it feels inside. She says the Volt felt like she was being compressed. She floors it and zig-zags through city traffic. This is faster she says. No I say, the Volt is actually supposed to be faster. (I made sure we were on Normal mode in the Volt and Drive in the Leaf.) She still insists the Leaf felt quicker.
So, we both ruled out the Volt right away due to the visibility issues. I will say I liked the drive and handling just as much as the Leaf, and the Info systems seem more sophisticated, although you have to click through screens to get to volume control, where the Leaf has it available at all times. I am almost glad we didn't care for the Volt, as I REALLY hate that dealership. The service department is horrible, and the sales guy we had today seemed arrogant.
Just my thoughts from today, still crunching numbers to see if it makes sense to get the Leaf at this time. Also, waiting on pricing for Canada for the 2013. Why does it take so long for Canada? And why do we always get screwed for pricing? Arg. Bye for now!
I have researched both vehicles heavily, and driven the Leaf before, but not the Volt. My wife has driven neither and knows little about both.
We get to our local GM dealership and see 2 Volts outside by their charging station. We go into the dealership and all the sales guys are busy, but they have another one in the showroom, so we check it out while we are waiting. I sit in the driver seat and right away I notice the windshield and door mirrors are not very tall at all, and my visibility out the front seems tight from a height perspective. I don't say anything to my wife as I want to get her actual reaction from both cars.
Finally a sales guy comes over and gets us setup. He informs us of the "standard route" to take for the test drive. I ask "why does it matter where we go?" He replies that it's a nice short route with a mix of city and highway and they don't want us to go further so they can keep the mileage down on the demos. (Really? You should be ecstatic that we are interested in this car at all, and telling us to take it as long as we want!) FYI, I hate my GM dealership and never go there unless I absolutely have to!
So, we head out on the "recommended" route. I drive first. Car has nice smooth pickup, handles great, love the steering wheel they chose, LCD screens are very nice, but the sight lines are terrible. Short windshield and big pillars in the front corners. I also don't find it noticeably faster than the Leaf. I was expecting it to be faster.
We switch halfway and right away my wife complains about the low windshield right away as well, but likes the drive as well. I am 6'2" and she is 5'8".
On to Nissan and I let her drive first as I have already driven the Leaf. Right away she can't believe how much bigger it feels inside. She says the Volt felt like she was being compressed. She floors it and zig-zags through city traffic. This is faster she says. No I say, the Volt is actually supposed to be faster. (I made sure we were on Normal mode in the Volt and Drive in the Leaf.) She still insists the Leaf felt quicker.
So, we both ruled out the Volt right away due to the visibility issues. I will say I liked the drive and handling just as much as the Leaf, and the Info systems seem more sophisticated, although you have to click through screens to get to volume control, where the Leaf has it available at all times. I am almost glad we didn't care for the Volt, as I REALLY hate that dealership. The service department is horrible, and the sales guy we had today seemed arrogant.
Just my thoughts from today, still crunching numbers to see if it makes sense to get the Leaf at this time. Also, waiting on pricing for Canada for the 2013. Why does it take so long for Canada? And why do we always get screwed for pricing? Arg. Bye for now!