planet4ever
Well-known member
Which majority is that? Over 50 or under 55?hodad66 said:
Or did you mean the plurality of 60+, which is where I also am?
I find that a bit odd, actually, since I found it awkward to get in and out of the Volt.
Ray
Gen 1 GM Volt Plug-In Hybrid (2011-2015)
- Thread starter evnow
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Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
Or did you mean the plurality of 60+, which is where I also am?
I find that a bit odd, actually, since I found it awkward to get in and out of the Volt.
Ray
hodad66
Well-known member
plurality it is.... :mrgreen:
my guess is disposable income, short "commute", no kids,
last hurrah (as in sporty yet eco minded)
my guess is disposable income, short "commute", no kids,
last hurrah (as in sporty yet eco minded)
planet4ever
Well-known member
All good points, hodad, and yes, it was only about a year and a half ago that I started edging from the Volt camp to the LEAF camp. Every one of your points applied to me.
Ray
Ray
Having driven one the biggest difference is that the Volt is quieter and you don't hear the motor whine like you do in the Leaf. Driving position is lower. Seats are 10X more comfortable. Regen is more aggressive and accelerator is more responsive. Front seats have considerably more legroom. Back seats considerably less. Less headroom in back and front. Less overall cargo space. Cabin generally of much higher quality. Much less fade as you get towards 50 MPH.TRONZ said:
Biggest surprise was accelerating hard from 60 MPH to 80 MPH. This is where the clutches come into play, and rather than being held back the acceleration was astonishingly smooth. I did it a couple of times just because it was shocking how smooth it was. The Leaf may be as smooth but it's not nearly as fast a transition so it doesn't give the same weird smooth feeling. No hard numbers but it felt substantially more efficient at 75 MPH, a speed which really takes a toll on the Leaf's range.
Quite likely at least 10% more efficient. Ecomodder estimates the CdA of the Volt (total drag) at about 7% lower.SanDust said:
But they used the same Cd for both cars (0.28) - I can't imagine that the Volt has the same Cd as the Leaf - it's got to be substantially higher. The roofline which gives the LEAF great rear headroom also hurts aerodynamics. Look at how much lower the spoiler is on the Volt in comparison in this side-by-side photo I cropped together from media photos.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Both cars should be scaled to the same size - let me know if I got it significantly wrong!
Herm
Well-known member
You really dont need a wind tunnel when all that Drees needs is a couple of pictures 
The Volts electric motor is almost twice the power of the one used in the Leaf.
The Volts electric motor is almost twice the power of the one used in the Leaf.
hodad66
Well-known member
The front air dam (rubber) is the lowest that I've ever seen
on a stock, street vehicle.....
on a stock, street vehicle.....
TomT
Well-known member
Agreed! Having driven my neighbors extensively now, including to Vegas, it has grown on me and I'm becoming increasingly more impressed with what a good job GM actually did on it. If it had another 20 miles range in EV mode, it would be on my list...
SanDust said:
I was thinking it was having the second motor clutch in. At higher speeds the Leaf has to run its single motor at very high RPM. The Volt has two motors and can use them together, with each running at more optimum RPM.drees said:
Didn't think about the drag but the Leaf sits higher and probably has a larger frontal area. I just compared the Leaf to the Volt at fueleconomy.gov. The Leaf is 106 City and 92 Highway. The Volt is 95 City and 93 Highway. So the inefficiencies start to cross as the speeds get a bit higher. That jibes with what I felt because the Highway Cycle has an average speed of somewhere in the 45-50 MPH and at those speeds they felt the same. Both very calm. It was only over 60 MPH, and definitely over 70 MPH, that the Volt felt more relaxed.
kmp647
Well-known member
I think most EV would benefit from a 2 speed auto gear box
simple light electronic magnet clutch or something , to reduce revs and increase efficiency on the highway
simple light electronic magnet clutch or something , to reduce revs and increase efficiency on the highway
lincomatic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2011
- Messages
- 316
Interesting.. I've been assuming that the Volt would have a much lower mi/kWh efficiency than the Leaf, since it has to lug the ICE motor and gas around + all the friction in the complicated drivetrain, but EPA pegs the Leaf at 2.94mi/kWh (34kWh/100mi) and 2.75kWh/mi (36.4kWh/100mi) ... not a huge difference.
hodad66
Well-known member
another look at the Volt layout.... basically
my interior.....
my interior.....
God help me, I'm beginning to change my mind about the Volt - drove again yesterday and I'm still of the opinion that it's an overly complicated solution to the problem, but do begrudgingly admit to it being good engineering.
hodad66
Well-known member
I'm like a kid with the SPORT mode. Have you tried "sport"
mode in any of your drives? As to complexity, I agree. I
love the Leaf too and hate to see all the angst between the
camps when we all have the same goal in mind.
mode in any of your drives? As to complexity, I agree. I
love the Leaf too and hate to see all the angst between the
camps when we all have the same goal in mind.
Herm
Well-known member
hodad66 said:
Wow!, that is one heck of a picture.. I bet they sliced half the body away just for that shot
scottf200
Well-known member
SanDust said:
In 2 motor electric only (up to 100 MPH) the main traction motor goes from like 6,500 RPM down to half that (3250 RPM) and I think the generator motor then is used in conjunction and is going like 1,500 RPM. Remember we are talking about full electric battery only traveling here up to 100 MPH. It is pretty amazing that they can have essentially two motors running at lower RPM and it is still more efficient than having the one traction motor.
Various explanations here:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an-VyIau-FM[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=343-NQKOvLg[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWSK8BR6LT8[/youtube]
scottf200
Well-known member
These two videos are fairly impressive on the Volt's testing and performance.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPdmTqs_YQs[/youtube]
Go to 3 minutes and 4:30 mintues into this one!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK63kMy4-XU[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPdmTqs_YQs[/youtube]
Go to 3 minutes and 4:30 mintues into this one!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK63kMy4-XU[/youtube]
TRONZ
Well-known member
hodad66 said:
I think LEAF and Volt drivers DO have alot of the same goals. Just look at all the stale gas in peoples Volts. BUT, I believe that GM has very different objectives than Nissan. Nissan created a car that enables you to drive 100% electric, 100% of the time. Pretty straight forward EV progress. GM on the other hand created a PI hybrid they call an Electric that enables you to burn gasoline since it only has a 40 mile EV range. These facts aside, my issue is with GM Corporate and how they are trying to sabotage EV infrastructure and EV charging laws while running ads to go gas up your Volt. Not long ago, GM said they were actually against EV infrastructure because the Volt doesn't need it. Then GM gets CA laws changed to insert Volts into charging stations as a wedge to prevent real EV's from charging. IMHO, that is evil!
TRONZ said:
I think that's where I'm currently at. Still hating on GM. Not so much hating on the Volt. And certainly not hating on Volt owners.
