2012 Chevrolet Volt User Reviews

Pros

EV, HOV stickers

Cons

battery life; 40 miles is great, double that would be better ;-)

Purchased As New

Moved from an AMG Mercedes and, after 6 months, still don't look back. I love this fun little car more now than the day I bought it. Two thumbs up!
G

Pros

everything

Cons

nothing

Purchased As New

Best car I've ever owned, last car was a Honda Insight and I didn't think that could be beat until now

Pros

Used 1/2 gal of gas in 6 weeks.

Cons

Low on room for passengers and cargo. Seats only 4.

Purchased As New

Rides very smooth and is very quiet ( No wind noise). When the gas motor is running you can't tell. Most of the features of the car are programable, so they work how "You" want them to. Over the years I have owned/ driven many cars. So far this is my favorite.

Pros

Everything!

Cons

Cargo space, not a sports car!

Purchased As New

Great ride, comfortable, beautiful styling, excellent interior, great seating (4 bucket seats), fast acceleration, and the fuel economy... from $400 a month to $35. I charge it at home and then at the office, more and more places are offering FREE charging stations. This car pays for itself when you consider the GM rebates, tax credits, low insurance rate and electric bill adjustment. I am seeing more and more Volts on the road, and its because all these reasons. I am not a CHEVY fan, but Volt is improving my opinion on Chevy and GM overall....read morehide

Pros

Super technology, fuel economy is superb. Looks sweet.

Cons

A little small. Only seats 4. long 110 volt charge time.

Purchased As New

Had our Volt for 1 month. Until recently, I was avaraging over 250mpg. We drove it in pure gasoline mode a bunch the last few days, and has knocked it down to 225mpg. My electric range, even though its been very hot out recently, has been consistently over 40 miles. I try to run the a.c. on "eco" often, and drive sensibly. Seems to do better in the city vs hwy. Love this car. Oh, had to finally put gas in it after over 1700 miles....read morehide

Pros

Excellent fuel economy, exterior looks, high tech, infotainment features

Cons

None so far

Purchased As New

Just picked up my brand new 2012 Volt last weekend and it has exceeded my expectations. I drive 14 mi each way to work so I haven't used any gas thus far! Took advantage of the zero percent 72 month financing which makes the car a money saver for me. Payments are higher but when you factor in the $7,500 tax credit and the savings of $200 a month in gas, it actually is cheaper than my old Mazda3. Way to go Chevy!...read morehide

Pros

Fuel economy, ride, space, technology, fun!

Cons

pricey, VERY low front air dam, tricky gear lever

Purchased As New

Ive leased my Volt for 2.5 months now and put over 2100 miles on it. It is a modern marvel for sure. The most interesting albeit misunderstood car in America in my opinion. Some things I commonly hear..."that costs like $45000 right?"..."it costs more to charge then fuel up" on and on and on.

To go my 2100 miles Ive put in 7.5 gallons of fuel in addition to what I left the dealer with back in March. By my calculations the car costs me about $35-45 a month in gas and electricity to run (compared to $165 a month to run my wifes VW Jetta a similar mileage). Since I lease for around $350 a month it is actually cheaper then my wifes base Jetta in overall cost of ownership.

The drive system is absolutely seamless. In urban driving you can go for up to 40 or 45 miles on the battery. The car however does not like higher speeds and only goes about 35 miles on the interstate at over 70mph and gets about 35mpg after that. So if you do almost all highway driving for some distance I would look at a VW tdi.

It rides solid...as good or better then an Accord or Camry. It sits four adults comfortably and has a ton of space. It also can suprise people with over 200 ft lbs of torque when you step on the accelerator. It will go from 0 to 50mph in no time. 50-70...takes a little longer but you can drive at 80 very comfortably. I love the radio screen, onstar, bluetooth interface, etc. etc. It has so much (useable) technology.

Some things I dont like....the front air dam is so low I literally scrape the road with it a handful of times every trip. Ive sorta stopped worrying about it because it doesnt seem to be hurting anything. Chevy must of knew this because they made the dam in 3 pieces and very flexible so it cant be damaged as easily. Also, the gear lever fits into the radio stack, which looks great but causes me to bash my knuckles every few times. But that is literally all I have to complain about.

This is an amazing car that doesnt get the respect it deserves as evidenced by the owner reviews (consumer reports #1 in customer satisfaction). It is catching on slowly. Chevy dealers like mine that understand the car and its market are selling these like crazy. Sadly even many Chevy dealers though dont understand or respect the car and only know how to sell trucks, SUVs and sports cars. Well the Prius didnt catch on in a day and for now I love all the free charging stations!!

One final thought...my theory on the vehicle and from all the writing on the wall is that I would not buy one.....lease it and get the extra miles if you need it. This is a fast progressing technology with I think some planned obsolesence. In a few years the car will be available for less money and go further on battery. Sort of like a computer or a DVD player...exclusive and expensive at first but very reasonable eventually....read morehide

Pros

Great technology

Cons

Slightly higher price premium

Purchased As New

The Volt is a modern marvel. It is an American engineering achievement. It is also the best performing EV/Hybrid under $40k that has the best mpg.

Pros

1000 miles, used 3 gallons of gas so far.

Cons

leg in back seats, but not a concern to me.

Purchased As New

Couldn't be happier with the Volt. Needs to be more affordable for the masses, but when it is, no more foreign oil concerns. I have never been happier with a car, the sound system is outstanding with no background engine noise.

Pros

Energy cost ver very low

Cons

rear seats (2) tight for a 5"-8" or higher

Purchased As New

Similar to the previous reviewer from CA, I own a second generation Prius (2007) with close to 150K miles and wanted to rest my Malibu and Avalanche truck, looked for an appropriate birthday present to my wife and opted for the Volt among Camry Hybrid, Prius plug-in and Leaf. I paid 42K before 7.5K tax incentive, put 4,200 down, finance the rest to 60 months 0% with a final payment of 637 - 125 of tax credit, net monthly payment of 513, what a steal, we anticipate to save $ 330 on gas alone by driving 25,000 miles/year, with $ 0.05 KWh in CA off-peak rate; 25,000 miles/4 KWh/mile x .05 = $ 312.5/year on electricity. If compare with the Malibu 25,000miles/25mpgX 4.25 per gal = $ 4,250/year on gas, we are talking $ 4,000/year savings. Trust me, in 8 years the Volt will pay back by itself, I do not know who said the VOLT is not for the masses. It is true there is a higher cost at front, but on the long run the EV is the way to go. On the other note, my wife is in love with this car, the soft driving, cornering, and style, the Volt can compare to germans (BMW, Audi, etc) and top of the line japanese brands (Lexus & Acura). We typically charge twice during the weekday and once on wekends (40x 2 x 5 + 40 x 2 = 500 per week), we use very low gas on between charges. My wife and daugher carpool and commute most of the time with the VOLT, stating the pleasure to drive this little car with amazing features, On-star, XMRadio, large display navigation, nice comfort front seats, etc, etc....read morehide