Meet The World’s First 200,000 Mile Chevrolet Volt
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A common concern among consumers looking to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle is the longevity and reliability of the package compared to a standard gasoline or diesel car. However one Chevrolet Volt owner, Erick Belmer, is proof that you have no reason to be more concerned about the dependability of an EV than a gas-powered vehicle.
Belmer bought his Volt new on March 28, 2012 and has driven it during his two-way 220 mile commute every day, racking up over 200,000 miles in the process. He changed the oil every 38,000 miles and rotated the tires every 10,000 miles, but other than that, no maintenance was done to the car.
“Volt is holding up flawlessly! No noticeable battery capacity loss. Used 9.7 kw because it’s a 2012. I am so pleased with this vehicle!” Belmer told InsideEVs.
VoltStats, which tracks the total mileage, efficiency and more of registered Chevrolet Volts, indicates Belmer’s Volt has so far returned 61 MPG and 49 MPGe. Additionally, an impressive 72,374 of his 200,000 miles driven were under electric power only, which has probably saved Belmer a good amount of pocket change he otherwise would have spent on fuel.
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This is something lacking in GM’s marketing. Just think, GM product-lovers – A GM car that uses lots
less gas ( even nearly zero gas if you have a 40 mile-ish daily commute! ) and has zero worries
about that battery pack! Nearly zero degradation after 200,000+ miles is a fantastic result. These
engineers should be heralded for making such a durable, reliable car. Especially one that is
so complex, but such a smart solution to driving quiet, clean and economically in such an attractive,
sporty-looking package.
One reason this shows Volt is truly a success in meeting great engineering challenges is that all
we heard back in the early days of Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF were worries about that expensive
battery pack becoming a brick after a few years of use! This should give confidence to anyone
still on the fence about buying one.
The 61mpg mentioned at the end most likely includes the 72k electric miles (total miles ÷ gas gallons). So the electric miles wouldn’t be “additional” savings to the great 61mpg as was stated but the reason for it.