this discussion has gone away from GM "lying" about the Volt verses whether the car is worth buying. i still think GM had great intentions but realized in extreme cases, other options worked much better, but lets face it; all the accusations in the world will not change the fact that we will never know since very few will accept anything GM claims now
Postives
i need two cars, PERIOD, no way around that. i need one that can drive over 300 miles in one day. (this is a trip we make 2-5 times a year). but want to "plug it" as much as i can. so the Leaf still comes up as a no-brainer in EVERY scenario i can think of except a single car household.
so we can complain about the Volts 38.2 mpg in CS mode which still really isnt bad. how many non hybrids TRULY do this well?? not many. but then again the high 30's used to be the gold standard for economy. Not any more. unless the Volt will be having a major makeover in 3 years, it will not even qualify under the proposed EPA standards.
now, can it work? sure it can. if i drove it as my primary car, (my commute will soon be 19 miles RT, its currently 14) i would be in EV mode over 90% of the time. i work 4 - 10's (when mandatory OT is not required) have tues, thurs off. those days are devoted to "life maintenance" i do all the shopping, most of the laundry (there are somethings my SO wont allow me to wash) vacuuming, house projects, etc.
i usually divide it to Tues; out of house stuff, thurs; in house stuff. so last Tues was a prime example of having several errands to do requiring shopping trips to several stores. my Zenn took care of 8 miles of it, my Prius took another 34 miles.
now, i have the advantage of living in a medium-small urban area that pretty much covers most of my shopping needs.
now i could have easily done all of that in EV mode since i would have had 2 opportunity charges during that time which would have boosted my EV range. on my test drive, the ride along guy stated typical EV ranges ran from 25-50 miles with a few of the testers regularly getting in the 55-56 miles range. i am fairly sure, i could hit the 50 mile range simply because most of the driving i do lends to high mileage performance. i rarely do the freeway. i plan my trips to where its a fairly short jaunt from one place to another all at surface streets 40 mph or less and i know the best routes to take for better mileage (have had 6+ years of practice!!)
so, i could easily see 100+ mpg performance in the Volt. that is the postives.
Negatives
Size; my commuter car can be smaller only needing to seat 3-4 people. short trips means comfort or luggage storage is not critical. My 2010 Prius has more storage than the Gen 2 Prius (the back is bigger simply because the jogging stroller has to be angled in on the Gen 2, put can put straight in on the Gen 3). on our recent trip, the Gen 3 was packed to the top. it would be EXTREMELY inconvenient to go with something smaller. so the Leaf qualifies, the Volt does not.
Cost; sorry, but GM really missed the boat here. many rumors floated around that Toyota and possibly Nissan sacrificed some profits to put their products out at a more affordable price. at $41,000 we are simply into a completely different price point for automobile purchases. to be honest with ya. if it would have been a mid-medium large vehicle, i could justify it. but its a compact.
plugging in a top priority that i will pay a lot for, but i have limits. right now, a $10,000 plug in option on my Prius would cover my needs. granted it only gets 20 miles of EV operation, but it will cover my commute. that puts total cost at nearly the same as the Volt (i paid $28,000 for Prius on intro special pricing, list was $30,500) i would lose under floor storage, but the rest would be the same. but that is not a critical need, so i can wait on that. still looking