So we finally traded our ICE Honda Fit for a Volt on Saturday. Silver Topaz (love the color), with tinted windows and the base model wheels. We had planned to do it during the crazy lease deals last year, but decided at the last minute to hold off to see what happened with the Leaf. We thought about getting two Volts if we got a buyback, but that was before the equally crazy Leaf leases that are available right now.
Anyway, absolutely love my Volt. The Leaf was always my wife's car that I got to drive at night and on the weekend, so I was ICE'd on my commute, but no longer!
While we lost the sales tax benefit, we sold our car to Carmax. It was my first time dealing with Carmax, but I was REALLY impressed. Brought the car in, a lovely salesperson chatted with us while they test drove our car, and an hour later we walked out with a check for $1,000 above KBB book value. I hate adding a trade-in to the mix when dealing with new car dealers, since they generally try to use the trade-in as a place to shift value around. I feel like it's a shell game that I always lose.
For anyone with a GM card, now is the time to buy. My 84-year-old mother-in-law lives with us and has had a GM card for years. They sent her a top-off certificate for $3,000, plus another $1,000 toward a new car, and the Volt is eligible for every dollar of that right now, unlike a few months ago. We were able to use the money for our down payment and we banked the money from our Fit for our next car.
A few thoughts on the Volt.
I like that when you hit a speed bump it doesn't feel like the batteries will fall out of the floor.
I like the sportier feel and look of the car.
I don't like the user interface. Too many buttons, wacky touch-sensitive surface (from the eighties), and just too complicated. The Leaf does a better job here That said, I do like the tire pressure monitor, and I love the ball that tells you how you are doing with regen/acceleration. It feels like biofeedback and like it much better than the equivalent on the Leaf.
I like the quick access to drive modes.
I didn't think I would, but I like the reassurance of having the little gas motor. I've spent a few too many hours of my life at charging stations because I didn't have enough juice to get home. Also had to drive to my wife's work in my ICE car to pick up the Leaf, take it to a nearby QC station at Bell Ford and bring it back so she could make it home. That wouldn't happen in the Volt. Also forgotten to plug her car in a couple of times and had to take it to the QC at Camelback Toyota. Things would be different if she had charging at work, but the parking lots at her job are a separate entity and so far calls for a charger have fallen on deaf ears.
Don't like the goofy start-up noise that sounds like a spaceship. It was cute the first two times, but on day 4 it's no longer cool.
Don't like the clunky seat belt attachment. Feels like something from an old, old Chevy truck, not a futuristic battery-powered car.
Like the seats. They are firm, but very comfortable. They are way, way more comfortable than the last Chevy car I remember driving. American cars have definitely gotten better.
Don't like the visibility. The side and rear-view mirrors feel like they came off a Barbie car, they are so small. The Leaf definitely wins here. I feel like I have to be much more careful in this car with lane changes and such.
While I like having a hatchback, the hatch of the Leaf is much more useful and easy to access. I can't imagine doing much more than some minor grocery shopping in the Volt. It reminds me of the hatch on my '88 Scirocco: heavy, high gate.
Finally, I love the fact that I drove well over the advertised range on the first day. I drove 45 miles, and I'm not a hypermiler. I had the AC on about half the trip (not on ECO), and half of the trip was at 60-65 mph. Weather was about as perfect as you can get, so I'll give some credit to the weather. It was a very, very pleasant surprise to go so far, but I was bummed when it finally kicked over to gas!
For anyone wondering, we are still waiting for the buyback to be complete on the Leaf. The check has apparently been cut, but a third-party actually completes the repurchase and I haven't been contacted yet.