Sold my Prius and went Electric... kinda.. :)

KentIS300 · January 28, 2017

Hello guys,

As my Prius was reaching to 170.000 miles , I thought best is to sell it and move on to something newer and more efficient.

I had a test drive of a Nissan Leaf ('16 plate Tekna model 30Kw) Nissan lent it to me for 6 days, the seller was surprised as I had done 750miles! while I had it lol.

Although it is a lovely car to drive (expect to be shot down in flames by some with the comment lol) It was not for me when it came to long distance driving which I have to do 4 times a week more less.

So since I had the electric taste... I now wanted an electric. A tesla is out of the question ... as they are expensive. Now with regards to PCP or Lease plans especially on very fast depreciating electric car prices. No dealership wanted to even discuss any plan as my average work mileage is more less 40,000 t0 45,000 miles per year.

So back to the drawing board I had to buy a "low-ish mileage car" new enough and also at a good price so I will not loose much after a couple of years.

And here I am I came across the Vauxhall Ampera's ideas ... but again they were kinda expensive (ish) they did cost about 11K for a decent spec model and age. Which is similar price for a Prius Plug In. But the Prius eehmmm is useless on electric range and power .. when it comes to compare it with the Ampera. However when it comes to long distance the Prius has advantage on motorway consumption.

So I then came across to the one I bought a late 2012 Chevrolet Volt , which is the same as the Ampera (but I kinda like more the styling). So I get a fully electric car with more power than the Prius... but with less motorway consumption once the Battery is gone.
However as the car has the same working theory for the batteries as the Lexus and Toyota hybrid models, the batteries are kind of bullet proof. (water cooled).

I had it now 1month and already done 4,500 miles with the car. And I love it.
I know I bought an electric car in the wrong time of the year... cold and freezing temperatures do no favour to the Battery range. But I know at least it can only get better as the temperatures rise.

The benefits for London having an electric with a range extender (27g of CO2) is congestion charge excepmt. But also having a membership with source london means I can park in various by the road locations and with £2.14 per hour I have electricity and "free street parking" now that is a benefit for London use.

I still have about 40.000miles of warranty left for the high voltage components and powertrain or just under 4yrs. So really pleased with the car.

It has a couple of things I need to sort out such as condensasion on the rear light and alloy wheels pitting (who said this is only on japanese cars?) lol.

Here are some pictures below, I wanted to share with you :)

Cheers

Vasilis.

ColinBarber · January 28, 2017

Keep us updated on how you get on with it. I've heard they aren't as reliable as a Prius but I imagine some of that is exaggerated.

KentIS300 · January 29, 2017

That is true Colin, I would not expect it to be as reliable as a Prius.
It will be difficult to compare it as the "lifetime MPG for the car" had been 129MPG from the previous owner, I am the second owner from new.

This shows the car was run a good amount of time on electricity only, so out of the 58,000miles the engine was not used for all of them maybe 50% use. So it will not be "fair" to compare it with a Prius where the engine would have ran almost 98% of the time.

One the other hand, I think the front top strut mount have a weakness to fail... seem quiet common now the cars are getting 4yo etc.. MOT advisories.
It does not help that there have only been just about 122 Chevrolet Volts sold in the UK ...

KentIS300 · April 15, 2017

Well I have done 16,500 miles so far I have booked it for it's 10k service next week.

It has been trouble free with no problems what so ever so far :) exceeded any expectations and it proven to me that Prius is not the only reliable car on the road :)

steve2006 · April 16, 2017

Curious to know exactly what they do on a full service given no oil or filter no spark plugs and I guess regenerative braking, maybe just the tyre pressures

KentIS300 · April 16, 2017

This has a range extender 1.4lt engine. I use it very often ... lol but even so, between the 10.000miles services the oil in it is like new.

I will have the filters/oil changed.

I had to change the coolant in December (part of the 60.000miles service) . This was complicated as they have to change the coolant in 3 tanks and 3 different circuits.

The batteries have their own coolant circuit, and it has cooling lines run all between the Battery cells. Not easy.. especially easy to get air pockets if the change is not done properly.