2016 Chevrolet Volt Long-Term Road Test - Introduction

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited December 2015 in Chevrolet
image2016 Chevrolet Volt Long-Term Road Test - Introduction

The first-generation Chevy Volt set our expectations high; can the redesigned 2016 Volt exceed them? Edmunds bought one to find out.

Read the full story here


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  • darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    Glad you bought this vehicle. Plug-in hybrids are an emerging segment. Very much looking forward to reading about how all-electric range, transitions between power modes, and daily livability and reliability fare in real world driving.

    I'll also be curious to see, at the end of your 12 months, how the Volt's resale value holds up. $40k seems like an awful lot to drop on a Detroit compact, even net of the $7500 federal break.
  • airpowerairpower Member Posts: 28
    So is the navigation standard on the Premier model, or optional? You state both in the above text:

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Premier ($38,345) adds leather, navigation, front and rear heated seats, Bose audio system, heated steering wheel and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.

    Since this isn't just a test of the powertrain, but the whole car, we picked the Premier and added options. Driver Confidence 1 Package ($495). Driver Confidence 2 Package ($495). Further options include $495 for navigation...
  • redgeminiparedgeminipa Member Posts: 74
    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    This car is a good choice for a LT test...looking forward to it.
  • grijongrijon Member Posts: 147
    Really looking forward to this one!
  • blackvoltguyblackvoltguy Member Posts: 2
    redgeminipa said:

    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    The credit is non-refundable which means that it is limited to the extent of your final tax liability. I've bought two in the last two years and I've gotten the credit because my year end federal tax liability is still far more than the $7500. In 2014 a Married couple with a "taxable income" of $56k dollars has a tax liability of $7500, had they purchased a qualifying PHEV they would receive the full credit and in turn have a zero tax liability for the year. When I was making less than $60k a year I wasn't looking at $40k dollar vehicles to begin with, but that's just me.
  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    Awesome choice! I'll be eager to read updates. I'll be curious about all aspects of the car as well as maintenance (which I guess is still pretty standard car stuff since its a hybrid). I'm sure that you will still have a high percent of time on the gas engine just because you guys put a lot of miles on the vehicle (you'll probably hit 20k which is over 50% more than the average person drives).

    Can't wait for you guys to eventually get your hands on a Model X. You need to find a way to get one.
  • handbrakehandbrake Member Posts: 99
    This sort of explains the silent shift of the GTI into the "Past Long Term Road Tests" column.
  • vvkvvk Member Posts: 196
    Wow, this is great! I am seriously considering the 2017 Volt when it goes on sale in my state. I will be following this long term test closely.

    Please review the new model's steering feel. I have test driven the Leaf, the i3 and the current Volt and they all have terrible steering feel. I am replacing my recently totalled 325i, so that is where I am coming from.
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    redgeminipa said:

    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    I could be mistaken, but I believe that the credit is applied to the purchase price and effectively transferred to the dealer. I don't think it makes any difference if you have a net tax liability at the end of the year or not, you receive the benefit of the credit at the time of purchase.
  • tlangnesstlangness Member Posts: 123
    kirkhilles1 said:


    Can't wait for you guys to eventually get your hands on a Model X. You need to find a way to get one.

    We can't wait for that one either. We gave Tesla a $40k deposit for the Model X years ago...
  • mfennellmfennell Member Posts: 91
    redgeminipa said:

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    You misunderstand it. The credit is based on your total income taxes paid. Whether you would otherwise get a refund or not is immaterial. As another poster pointed out a married couple with a taxable income of $56k gets the full credit. Less than that and it "only" wipes out your full federal income tax liability.

  • mfennellmfennell Member Posts: 91
    edited December 2015
    It's amusing to see the positive posts here compared to the 1st gen Volt. They are gone, unfortunately, but it was quite a [non-permissible content removed].

    For the record, I leased an early '11 Volt and loved it but it was ultimately too small for me. I missed driving EV though so I recently leased an e-golf.
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    Excellent choice. Personally, I wouldn't get all the bling you guys always do. But since this car is the first Chevy I'd consider owning, I'm very interested to see how it goes.
  • airpowerairpower Member Posts: 28
    bankerdanny said:

    redgeminipa said:

    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    I could be mistaken, but I believe that the credit is applied to the purchase price and effectively transferred to the dealer. I don't think it makes any difference if you have a net tax liability at the end of the year or not, you receive the benefit of the credit at the time of purchase.
    This is true when you are leasing the vehicle ONLY. The tax credit is transferred to the leasing company. You should be aware however, that you will owe sales tax on the $7500 credit.
  • redgeminiparedgeminipa Member Posts: 74
    bankerdanny said:

    redgeminipa said:

    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    I could be mistaken, but I believe that the credit is applied to the purchase price and effectively transferred to the dealer. I don't think it makes any difference if you have a net tax liability at the end of the year or not, you receive the benefit of the credit at the time of purchase.
    That would make it a tax REBATE, which this is not. As mentioned, it should apply to a lease, but it is credited to the lease company.
  • redgeminiparedgeminipa Member Posts: 74
    airpower said:

    bankerdanny said:

    redgeminipa said:

    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    I could be mistaken, but I believe that the credit is applied to the purchase price and effectively transferred to the dealer. I don't think it makes any difference if you have a net tax liability at the end of the year or not, you receive the benefit of the credit at the time of purchase.
    This is true when you are leasing the vehicle ONLY. The tax credit is transferred to the leasing company. You should be aware however, that you will owe sales tax on the $7500 credit.
    Considering sales tax on a lease is actually charged per the monthly payment, how does that work? Well... at least in PA, that's how leasing and tax works. The tax rate is different as well. Normal sales tax is 6%, but monthly sales tax on a lease is 9%.

    i.e. if your lease payment is $300, the total with tax is $327. Many dealers got in trouble for advertising lease payments without mentioning the tax was not included in the quote. Customers didn't know about the tax until the payment book came in the mail.
  • 500rwhp500rwhp Member Posts: 99
    redgeminipa said:

    Edmunds really needs to stop being so casual when throwing around the federal tax CREDIT. Many of the people who buy these will never see a dime of that federal tax CREDIT.

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    Wrong. If your total tax is greater than $7500 then you you qualify for the entire credit. This advice is wrong and terrible.
  • 500rwhp500rwhp Member Posts: 99
    mfennell said:

    redgeminipa said:

    Long story short, if you get any type of tax refund when you file taxes, you get NOTHING.

    You misunderstand it. The credit is based on your total income taxes paid. Whether you would otherwise get a refund or not is immaterial. As another poster pointed out a married couple with a taxable income of $56k gets the full credit. Less than that and it "only" wipes out your full federal income tax liability.

    ^^^this is correct
  • bnovidabnovida Member Posts: 12
    "There's now room for three in the back." Are you kidding me? Who's going to saddle that hump and cupholder?
  • airpowerairpower Member Posts: 28
    bnovida said:

    "There's now room for three in the back." Are you kidding me? Who's going to saddle that hump and cupholder?

    I have a 2013 Volt, and there have been a few times were I really could have used that 5th seat. Yes it may be inconvenient, but the only thing that really matters when you need to move five people, is the fact that you now have an additional seat belt.
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    bnovida said:

    "There's now room for three in the back." Are you kidding me? Who's going to saddle that hump and cupholder?

    My thought too. Adding some padding and a 3rd seat belt might legally make it a 5 passenger, but functionally, still a 4 seater. This is a shame as Toyota makes a boatload of money selling Prii to taxi companies and ride share drivers and the Volt will be totally useless for this purpose.

    Chevy is leaving a lot of money on the table (assuming it can actually profit from each sale) by not making the rear seat actually functional for 3 average size adults.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    I really loved when FWD vehicles came out, especially minivans, and I got all that flat floor space.
  • ctpaulctpaul Member Posts: 46
    glad you got this, very interested in following the experience. Wish you had not optioned it up so much but that seems the way you usually do things. As to the tax credit, it is not to my knowledge applied to the purchase price, You pay whatever the price is with the dealer, then file your taxes at yer end and receive a credit against your total tax bill. So it is very different than a rebate which reduces your transaction price. The exception is if it is leased, in which case the credit is applied to the amount you are "paying" the leasing company for the vehicle, effectively reducing your monthly payments in a lease situation but not if you finance. It is one circumstance where leasing has quite a different effect than purchasing.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Administrator Posts: 0
    edited December 2015
    I would be interested if we tested the Volt in cold weather climates. Southern California is perfect for electric cars but it would be great to hear about real time mileage per charge in temperatures that are below 32 degrees (or typical SoCal "cold" temps).
  • prndlolprndlol Member Posts: 140
    Why didn't you order Driver Confidence packages 3a through 12g?
  • darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    ctpaul said:

    glad you got this, very interested in following the experience. Wish you had not optioned it up so much but that seems the way you usually do things.

    It makes sense for journalists to test well equipped cars. Consider nav as an example. By testing a car with nav, Edmunds' writers can tell us how well it works-- or not. Testing a car without nav they can't tell us anything about it.
  • solarhomesolarhome Member Posts: 3
    The mid rear seat may not be good for football players, but it will be perfect to help us schlep around 3 grandkids on the weekend. We just happen to have a solar home with lots of extra power to charge an electric car, so the Volt will be perfect for us. I don't know why more people don't put this solar home / electric car combination together.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    There's such a combo in my neighborhood (at least one that I know of). I believe a Leaf uses the plug there.
  • moparbadmoparbad Member Posts: 3,870
    solarhome said:

    We just happen to have a solar home with lots of extra power to charge an electric car, so the Volt will be perfect for us. I don't know why more people don't put this solar home / electric car combination together.

    Solar is not viable due to cost and climate in my area.

  • solarhomesolarhome Member Posts: 3
    Here in Arizona, there are five Solar homes in our neighborhood. Four of them have Electric cars, 3 Volts and a Leaf. Leasing the solar system for 20 years cost us nothing down. This makes driving an electric car almost free of any energy costs for us. This would not apply to everyone, but will for most of the people in the Southwestern US.
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