It’s more “fuel” to drive my Volt than the Performance Model 3.

[MXWing]

I will probably only get 215 miles out of 75KW when driving the Volt.

I get more than that driving the 3P with the 20” wheels.

While one can get more range out of both, hypermilling is not in my lexicon.

I drive the Volt in baby Tesla mode which is L and Sport.

I’m at 350 watt miles so no chill mode setting for me on the 3P.

It’s fun but not 3P fun. And more expensive to drive per unit of energy!!!

So not only does one save on electricity vs gas but one saves on electricity from EV to EV.

Before someone post some garbage like Bolt efficiency numbers - one is a Bolt and one is a Model 3.

3SR would be a efficiency king if you don't need supercharger access. One motor, aero wheels, and lighter battery pack to haul around.

 

[willow_hiller]

SR+ owner reporting in, they are ridiculously efficient. I had a 50 mile round-trip (no loss or gain in altitude) the other day. All highway miles but the last few stuck in some DC traffic. The trip meter read 175 wh/mi when I got home.

 

[frankusb]

I will probably only get 215 miles out of 75KW when driving the Volt.

I get more than that driving the 3P with the 20” wheels.

While one can get more range out of both, hypermilling is not in my lexicon.

I drive the Volt in baby Tesla mode which is L and Sport.

I’m at 350 watt miles so no chill mode setting for me on the 3P.

It’s fun but not 3P fun. And more expensive to drive per unit of energy!!!

So not only does one save on electricity vs gas but one saves on electricity from EV to EV.

Before someone post some garbage like Bolt efficiency numbers - one is a Bolt and one is a Model 3.

3SR would be a efficiency king if you don't need supercharger access. One motor, aero wheels, and lighter battery pack to haul around.

I have a Volt (1st Gen) and a 3P so I can relate.

Your numbers show about the same efficiency though. 75000Wh/215miles = 348.8 Wh/mile.

With my driving style, I get similar efficiency between the two even though the Volt has to carry around a complete ICE system.

 

[MXWing]

With my driving style, I get similar efficiency between the two even though the Volt has to carry around a complete ICE system.

and the Volt is less safe, less seating, way slower, way less sexy, etc etc.

While they might be approximately the same in terms of absolute electrical cost, relative cost wise I'd pour the same ions in a Tesla.

 

[frankusb]

and the Volt is less safe, less seating, way slower, way less sexy, etc etc.

No argument there and if your subject line had stated as such, I would not have replied.

 

[MXWing]

No argument there and if your subject line had stated as such, I would not have replied.

"The Performance Model 3 is relatively more cost efficient than my Volt" is nowhere near as fun a thread title.

If you haven't - I would consider swapping out your Gen 1 Volt for a 35K SR if it makes sense to do so.

 

[willow_hiller]

"The Performance Model 3 is relatively more cost efficient than my Volt" is nowhere near as fun a thread title.

If you haven't - I would consider swapping out your Gen 1 Volt for a 35K SR if it makes sense to do so.

I think most Volt drivers would be turned away by the SR's range. We're situated on the East coast so roadtripping along the Supercharger network is easy for us, but if you're somewhere with less infrastructure, the Volt could be a nice EV solution for around town, and ICE solution for roadtripping.

 

[frankusb]

"The Performance Model 3 is relatively more cost efficient than my Volt" is nowhere near as fun a thread title.

If you haven't - I would consider swapping out your Gen 1 Volt for a 35K SR if it makes sense to do so.

Your data showed the Volt at 349Wh/mile vs 3P at 350Wh/mile. I think an appropriate title would have been "Volt and 3P are the same efficiency so why not drive the awesome one?".

The Volt was my gateway drug and I still respect the engineering put into it. It's irreplaceable in the current market IMHO. I will probably replace the Volt but it's for my wife to decide with what since she will be driving it.

 

[Triplett]

......and you have a volt....

 

[srs5694]

I will probably only get 215 miles out of 75KW when driving the Volt.

I get more than that driving the 3P with the 20” wheels.

The Volt's drivetrain is a compromise between what you'd see in a pure BEV like the Tesla Model 3 or Chevy Bolt and what you'd see in a conventional hybrid like the Toyota Prius. It's not really optimized for either fuel source; its strength is that it can use either.

That said, be sure to factor in the Tesla's greater phantom drain when doing this sort of comparison, especially if you use energy-sucking features like Sentry Mode. (Of course, the Volt doesn't have anything equivalent to Sentry Mode, so that'd be an apples-to-oranges comparison.)

The Volt was my gateway drug and I still respect the engineering put into it. It's irreplaceable in the current market IMHO. I will probably replace the Volt but it's for my wife to decide with what since she will be driving it.

The Volt was also my first plug-in vehicle. I was very impressed by the electric drivetrain the first time I test-drove a Volt, and over the 2.5 years I leased it, I came to really hate it when the gas engine kicked in. At best, that would happen at a steady highway speed, in which case I didn't notice it that much; but when accelerating, including in city traffic, it was a real downer. So in a way, Chevy sold me on a Tesla.

 

[MXWing]

The Volt's drivetrain is a compromise between what you'd see in a pure BEV like the Tesla Model 3 or Chevy Bolt and what you'd see in a conventional hybrid like the Toyota Prius. It's not really optimized for either fuel source; its strength is that it can use either.

That said, be sure to factor in the Tesla's greater phantom drain when doing this sort of comparison, especially if you use energy-sucking features like Sentry Mode. (Of course, the Volt doesn't have anything equivalent to Sentry Mode, so that'd be an apples-to-oranges comparison.)



The Volt was also my first plug-in vehicle. I was very impressed by the electric drivetrain the first time I test-drove a Volt, and over the 2.5 years I leased it, I came to really hate it when the gas engine kicked in. At best, that would happen at a steady highway speed, in which case I didn't notice it that much; but when accelerating, including in city traffic, it was a real downer. So in a way, Chevy sold me on a Tesla.

Honestly, phantom draining should never be in any kind of efficiency arguments.

Does anyone believe Tesla couldn’t minimize phantom draining better than anyone else if that was the main objective?

It’s a crazy argument to say the Bolt is better because it doesn’t use as much power to keep computers on and doesn’t use up anywhere near the amount of internet that the Model 3.

Bolt isn’t downloading OTA vehicle updates either.

Value is what you get, not what you pay.

If I say a Ruth Chris steak is the same price as a quarter pounder and someone says I am wrong - the Ruth Chris steak is $1 more - am I really wrong?

 

[srs5694]

Honestly, phantom draining should never be in any kind of efficiency arguments.

I respectfully disagree. When I pay my electric bill, it doesn't matter if a kWH of electricity consumed by my car was consumed moving it down the highway, running its heater, or powering the car's computer and other electronics while it's parked. That kWh costs the same to me no matter what it does, and it produces the same amount of CO2 emissions and other environmental harms. How much energy phantom drain consumes depends on factors like how much you use features like Sentry Mode, how much you check the app, etc., but it can easily reach into the hundreds, if not over a thousand, kWh per year -- or looked at another way, it's the equivalent of driving hundreds, if not thousands, of extra miles in a year. To be sure, that's almost certain to be a fraction of Tesla energy use -- but not a tiny fraction. Whether you think so or not, that is important to any consideration of the energy efficiency of a Tesla vs. another EV that produces less phantom drain.

It’s a crazy argument to say the Bolt is better because it doesn’t use as much power to keep computers on and doesn’t use up anywhere near the amount of internet that the Model 3.

Yes, that's a crazy argument. It's also a straw-man argument; nobody here has made that claim. The claim that has been made is that on this one measure of phantom drain, Teslas are seriously deficient. Teslas also compare badly to other cars in other ways, too -- just look at all the complaints about fit-and-finish issues on recently-delivered cars, for instance. Nonetheless, most of the people on this forum have bought Teslas because they shine in other areas. There is no such thing as a perfect car, and pointing out the flaws in a car is not the same as saying that other cars are better overall than the car being critiqued.

 

[M109Rider]

SR+ owner reporting in, they are ridiculously efficient. I had a 50 mile round-trip (no loss or gain in altitude) the other day. All highway miles but the last few stuck in some DC traffic. The trip meter read 175 wh/mi when I got home.

That is insane efficiently. !

 

[lozza]

I have and a P3D and a Bolt. Agree the efficiency is essentially the same in the real world... And tips in favor of the 3 the more highway driving you do. Over 65 mph Bolt efficiency suffers and the 3 seems good up to 72-75 mph.

I also find it amazing... It's like saying you get the same efficiency with a Porsche or Ferrari as a Civic... Which you don't... Which is also another reason why the 3 is such an amazing piece of engineering. Best car on the planet right now

 

[maxpower2078]

I can relate. I drive a Kia Optima Plug-in. Gets 29 miles out of 8.5-9 Killos and while that covers most/all my commute I honestly hate how slow it accelerates on electric only and having to still maintain a ICE too. I do like not having to go to the gas station for 1-2k miles though. I think it is a bit strange they still want me to do oil changes every 7,500 miles when my ICE is on ~1/4 of those miles. I try to run the engine at least 1 day a week just to keep things in order though and get a nice long trip (200-400 miles) in once a month.

I bought in spring of 17 and if the SR was ready then, it would have been a no brainer. I don't think I had the all EV mindset then but I certainly do now and will hopefully have a M3 in my garage very soon.

 

[MXWing]

I can relate. I drive a Kia Optima Plug-in. Gets 29 miles out of 8.5-9 Killos and while that covers most/all my commute I honestly hate how slow it accelerates on electric only and having to still maintain a ICE too. I do like not having to go to the gas station for 1-2k miles though. I think it is a bit strange they still want me to do oil changes every 7,500 miles when my ICE is on ~1/4 of those miles. I try to run the engine at least 1 day a week just to keep things in order though and get a nice long trip (200-400 miles) in once a month.

I bought in spring of 17 and if the SR was ready then, it would have been a no brainer. I don't think I had the all EV mindset then but I certainly do now and will hopefully have a M3 in my garage very soon.

You have access to decent incentives in California. Just take the hit and trade up to 35K SR. You will be immensely more happy for it.

 

[danwat1234]

I'm putting it out there, the first gen Chevy Volt is sexy. Not as much so as a Tesla, but still.
The M3 is amazingly efficient thanks to the Silicon Carbide Inverter and tight integration. But the long range curb weight is a bit heavier than a Volt and the idle power consumption may be higher with all the computers. Amazing product.
Silicon carbide tech hopefully be standard on all EVs soon and AC adapters too.

 

[P85_DA]

The trip meter read 175 wh/mi when I got home.

Darn this makes my X seem like a guzzler at 450wh/m​

 

[MXWing]

Darn this makes my X seem like a guzzler at 450wh/m​

Don’t forget the slow supercharging as well!

 

[KenC]

I found my 2016 Volt to be more efficient when driving around town doing errands than my LR AWD Model 3. But, when on the highway, the Volt is nowhere near as efficient.