Opel Ampera

[Dave EV]

Honestly, I think with a 100-120m EV range and an extender cars like the volt and karma would be a great balance on the pricing and capability. I know Tesla will never put a generator in their cars though. I may have missed it, but did you 100% cancel your S reservation?

I've always thought a neat concept would be this:

20-30 kWh battery pack
5 kg Propane range extender (holds 460k BTU or 127 kWh of energy - think BBQ tank)
15 kW Propane fuel-cell - 50-60% efficient - so adds 60+ kWh of range

One might be able to get the weight of the range extender down to 100 lbs - so the weight penalty would be minimal. Make the tank removable so you don't have to lug it around when you don't need it and it's easier to fill up. You can also use the propane to provide heat in the winter.

Now about getting something like that small enough to fit into your car... I still like the idea of a small trailer - built properly it could reduce aero drag for those long trips and also provide room for additional storage capacity.

 

[dpeilow]

 

[ManuVince]

A nice review of the Ampera from Top Gear (yes you read it right):
Vauxhall Ampera driven full road test car review - BBC Top Gear - BBC Top Gear

 

[dpeilow]

Top Gear magazine/website always gives decent reviews, it's pretty much a seperate team to the TV show.

Coming back from the Le Mans 24 Hours yesterday (where hybrids came 1 and 2), look what I followed into the channel tunnel...

...he'd had the car two weeks, so we swapped stories and I was able to teach him a few things in the menus.

 

[dpeilow]

Here's the print review that The Conway Column: an unlikely electric car convert referred to:

I've never snagged my shirt and if anything, I find the brakes a bit too strong at slow speed.

 

[widodh]

Top Gear magazine/website always gives decent reviews, it's pretty much a seperate team to the TV show.

Coming back from the Le Mans 24 Hours yesterday (where hybrids came 1 and 2), look what I followed into the channel tunnel...

...he'd had the car two weeks, so we swapped stories and I was able to teach him a few things in the menus.

Nice!

In the last two days I spotted a Volt and 2 Ampera's here in town.

The Ampera seems to be selling pretty well, the tax incentive on the car is really high.

 

[TEG]

Here's the print review that The Conway Column: an unlikely electric car convert referred to:
...I find the brakes a bit too strong at slow speed.

Brake behavior (getting a bit grabby at low speeds) is a LEAF complaint too.
As is overly thick A-pillars. I guess maybe they do that for safety reasons with the steeply raked windscreen (AKA windshield.)

When he said you could get 60-65MPG going to/from Scotland was that assuming a full EV charge before starting, and a full EV charge at the destination?

Highway MPG solely on petrol isn't nearly that good, right?

 

[FalconNinetyD]

I see 38-40 MPG while on the gas engine in my wife's Volt, but I from reading posts on gm-volt.com, others can get as high as 50.

 

[dpeilow]

Yes I think you'd need to start with a full charge and some reasonable plugging in at stops to get that mpg (assuming he means Scotland from London).


By the way, yesterday I passed 3000 miles two months to the hour after getting the car...

(yes I was giving it some beans the night before.)


...and 112 mpg.

As of tonight I'm at 113 mpg and it goes up 1 or 2 a day now that I can get regular charging at work.

 

[dpeilow]

Our Cars: Vauxhall Ampera - June - What Car?

 

[GSP]

Highway MPG solely on petrol isn't nearly that good, right?

Probably not for long trips like London to Scotland, but don't forget they also have bigger gallons in the UK. :biggrin:

When taking my Volt on short day trips to nearby towns, I was surprised by getting better than the 50 mpg that I would expect from a Prius. I get 60, 80, and offen more than 100 mpg for 80-150 mi round trips without charging. I usually take shorter, slower routes and hypermile to get the first 40-50 miles on electric, and continue hypermiling after switching to gasoline. I had considered the 35 mile EV range insignificant for road trips before I bought the car, thinking that a Prius would be better for these trips. If I had done the math before hand (and known that I would take up hypermiling), I would have realized that the Volt is best for everything but longer overnight trips.

I have been extremely happy with the performance of my Volt. I expect that Ampera owners, in the land of expensive petrol, will be even happier.

GSP

 

[dpeilow]

Damn right I am.

I don't hypermile. In fact I have a pretty heavy right foot. Tomorrow I will pass 120 mpg lifetime average.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

1000 Mile's in an Ampera...

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 & 4

 

[dpeilow]

Interesting presentation I came across.

http://www.altairhtc.com/europe/EHTC2011-Abstracts/EHTC-Presentations-2011/Keynotes_Tuesday/EHECpresent.pdf


I went to a supplier meeting today. I asked if I could plug in, which I could. There was so much interest that it got held up for 20 minutes while I explained the car to them and gave the guided tour. When I left, half the office turned out.

The car sells itself.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

The car sells itself.

very similar response to the Ampera at BEVoB on Sunday :smile:

 

[GSP]

"The car sells itself" - and at a fairly brisk rate:

About 700 Amperas sold in June says a restructuring Opel

GSP

PS. The link David posted above (post#234) is very informative about the Volt and Ampera in my opinion. Well worth a look.

 

[Adm]

292 Ampera's sold in the Netherlands in June... or about 4% of all Opels sold in June.


Link to Excel sheet with Dutch registration /sales numbers for June 2011/12 and cumulative 2011/12

http://www.raivereniging.nl/actueel/nieuwsberichten/2012-q3/~/media/RaiAssociation/Files/Communicatie%20en%20PR/Autoverkopen/2012/20120704%20personenautoverkopen%20juni%202012.ashx

 

[Adm]

UK bans Opel Ampera commercial over range claims

The ad for the Vauxhall Ampera showed endurance runners and claimed a 360 mile "range" with the implication that the propulsion source was all electricity, according to the charge. The spot noted an "additional power source" – i.e., the car's on-board gas-powered generator – in small print. Because the ad wasn't clear that the car only has about a 35-to-50-mile range on electric power, the Advertising Standards Authority banned it.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/08/23/uk-bans-opel-ampera-plug-in-hybrid-commercial-over-range-claims/#continued

 

[Doug_G]

Good on them for banning that blatant misrepresentation.

GM: your car is pretty good. No need to spread confusion in order to sell it.

 

[dpeilow]

Re that advert: I had more people asking me about driving on electric during the two weeks it was running than at any other point in the past 5 years. Nobody thought it went 360 miles exclusively on electricity. It seemed to be quite an effective campaign. The complaint was reportedly made by an employee of a rival manufacturer...


Anyway, after 4 months of Ampera ownership I've:

- Done 5986 miles
- Driven 79% of those miles on electricity*
- Got a combined average of 140 mpg
- Found it uses 280Wh/mile at 70mph (better than the Roadster, so much for 'dragging an ICE around')
- Saved £1000 in petrol costs
- Got solar powered charging installed at work
- Been on trips to Cornwall, Wales, Somerset twice, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and London
- Demonstrated to a Golf GTI, Mini Cooper, MX-5, Scooby and various beemers and mercs that you don't take on electric vehicles at the lights.
- Had one issue where the car wouldn't charge, but this was promptly fixed by Vauxhall*

* the non charge issue and some days where I couldn't charge at work dragged this down to 79% from an estimated 86%.


Overall, really happy with this car. It's fun to drive (hint, if you think it or the Volt have poor throttle response, put it in sport mode), well made, totally practical and gives huge savings. It's already paying back at the rate I expected, which offsets its relatively high purchase price. It has a few quirks, but the only thing I would change right now are the tyres.