Long Range Report
Yesterday I had the longest driving day yet for the new car, traveling a total of about 170 miles. I accumulated about 25 miles of local driving before heading out to Greenwich for the evening. I was able to get a two hour 120v charge in before the long range trip began, which added only about 5 or 10 miles of battery range. The gas engine kicked on as expected early in the journey out to Greenwich, and would occasionally switch off when enough power was accumulated from the regenerative braking system. Had I been at a full charge I could easily get to New Haven on only electric from my home in Essex.
All told, the gas mileage from 175 miles of traveling yesterday was just about 50mpg round trip. Mileage when I arrived in Greenwich was about 70mpg, so clearly the Volt will benefit drivers who who travel about 100 miles or less per day or have a place to plug in during the workday. Longer range journeys in the car are comparable to that of a Prius or diesel Volkswagen. But neither of those cars can compete with the overall 126mpg I've achieved after traveling 576 miles.
I still have about half a tank of the gas that came with the car upon delivery on February 19th. Looking at my calendar I probably won't need to stop at the gas station for my first fill up for at least another two or three weeks.
