Even At 230MPG, Volt Would Still Cost More To Own Than Prius

Your numbers are screwed up.

Calculating backwards from MPG and gallons/year, it you are assuming 15000 miles/year The Volt can go 40 miles a day on electricity alone. 40*365 = 14600 miles/year on electricity alone (plug in every night). That means you'll be burning gasoline for only 15000-14600=400 miles/year. GM has stated on their website that the Volt gets 50mpg while burning gasoline, so you only be using 500/50=4 gallons of gasoline per year, not 65.2

For a lot of people, buying a hybrid isn't about saving money. They look at it the same way they look at any other option like sat nav or leather seats, and in that case it's just a box on the build sheet labeled "Bragging Rights."

For the Volt, just like Hybrids, the key is for the holier-than-thou early adopters to help bring down the price. Long run, my hope is that not only is the price reasonable for a mainstream family car, but we have a clean electricity infrastructure capable of handling it and other plugs-ins, and we develop batteries that aren't so destructive on the environment to manufacture.

I wouldn't consider any hybrid as they stand now, but if all those things are eventually taken care of, I'll take a look.

Hey, don't knock the "holy-rollers" in the hybrids too much. They are doing a real service by adopting early technology. So let them have their moral edge, if it means others can get proven technology in the 2nd and 3rd generations.

ya with no early adopters, no new technologies can be invented. new tech, new drugs, new everything, we need rich people to buy them first and pay for the development and startup cost.

the better things in life are for rich people, and we need rich people to buy those things. without rich people, the poor people can never have anything good, because someone needs to pay for the development cost before anything can be proliferated to the poor.

poor people who look at rich people buying the good stuff and getting jealous are dumbasses... you'll never have it if they don't get it first.

It takes 6.75 year to paid back for comparison between insight and prius....

I guess if like this, every one should buy insight or they are stupid according to Edmund....

I have no brief for the fools at Government Motors, but is it appropriate to compare the Volt's estimated $33k price to the base price of a Toyota Prius?

Do we know what sort of extra features the Volt will come standard with?

If the $33k price of the Volt is fully loaded, it would be more appropriate to compare it to the fully loaded Prius price, which is also around $30k.

And you're comparing against the Insight? Isn't that a significantly smaller vehicle?

And where's the Camry Hybrid? The Altima Hybrid? The Lexus HS250h? The Escalade Hybrid?

Just saying, this blog post is rather glib, but I am not convinced that the numbers in this chart are telling the whole story here.

jkp - that is what I thought too. I also think the Volt will be bigger, and thus more comfortable for passengers.

more importantly, this isn't taking into account the higher electricity bill that you'll be paying due to the nightly charging of your Volt. $'s are $'s, regardless of weather you spend them at the pump or at home. If you're using the full 40 miles every day, that's 8kwh per night, at an average of $0.07 per kwh, that's an additional $204 per year, which eats into the savings considerably.

The problem with all hybrids is their added cost to purchase over regular vehicles. The benefit is larger than the cost difference, though. Or is it? You simply cannot justify the added expense for gas mileage alone. Government tax incentives only go so far and honestly should be phased out.

The reality is that manufacturers need to bring out new models that simply are hybrids only. Not an added version to an existing model. The more cars introduced only as hybrids the more the price will at least appear equalized. Think of it this way...all compacts are now hybrids. That they only way they come. They likely would still cost a bit more than a normal driveline variant, but without a choice it would simply come down to shopping for the car and not the driveline.

Even if I buy into your numbers, it still makes more sense than a Mini-E.

Does anyone really think Volt buyers will be concerned about saving money vs a Prius? give me a break. Also, doing Volt bashing value comparisons WITHOUT a real price is so stupid that I'm almost shocked this was posted here. Suppose the Volt is priced at $37k and not $40k? WHat then? GM has NOT announced a price for this car. If I were GM I would keep hyping up thte $40k number so I can surprise people with the real price. I am willing to bet it will be closer to $35k and be available with pricey options. Watch.

1487: Take a look at the chart again. TMV for the Volt is listed at $33,220, not $40k (or $37k).

sabastian:

Saw that. I'm saying what if MSRP is $37k and the cost is $30k after rebate. Like I said, the price has NOT been set so a comparison is silly. Furthermore, someone else pointed out we have no idea what the standard kit will be. What if a Volt is equipped like a $30k Prius?

jkp1187: "If the $33k price of the Volt is fully loaded"

It would then be a better deal than most of the cars in the IL long term fleet, regardless of mpg.

The Volt is a novelty like Tesla. You want it is going to cost you.

By the way they forgot to calculate how much you are going to pay when you hook up to your wall plug!! is not free!!

And another question: why do we not see Edmunds doing cost-benefit comparisons for idiotically large vehicles like the Ford Expedition? Or performance vehicles like the Nissan GT-R? How does the Volt stack up against those?

Disclaimer: I love my BMW 135i, and have nothing against people driving performance vehicles (SUVs are a somewhat different story,) but my point is, we never see arguments about long-term 'cost of ownership' vis-a-vis gasoline for anything but hybrids or diesels.

'shoe on the other foot' comes to mind. nevertheless all the plugins from whatever maker will be niche vehicles for some time to come. The pricing has to come down to where Joe and Jane Lunchpail will consider it. At $40000 per pop + Taxes and fees the largest portion of the population is excluded.

Even the ardent GM buyer will not be able to qualify for a $40000 commuter car...the banks and lenders simply won't allow it in this new banking environment.

Most buyers are never going to consider a $40000 car either. If they were then Cadillac, Lexus and the Germans would have booming volumes.

But this technology does have to be put on the streets for the public to see and to test. When the pricing comes down sometime during the next decade then the general public will really consider buying one.

Love the chart!

CNN needs to run that story.

GM EV1 = blip

GM Volt = hopefully not a blip but $40k is steep!

"CNN needs to run that story."

I would hope CNN is too reputable to publish this nonstory. A price comparison in which one car has no price is stupid.

Stupid would be running a story about a mileage number that isn't verified by anyone...oh wait, they already did that.

I think most hardliner GM buyers would opt for the fuel efficient Vette over the Volt.

"Stupid would be running a story about a mileage number that isn't verified by anyone...oh wait, they already did that."

There is an explanation about how the number was derived. All the EPA said is that they cant verify it because they haven't tested a production car. No surprise there since the car isnt for sale yet. The EPA didn't say they disagreed with the methodology. Use common sense.