Chevrolet Says Volt Owners Are Exceeding EPA Fuel Economy Estimates

One of the more interesting electric/hybrid vehicles on the market today is the Chevrolet Volt. This car is isn't a traditional electric vehicle or a traditional hybrid with Chevrolet calling it an extended range electric vehicle. The car uses mostly electric power to drive the wheels and has an onboard gasoline generator that charges the battery when longer driving distance is needed than a traditional electric vehicle will allow.

EPA fuel economy estimates are often wildly misleading when it comes to purchasing new vehicles. Many automotive manufacturers are at the focus of investigations and complaints over drivers being unable to come anywhere near the EPA estimates promised for fuel efficiency. Chevrolet has taken the time to point out that owners of the Volt are routinely exceeding the EPA estimates for driving distance using the Volt.

According to Chevrolet, the typical owner of one of these extended range electric vehicles who regularly charges the vehicle is going 900 miles between fill ups. Chevy says that kind of fuel efficiency is saving these drivers about $1300 a year at the gas pump. Some drivers are going even longer with one Volt owner named Brent Waldrep from Michigan saying that he has driven more than 23,500 miles in his car over the last 21 months only going to the gas station twice.

Waldrep claims that the last time he filled up his Volt was in August of 2012 and he still has 65% of that tank of fuel left. He claims to travel 9000 to 10,000 miles between fill ups. A Volt owner in Texas has been able to travel over 5000 miles on two full tanks of gas. Another owner from California claims to get about 7000 miles between fill ups adding about 3 gallons of fuel to his car every three months. The Volt as an all-electric driving range of 38 miles before the gasoline generator kicks on to keep the car going for up to 344 miles per tank of fuel.

[via GM]