POLL: LEAF, Volt or neither? Which do you prefer?
by Sam Abuelsamid on Aug 9th 2009 at 6:04PM 
We got a note the other day from Lyle Dennis over at GM-Volt about a poll he's running among his readers following this week's announcement of the Nissan LEAF. Lyle wanted to judge the readers preference among the two electrically-driven cars. As a site that's been dedicated to all things Volt since he launched it two years ago, the results turned out to be pretty predictable. Thus, Lyle suggested we ask our audience, since our focus is less narrow.
The LEAF is, of course, a dedicated battery only car, but its daily range is an optimistic 100 miles unless someone actually installs any 480V fast charging systems, which will still take 30 minutes to give you an 80 percent charge. The Volt, on the other hand, relies on a range-extending internal combustion engine to take you beyond the 40-mile range of its battery. However, since green vehicle options obviously extend beyond electric drive, we've given you a few extra options. Tell us what you think.
[Source: GM-Volt.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Thom 6:16PM (8/09/2009)
Although we don't have pricing on the Nissan Leaf and the Volt It is hard to compare by cost. I do like the Leaf and the 100 miles range. I feel that with the all electric vehicle as a primary commuter and a hybrid as the "go out of town" vehicle that this is the equation that would work for me.I pick the hybrid over the Volt mainly because of the initial cost of the volt over lets say a Prius.
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walter 6:28PM (8/09/2009)
I picked the Leaf, but My cards are in Tesla's court, I can not afford a roadster, and the Model S is more car then I need. I wish you had the option to select a EV with longer range then a Leaf. See the avg person drives less then 100miles, but the avg trip is more then 100miles this is where Telsa wins in my books they are with in range of a bathroom stop. I would say that the Telsa range is way more practical because you can drive from one city to another. People don't want to buy an EV as there only car unless they can get away for a weekend. I have no problem renting a car with the money i saved for a long trip, but not the shorter trips from town to town.
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Anthony 6:26PM (8/09/2009)
How can we know when we have never tested the cars ourselves?
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Brent 4:22PM (8/10/2009)
Exactly
The Wolfdoctor 6:30PM (8/09/2009)
By phrasing the second choice as "I don't want to be stranded" you immediately put a negative spin on that choice, thus negatively influencing the voter. Personally I think that anyone who buys a Leaf will be smart enough to keep his battery charged soas he won't get stranded.
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Dave K. 10:27PM (8/09/2009)
It's not so much a matter of being stranded by carelessly running out of battery range. It's the matter of completing a relatively short drive to find you now have an unusable car. Hook up the charge line, wait a few hours, and you are back to about 50 mile range availability. If the Volt ends up costing $6 - $8k more after tax credit, why deal with the anxiety of Leaf ownership?
Sorry if I have offended the hard core BEV drivers. I need an electric car that's ready to go when I am.
lne937s 3:13PM (8/10/2009)
this is obviously worded as a push poll, with bias for the Volt.
I wonder what the change in results would be if you changed the selections to:
"Forget the oil companies, give me a LEAF"
"I like paying more to do things half-assed, I want a Volt"
smartone 6:35PM (8/09/2009)
I don't get all the electric car love -- all it will take to douse the hype of all electric carsis a few stories of electric car owners having to get towed to their homes because they ran out of juice... meanwhile the Volt owner just has to pull into a gas station.
I am curious to know the MPG of a Volt if you don't ever plug it in? has GM revealed that number?
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polo 11:39PM (8/09/2009)
"I don't get all the electric car love -- all it will take to douse the hype of all electric carsis a few stories of electric car owners having to get towed to their homes because they ran out of juice.."
Really? People run out of gas all the time....people get flat tires all the time....people's cars break down all the time.......cars get towed ALL THE TIME, why would it matter if someone got towed for not refueling (or in this case recharging)?? What you described is a pretty typical experience that happens all the time, and I doubt anyone would be shocked someone didn't refuel/recharge properly. Maybe YOU think all EVs never need to be charged, but I think anyone that buys an EV would put considerable thought into the charging issue and not be inclined to forget or ignore the warnings from their car.
Matt 12:08AM (8/10/2009)
@polo
You're right, people run out of gas all the time... but you don't have to get towed when you run out of gas, you just put a gallon in the tank. Besides, I don't think running out of energy on accident is the only issue, what if you forget to plug in on a Tuesday night and you have to be at work in the morning. My place of business is no less than 50 miles away, that's at least an hour or so of charging, but only about a minute of gasoline at the pump. When you factor in the chance of unexpected trips (kid needs picking up, forgot groceries, medical emergency, etc.) when your charge is depleted it becomes even more of an issue. I don't think the average buyer wants to put any though into their state of charge at any given moment.
That said, most people know to plug in their cell phone every night, know to look at their fuel gauge when they get in the car, and generally don't run out of gas. It's really more just a matter of convenience... I like convenience.
Dave 7:46AM (8/10/2009)
How about a natural disaster knocking out the electricity?
After a hurricane such as the recent ones in Louisiana or Florida, millions of people could be stranded with their uncharged EVs.
Meanwhile, anyone with a full tank of gas can do as they please.
Of course, if you were in either of those situations, 100 miles would not be enough range to evacuate beforehand either.
smartone 9:03AM (8/10/2009)
Looks like the Volt is rated to get 50 MPG which is about what the new Prius gets.
obviously noone plans to run out of juice.. I think the cell phone analogy is apt.. actually more like an Iphone - I have an iphone and there were many times where I ended up being out and about the whole day and ended up with a dead iphone. it is frustrating -
Until the range of electrics increases and the recharging of the battery reduced to under 5 minutes, electrics will be neglected to delivery vans and environmentally conscious users.
The Volt is a practical solution to real world situations -- I think it will be a the first EV to win over the mainstream.
lne937s 9:53AM (8/10/2009)
Dave-
What do you think powers gas pumps?
Without electricity the gasoline stays in the tanks below ground.
Matt 11:24AM (8/10/2009)
@Ine937s
In AL we have ways of pumping that gas when the power goes out... generators (which, indecently run on gas, but they pump a lot more than they use). It works, trust me; I've been through hurricanes for the last 20+ years and I've never had a problem with fuel. I don't see the generator charging a car very efficiently, but it could happen too I suppose.
Anth 9:51PM (8/10/2009)
My local freeway service patrol carries 5 gallons of gas (and will dispense you one gallon). They don't carry an equivalent amount of electricity at 220V (~3kWh) and the necessary charger.
If the car breaks down, yea it gets towed. But if it runs out of gas you go to the gas station, buy a 1 gallon plastic container, fill it with gas and go back to your car. There is no equivalent right now (though the idea of siphoning energy from another EV would be an interesting idea).
lndnftrmdnght 6:44PM (8/09/2009)
Fisker Karma!
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letstakeawalk 12:01AM (8/10/2009)
So much THIS.
Arc 7:07PM (8/09/2009)
I voted Volt, although in my opinion 'complete' EVs > Range extended EVs.
Still, the 40 miles of the Volt is well enough for my needs. (jep, I'm European)
I could live with having an internal combustion engine I don't use, but not with driving around a car that looks like crap. Sorry, Nissan!
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Mike Z 7:12PM (8/09/2009)
Honest, if I were to take the 'which would you write a cheque for' I would say a hybrid (maybe a diesel too). A car is too big a purchase for me for me to take a chance on being an early adapter. 50 MPG is 'good enough' for me for the time being, until electrified (Leaf/Volt) alternatives are offered at competitive prices and with a few years of reliability data behind them.
It's a great thing to be an fanboy, but I don't have enough money to treat a car just like a new gadget.
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Mehdi Cheddadi 11:49PM (8/09/2009)
Smartest thing I read here