Looking for a used car, to replace my Volt
Chevy Volt is also a hatchback. I would keep it if repairing battery is cost effective! It appears that people have replaced the entire battery as opposed to replacing sections.
I prefer a hybrid but also considered Honda HR-C, C-HR, Prius - reviews on Edmunds aren’t great.
Looking at 2019 or older.
Suggestions?
Update: 2014 or newer - Mazda 3 hatch 2014 has the 2lit giving 40mpg on freeway and still going for $14k!
Prius C is basically.a Yaris hybrid. If youre.not going for a prius which gets.the same or bettet mpg. 2019 was.the ladt year for the Prius C. Ownets i know love these little guys. Came in lime green among other bright colors.
It’s hard to go wrong with a Mazda 3 hatchback. They are gasoline powered only, but overall fantastic little cars.
@ledhed75 You rock.
I am reaching the same conclusion with the 2 litre Mazda engine.
Engine performance is closer without the complexity of hybrid.
Hope it has enough rear leg room.
Otherwise, BMW i3 - unsure of its range with 2.5gal gas tank!
I’d run away from an i3, very limited range.
Sciconf, I’m going to guess you have a Gen1 Volt. I drive a Gen 2, 2017. I love the plugin hybrid concept. If you want to stick with that you might think of the Prius Prime. Since Chevy made the brilliant decision to stop making the Volt in 2019 the PP might work for you. GM is now saying they will come out with new plugin’s but not for a few more years.
My web research shows the BMW i3 as battery powered only . Therefore no gas tank plus it has been discontinued.
While the OP apparently wants a used car, I suspect that the “supply” of i3 models is very limited. Those little cars were manufactured for 9 years, and–IIRC–I have seen a total of 3 of them over the years.
By contrast, Teslas are so numerous in my area that it’s almost comical. So, the scarcity of i3s in my neck of the woods can’t be the result of EV resistance. Instead, I think that those baby Bimmers just had very little appeal.
I see rebuilt Volt battery packs for $5000 plus installation. Too much $$$?
Rear leg room on the Mazda 3 Hatch is going to depend on how long legged or tall the person is. I’ve spent a week in the UK version of the Toyota Corolla iM that came to the US in 2016 and it was decent for a 6ft tall person like myself who’s used to that size of car. The Mazda3 Hatch from 2019 has a couple inches more rear legroom according to Edmunds.
The BMW I3 is a little more common in the Northwest than some markets but at the moment there aren’t a lot on the market. Best case total range is about 200mi from what I can find. You do have to use Premimum gas though.
“brilliant decision” ? Why do u say so?
What is PP?
PP refers to the Prius Prime mentioned in the post.
Lower the price, lower the warranty from re-builders! Plus when I need it, there might be a scarcity. Also I don’t drive a lot.
Volt work for me but not for others in my family - Volt is like driving RX450 when you are on freeway.
Thanks @glasspilot - Which generation Prius Prime or Plug in should I target?
Volt battery decay with age - does the Prius battery do the same?
A reputed m/c said there were inconsistent reliability - while a customer had touch screen going bad and complaining that gas saving was wiped out, his wife’s Prius has been reliable. On the internet people said headlight went bad and costed them $400 - a burnt bulb cost $400? I had seen 3rd gen Priuses with one eye!
Also the Motor Generator (aka Alternator) is buried under - if it ever goes bad, the car is pretty much written off - this raises the question, if you own one, how long can you keep a Prius for - what age?
I have little knowledge of Prius but people at home have put Prius next Mazda 3 hatch. I appreciate your insight.
Sciconf, I was being sarcastic about the “brilliant”. Mary Barra made a speech back in 2017/18 ish saying “GM is going all electric so we’re discontinuing the Volt plugin”. The electric transition is going to take a long time and people want plugin cars (to avoid “range anxiety”). Many manufacturers are introducing plugin hybrids and now GM is falling all over themselves saying they will (re) introduce plugins in a few years. It’s obvious Chevy should have stuck with the Volt for a few years longer.
I do give credit to Chevy for making the Volt 9 model years (2011-2019).
Volvo has explained the PP.
Where did you hear the Volt battery “decay” with age? The Volt battery is as reliable as most the other electric cars. By the way, look up the Feb 2017 issue of Car & Driver magazine. They did a shoot out between the 2017 Volt and Prius Prime. I won’t tell you the winner, you get to find out for yourself.
Thanks @glasspilot - I agree word to word.
BTW, I own the gen 1. I love it - Chevy does not make these batteries anymore - you can not buy them new nor it will be affordable. But they came up with bulletin that the sections of batteries can be repaired.
So I am considering replacing it - believe PP has smaller battery than a Volt making it cheaper and you can buy new from dealer. I do not know enough about prius. Tips are appreciated.
What I found out was the batt goes from 4kW, 8kW to 16kW with each gen.
My mom has a 2010 Prius (early 3rd gen) that’s the base trim called the 2 in Prius speak, the problematic HID’s and touch screens are on higher trim models than hers, Bought brand new in the end of July 2009 and it feels no worse than it did almost 15yrs ago. The Prius without the HID takes common headlight blubs that are under $10 on rock auto. The Prius battery does degrade with age but you can get new or reman batteries from specialists that will install included in the price.
If the car comes with HID, can you still install $10 bulb with little or nor modification?
If it has HIDs I’d bet a box of donuts you can’t just swap them out for $10.
Note edit- CAN’T