Skip to main content

2013 Chevy Volt Review

I love my new Chevy Volt!


How much? Well, not quite enough to be bothered to take a sexy photo of it outside, but still a lot.

No hitting the garage wall for this Volt!
Her name is Stealth.

It was almost Zazzles, because she's so zazzy, but Sexy Nerd didn't get the reference.

(It's from Big Bang Theory. Come on, Sexy Nerd.)


When you get into the driver's seat, the Volt plays a tune and welcoming graphic to greet you.



Preparing for lift off...



2013 Chevy Volt Pros and Cons

PROS:

  • I've driven over 500 miles and have used 2 gallons of gas. TWO!
  • It recharges as I drive, resulting in an average electric range of about 50 miles before changing over to gas.
  • When the Volt does make the switch to gasoline, it's completely seamless. You can't tell at all.
  • There are 4 different driving settings to choose from.
  • I can command the car to do cool things with the voice recognition feature, like tune to a specific radio station, find a song by title, or call my husband. I've spent the last 10 years driving a base model Oldsmobile Alero, so these were all new to me.
  • Sport Mode. It's slightly less efficient, but oh so fun! Who wants to drag race my Volt?
  • Recharging couldn't be simpler. The included charger plugs into our garage wall (no rewiring or anything like that needed).
  • The 2013 Volt includes 3 years of OnStar at no additional charge.
  • The touch screen includes an option to display your photos. The Volt can also look up movie times and give you the weather forecast with fancy graphics.
  • I was able to put all of my MP3s onto a 64GB thumb drive. Plugged into the Volt, I now have my entire music collection available without ever having to change a CD.
  • The price! Everyone online complains that the Chevy Volt is too expensive, but when you sit down and do the math, it really doesn't cost much more than a similarly equipped Toyota Prius. We'll be getting an extra $8500 back with our tax return ($7500 federal incentive and an additional $1000 from New Mexico), plus Chevy took off $2000 and the dealer dropped another $1000 and threw in free window tinting. We also received 0% interest for 5 years with no down payment. What's not to love?
  • The Chevy Volt is a perfect car for road trips. When you run out of electric charge, you still get 40mpg.
  • The pearl accents on the console and inside the doors remind me of a giant iPod. Very sleek!
  • There are lots of thoughtful little touches, like a handle for pulling the trunk closed, a little rectangular compartment in the center console for things like gift cards and ID, illuminated mirrors, a "gentle" horn option for people who are walking in front of you but don't know to move because the Volt is super-silent, and an umbrella/flashlight holder inside each front door.
  • It's not a Prius. Although I like them, everyone drives a Prius. I was hoping for something a bit more unique for my new car.
  • You can't lock your keys in the car. Thank goodness! There is no key to stick into the ignition, just a Start button, so it's easy to throw your Volt remote into the cup holder when you get in and accidentally leave it there when you get out.
  • When our new house is built, the car will be extra "green" because it will be charged with solar power.
  • MyVolt.com allows you to check on your car from online. You can see the charging status and, if you've been having any problems, you can even run diagnostics.
  • Free parking! This may not apply to everyone, but in downtown Albuquerque, there are free chargers for electric vehicles that include free parking while you're plugged in. I'm told the same is true for Santa Fe.
  • The base model includes all the bells and whistles: power everything, touch screen, XM radio, tire pressure sensor, steering wheel controls, Bluetooth, etc.
CONS:
  • People are put off by the price because they don't factor in all the rebates. I think GM would have had more success selling the Volt under the Cadillac name. Or maybe I would just prefer to have a Cadillac than a Chevy...
  • Everyone thinks I have range anxiety and will be left stranded on the side of the road when my electric charge runs out. IT WILL SWITCH TO GAS! No one gets this. Chevy Volt marketing fail right here.
Okay, I do have more cons, but they're really just for my own personal preference. The Volt looks a lot like the Cruze, Malibu, and Impala. I'd prefer my new car to look more unique. The antenna looks cheap. In my Alero, the antenna was built into the back window. I wonder if this might not have been a practical option for the Volt because of interference from all the electrical doodads.

I wish I'd gotten the Volt in silver instead of gray. The color looks nice now, especially with the tinted windows, but I'm worried that it will show dirt and scratches more than the lighter color. Also, I've been kicking myself for not upgrading to heated leather seats and Bose speakers. Sexy Nerd and the salesman told me that I would regret getting leather seats in New Mexico because they would get too hot. Nonsense! (Update: I've now gotten my new car absolutely filthy and the gray actually shows dirt less than the silver. Woo hoo!)

I'm prone to buyer's remorse with every purchase though. How badly? I'm still miffed about a squash I was overcharged for at the farmer's market last month - they owe me 15 cents! Other than a few "would've, should've, could've" thoughts about my Volt, it's a great car.

NEW VOLT UPDATE - ALMOST 10 YEARS LATER:

Chevy Volt in the snow
A freak snowstorm is no match for my 2013 Chevy Volt.

10/9/22

Shopping for a used car? If a new-to-you vehicle is a possibility, it HAS to be a Chevy Volt. Seriously, people - why do I still see so many non-Volts on the road? We've driven mine all over the country and love, love, love it.

But it will run out of electricity. NO! It runs on electricity AND GAS, making it the *perfect* car. My lifetime average is about 100 mpg.

Sexy Nerd is now driving our 2013 Volt, Stealth. I am driving our 2017 Volt, Red. We are a Chevy Volt household. When Chevy comes to their senses and reintroduces the Volt, which should obviously be called Volt 2.0 (and should obviously be available in a sunshiny, sparkly yellow), we'll buy one of those. 

Popular posts from this blog

Cake Mix Pancakes

This reader-favorite recipe is *almost* as popular as my Cake Mix Cookie Bars recipe .  When making Cake Mix pancakes , the scrumptious possibilities are endless. Red Velvet cake mix pancakes. Chocolate cake mix pancakes. Butter Pecan cake mix pancakes. Funfetti cake mix pancakes. (Yes, Funfetti cake mix pancakes!) With this 2-ingredient recipe, you can turn your favorite cake mix into your favorite pancakes. Pancake making at its finest. Cake Mix Pancakes Personally, I think my funny napkin is the icing on the (pan)cake. It's Sunday morning and you're planning to do all the things today - scrub those grody baseboards, polish your quartz countertop that was supposed to be low maintenance but actually isn't at all, sort through the disaster that is the freezer.  While on your superhuman kick, you think I'm going to make my family pancakes for breakfast. Not just any pancakes - the best pancakes ever. I may even serve them as breakfast in bed! You pu

10 Canned Cinnamon Roll Hacks

You're in for a treat. Today I'm sharing my best canned cinnamon roll hacks and improvements for turning store-bought cinnamon rolls, like the Pillsbury Grands ones or even the store brand, into something special.  Dry cinnamon rolls? No thank you. They need to be OOEY and GOOEY. That's just Cinnamon Roll 101. All of these ideas keep Pillsbury canned cinnamon rolls soft, company-worthy, and delicious. These are also great for taking homemade cinnamon rolls up a notch, but what a pain that is. With these better-than-homemade canned cinnamon roll hacks, you'll never bother to bake them from scratch again. Test out some of these ideas tomorrow. Won't it be nice to dig into a mouthwatering cinnamon roll for breakfast? You can't get a better start to your day than that. Canned Cinnamon Roll Hacks Actually, make that 11 easy ways to improve store-bought cinnamon rolls: you can top them with homemade coffee whipped cream . Yum! Nope, make that 12 canned cinnam

Chemical Peel Before & After

This article has been updated! My new chemical peel post, which includes pricing, Jessner peel before and after photos, product recommendations, and a helpful timeline for scheduling your treatments, is at the bottom. My original Jessner peel post (one of the most popular on my site of all time) is at the beginning. Original Chemical Peel Article Considering a chemical peel? I recently underwent my first Jessner peel and thought I'd share my results, post a Jessner peel review, and answer some frequently asked chemical peel questions. (I'm guessing that "Does a chemical peel hurt?" is a biggie!) I'd been planning to order an over-the-counter peel when we were in Iceland , but my computer led me a different direction. I decided to do this on a whim after Groupon greeted me one morning with a great $40 chemical peel deal. Now, I can read your mind. You just gasped in horror and thought  You trusted your face to a  discount  chemical peel?!  You're wondering w

Hello Fresh Complaints

Hello, my bloggy friends. I have a HelloFresh complaint and believe they are pulling a scam. Yours truly came *this close* to falling for it.  Maybe scam is too harsh of a word. Sneaky? You can decide for yourself. The fact that there are so many Hello Fresh complaints online does seem suspicious. My main complaint about Hello Fresh has to do with their promotional rate, which seems like it is set up to be intentionally misleading (more on this below). Despite so many people complaining about being charged more than they thought they'd agreed to, Hello Fresh maintains this as part of their business model and continues to mislead. So it's intentional, right? I do not recommend Hello Fresh. For starters, the service is just ingredients-by-mail with recipes, not meals. You can buy your own ingredients for much less, especially now that most grocery stores conveniently offer pickup and delivery. Excellent recipes are easy to find.  Click here for a list of top-rated, reader-favorit

Window Seat Idea - Dream Home Inspiration of the Day

See it? Waaay at the back of the photo?  I like how the window seat extends past the window all the way to the wall. How about you? If that's not your style, how about one of these lovely window seats? I'll seat you, my pretty, and your little dog too. How perfect would this be in a home office? I'd swap out that wimpy rug with a larger one.

How to Move a Mattress

My site is popular for reviewing memory foam mattresses. With today's bed-in-a-box options lasting much longer than the traditional 7 years of a spring mattress, there's a good chance you'll eventually need to move one. But how? This is  how to move a mattress  without damaging it - even by yourself!  When we were faced with the challenge of moving our beloved Amerisleep AS3  to our new home, it seemed like my readers would enjoy the details. This handy tip should work for any memory foam bed, including Casper, Leesa, and Nectar.  I'm happy to report there is an extremely simple way to do it. Apartment and dorm dwellers rejoice! How to Move a Mattress At first, I wasn't sure how to move our king-size mattress down a flight of stairs. It's a problem we've dreaded solving ever since we made the decision to build a new house.  The answer? It was right in the back of our truck.  Ratchet straps . This solution could also serve as a 'How To' for returning

My Instant Pot Explosion!

Like many new Instant Pot owners, I've wondered, How many Instant Pots have exploded?  (Eeek!) I'm happy to report that my research on Snopes and other sites has shown that these do not explode, at least not when used properly. There is a lawsuit between a woman in Texas and the Instant Pot manufacturer, but she admits she had thrown a towel over the steam vent. Do NOT do this.  Still concerned? Consider that on Prime Day of 2018, Amazon sold more than 300,000 Instant Pots. That's more than a quarter of a million sales in only 1 day! If these things were not safe, you would see news stories every day about someone being injured. Still, things can go wrong. We love our Instant Pot, the digital pressure cooker that seems to suddenly be in every home. You can't mess up - just throw in random ingredients and you'll get something yummy every time. It's foolproof. At least, that's how I used to feel about our Instant Pot, until the explosion... Inst

Sharing Funny Memes

Funny Memes Post 2 of 3:  kittydeschanel.com/2021/05/funny-dog-memes.html Funny Memes Post 3 of 3:  https://www.kittydeschanel.com/2021/12/christmas-memes.html You know those people who have nothing better to do than browse through memes for hours at a time, many of which are in poor taste? Yeah, I'm one of them. Oh, except I actually do have so much to do and absolutely should not be scrolling through memes. Just try and stop me. Covering everything from working to cake, here are my Top  Funny Memes from the last week: More Funny Memes to Make You Smile: The last one was created by yours truly. Kitty Deschanel - now a source for funny dog memes AND original memes! Funny Memes Post 2 of 3:  kittydeschanel.com/2021/05/funny-dog-memes.html Funny Memes Post 3 of 3:  kittydeschanel.com/2021/12/christmas-memes.html