Interestingly I could only justify something like this if used as my commute car (2x40miles per day) as that's the only way I can get the money back in saved fuel costs over about 4 years.

My wife does very little milage, it wouild take 10+ years to make it pay doing that.

The Renault Zoe looks more appealing in terms of cost as a runaround.

I'll have to try and get hold of one of those in the future...

Saw lots of 'Volts' in the states earlier in the year and really liked the styling (especially in white). It sounds like a workable proposition. Be very interested to hear your views and how it compares to the Leaf.

The Renault Zoe looks more appealing in terms of cost as a runaround.

I'll have to try and get hold of one of those in the future...

The principle is sound but an electric French car? They cant even do normal electrics on cars reliably let alone an electric powered one!

I'm seriously looking at the ampera as I work 11 miles away so a 22 mile journey daily, so in theory I would recharge every evening and start the next day with a full charge, very occasionally I would go further but the added bonus of the engine recharging it as I'm driving seems a workable option, batteries are the issue how long before they need a replacement ? Plus the initial purchase £ is very high

batteries are the issue how long before they need a replacement ? Plus the initial purchase £ is very high

Out of any of the current extended range and electric cars Id say the Volt/Amperos battery's should prove to be the most reliable and durable due to the design of the thermal management and charge control systems ie they never fully discharge and it includes both heating and cooling of the cells. They say they expect them to have a 100,000 miles life cycle as a minimum. If that proves correct then its great news.

I think Jay Leno has a Chevy Volt and has done 11,000 miles with still the original tank of fuel in it. lol

But yeah agreed they should have a better battery life as they will never be allowed to run right down as the engine will just kick in. Also should they need replacing there's not as many of them!

Phil

I think Jay Leno has a Chevy Volt and has done 11,000 miles with still the original tank of fuel in it. lol

But yeah agreed they should have a better battery life as they will never be allowed to run right down as the engine will just kick in. Also should they need replacing there's not as many of them!

Phil

Wow 11,000 miles on the original tank plus the 100,000 miles minimum on batteries life seriously have to consider it

Yeah and he reckons it's costing him about 80c to $1.50 to recharge.

Don't know what it would cost you over here. Maybe not a lot if you have a night electric tarrif.

One funny thing about these hybrids too is that I've seen people use them as an emergency generator.

One guy left his prius in the garage and hooked up his freezers during a big power cut (about 2 weeks) and left it to it. The engine kicking in whenever the battery voltage dropped. lol

Phil

pence per mile still kills off the electric car for now. £30k for a used ampera Vs £12k for a diesel Insignia (keeping it in the family) sill leaves £18k for diesel and tax. That's a lot of diesel even at todays prices.

As a company car, an Ampera / Leaf I would imagine has serious tax benefits. Richard might be thinking about that too.

Odd thing this.

When I took delivery of the Leaf, I was expecting to hate it, but I actually quite liked it.

When I took delivery of the Ampera I was expecting to like it, it should be like a Leaf, only better with the petrol generator built in to increase the range...

But it's horrible. I preferred the Leaf. Even if it doesn't have the fall back of petrol power.

What Vauxhall seem to have done is priced the Ampera quite high at around £35k.

So to justify this they have made it an executive car with lots of toys and a nice leather interior.

The problem is, it feels like a cheap Vauxhall wearing a fancy suit.

The way it drives, the way the steering wheel stalks clank into place, the budget click-click from the indicators.

It's just not a nice car to drive.

Then you have seats, yes they look nice and are leather.

But they have the same amount of movement as a £10k Fabia or £8k Citigo.

There is no lumbar support, there is no seat cushion tilt to support your thighs.

This thing is £35k and you don't even get lumbar support or the ability to get a comfortable driving position!!!

Quite frankly I am disappointed by it.

It just feels cheap under it's stylish interior/exterior.

Odd thing this.

When I took delivery of the Leaf, I was expecting to hate it, but I actually quite liked it.

When I took delivery of the Ampera I was expecting to like it, it should be like a Leaf, only better with the petrol generator built in to increase the range...

But it's horrible. I preferred the Leaf. Even if it doesn't have the fall back of petrol power.

What Vauxhall seem to have done is priced the Ampera quite high at around £35k.

So to justify this they have made it an executive car with lots of toys and a nice leather interior.

The problem is, it feels like a cheap Vauxhall wearing a fancy suit.

The way it drives, the way the steering wheel stalks clank into place, the budget click-click from the indicators.

It's just not a nice car to drive.

Then you have seats, yes they look nice and are leather.

But they have the same amount of movement as a £10k Fabia or £8k Citigo.

There is no lumbar support, there is no seat cushion tilt to support your thighs.

This thing is £35k and you don't even get lumbar support or the ability to get a comfortable driving position!!!

Quite frankly I am disappointed by it.

It just feels cheap under it's stylish interior/exterior.

Well Richard youve put me right off the Chevy now :(

Unlike the Leaf, the electric range on the Ampera is noticably shorter. I can't get more than 34 miles by driving gently.

If you drive less than 30 miles per day (or between 6 hour charges) It's very economical.

BUT... if you drive so few miles you are not going to make the fuel savings to make the car make sense IMO.

If you drive more than 80 miles per day (or between charges) which means a 100% electric car like the Leaf is not for you, so you need the Ampera's back up petrol facility, you may be in for a shock. Because it's not that economical.

Look at this trip today, total miles there and back was 57.6. In the Leaf, this would have been done in one trip under electric power.

20% country roads, 20% light urban and 60% open cruising. A fair mix and test I feel.

As you can see, I got 32.5 miles and then ran out of electricity, doing the rest of the trip(s) on petrol.

But, while using petrol it used 0.58 gallons to cover 25.2 miles. So the economy was around 43.5mpg once using petrol.

Sorry, but that's not good enough.

It means once you've used up the (rather short range) of 30(ish) miles you are in a not very economical car for the rest of the time.

Your average diesel car will crack 60mpg easily driven the way the Ampera returns 44mpg. So on a trip of 120 miles the diesel uses 2 gallons and the Ampera uses it's electric and then burns 2 gallons. So over 120 miles and the diesel is the better option in terms of economy.

I am left with the opinion that if your driving suits an electric car and you have another car in the family, buy a 100% electric one. It has a better range.

If your driving does suit an electric car and you don't have a second car, then the Ampera is not economical enough, doesn't drive very well, is too heavy (200kg heavier than the Leaf) and generally you'd be better off with a much cheaper car using fuel all the time.

Because to have the back up generator to stop electric range anxiety you are paying a high price for a tarted up Vauxhall which in my opinion will not pay for itself over a £20k cheaper fuel efficient vehicle.

In summary and in my opinion:

If I could live with an electric car range I'd buy the Leaf. It's a lot cheaper, has a better range so will be cheaper to run, drives better and is lighter.

An 8 hour charge will give you a range of 80+ miles. (compared to the Ampera charge of 6 hours giving a range of 30 miles)

If I couldn't live with an electric car range I'd buy a fuel efficient regular car. So save a fortune on the purchase cost and choose something lighter than the Ampera that drives better. My old Fabia Greenline Estate II cost £12k new and over 20k miles averaged 72mpg.

Vauxhall Ampera: Great idea, but missed the spot IMO. Electric range too short, car too heavy.

Is this a loaner?

Is this a loaner?

Yes, it is.

It's done about 5,000 miles and is on a 12 plate.