Hey Richard,
I still have my bmw--nothing really beats the performance and power. You still get 40mpg using premium gasoline (the tank holds about 9 gallons) in the Volt. With a normal 60-75 mph driving, you can get about 35-40 miles out of a full charge. So, with an 84 mile round trip, you would use 1 gallon of gas each day + one full charge. At about $3.80/gallon + $1.50 to charge it overnight, each day will cost you about $5.30 for fuel. I am not sure what you are driving, but if your beemer is like my 330, you probably get about 20-25mpg, or use about $11.40 ($3.80 x 3gallons) each day. (You do the math, but one calculations is that you save about $1,525/year + oil changes--which does *not* include weekend drivings. If you found a plug at work and paid the same electricy rate at home, that would increase to $2100.)
When driving from from Florida, I was going 65 mph and got 41mpg on the average with the AC on ECO mode--I swear I got 41 in the day and 43 at night (when cooler), but some in the Volt forums dismiss it as too many factors to tell. A few people in the forums drive much faster than 85 mph daily, so the Volt can handle it, but driving slower will get better mileages.
There is a video out there where a volt was going head to head with high end sports car at 100mph...the electric torque was going along where you can tell that the gasoline engine was struggling to maintain the speed. (Of course, the sports car can probably go further in distance at higher speed; but the Volt was able to combine the gasoline generator with the stored battery power for the drag race. I think after the volt depletes it battery reserves, it would be a different story.)
Wind drag is a killer on any car--not just electric. The volt has a gasoline backup, so it is okay if you are 10-30% wasteful, there plenty to use in gasoline.
Compared to your BMW, you would probably save about $1500-2950/year in combined gas (at $3.50/gal) and oil changes ($30/3,000 miles). I think if you drive 100% in electric, it would be closer to $2950/year. However, I would not use fuel savings as the sole factor. After all, you are getting a car that feels more like a Buick Verano or an Audi instead of a Chevy Cruze, Prius, or a Civic. It is a little light on the luxury than a mercedes or lexus, it has a slightly softer feel than a bmw, but it is far from the cheapy plastic feeling of many entry cars.
I think you will like it, but I do not think it will necessary be cheaper on the wallet than a regular hybrid. (But, if you are driving 80mph in your BMW, you will not be having the same fun in a regular hybrid, either.)
If you are interested, do a test drive. But, I think you will get attached to it. It has a techy appeal to engineers--ha!. One comment I read was that it feels like you are driving an iPod with all of the electronic controls. Voice recognition, navigation, onstar, mylink (like Ford/Microsoft's lync), xm, mp3/usb, keyless unlock and start, android or iphone app, remote start, etc.
I think Parkway has their 2011 that is fully loaded, but many of the local dealership are not moving past $2000 off of MSRP. Parkway is at $44.98k MSRP, and I got them down to about $40.9k with about 4,300 miles before I gave up on them. My guy in Florida offered $4000 off their new 2012 cars with most having less than 500 miles--so shop around.
-KyleH
That's awesome. I was thinking about getting one when it comes time to put the beemer out to pasture. My commute though, might be uncool for the volt. I do 42 miles each way, and drive around 80 mph. I imagine that the wind drag is the killer with an electric. Let me know how you think it would handle my commute. I don't think that it would be possible to charge it here are work. Not real green around here.
