Video: Chevy Volt Owner Averages 3,108 MPG

I always tried to think of getting better gas mileage as a sort of game, with my mpg’s representing the score like an old school arcade game. But I am nowhere near the top of the heap, as one Chevy Volt owner managed to go 1,554.1 miles on a half-gallon of gasoline. That works out to about 3,108 mpg.

The brief video below shows Andy Oury, who is one of GM’s Battery Systems Engineer, reading off some statistics from his Volt driving experience thus far. The maintenance screen is part of a regularly-scheduled engine autostart, which makes the Volt turn on its engine, even if it doesn’t need to recharge the battery, as a way to keep everything functioning properly. Oury leases, rather than owns, his Chevy Volt.

The most important statistic on this screen is how far Oury went on just 0.5 gallons of gas. 1,554.1 miles. Double that, and you’ve got 3,108 mpg. That means that Oury was in EV mode about 99% of the time, and probably had access to a plug-in charger at work (or else he lives really, really close to his office.) Now granted, Oury is a battery engineer, so he probably knows how to get the most out of his Volt’s battery life, so there is that too.

Be that as it may, even Volt haters have to acknowledge that this is an impressive feat for any car. For now, Andy Oury has the top mpg score of anybody I know, beating even the kids getting 2,000+ mpg out of their wacky racers. I’d suggest making a hypermiling video game…but I’m not sure kids are ready to compete for the best fuel efficiency scores. But the bar has been set. Now, can anybody beat it?

Source: Chevy Voltage

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

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Tags: 3108 mpg, Andy Oury, average mileage, Chevrolet, Chevy, Chevy Volt, hybrid, maintenance mode, miles per gallon, mpg, mpge, rating, Volt, volt mpg

About the Author

Christopher DeMorro A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, Chris can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.

http://gas2.org Jo Borras

I would be all over a Gas 2.0 mpg video game challenge.
http://Web Tim Foster

Unless this vehicle received all of its electrical power from nuclear power plants then wouldn’t have to account for the fossil fuel required to generate that electrical power to get a true mpg rating. My guess is that you will wind up with a drastically different result.
- http://www.sublimeburnout.com Christopher DeMorro
  
  @ Tim Foster
  
  How do you figure? The “true mpg rating” of a car is how much gasoline it uses to go X amount of miles. In this case, it required just half a gallon to go over 1,550 miles.
  
  Yes, there is something to be said about *where* the electricity comes from…but a half-gallon of gas is still a half-gallon of gas.
http://Web Fabien

Hi,

Some interesting last results from the eco-marathon shell Europe, not hybrids but still impressive :
The winners in the Internal Combustion class were French Team Microjoule from La Joliverie in a Prototype Gasoline car, achieving 3688.2 km/l, and DTU Roadrunners from Technical University of Denmark driving the equivalent of 509.4 km/l in an UrbanConcept Ethanol car.

3688.2km/l = 10418 mpg
http://Web Fabien

I made a mistake… between US gallons and UK ones.
It’s not 10,418 mpg but 8,675 mpg.
http://Web RSweeney

Hmmm… 3.7 miles per kw-hr for the Volt.
1500 miles = 405 kh-hr.

3.3 kw-hr per pound of coal
123 lbs of coal for 1500 miles
12 miles per lb of coal

That’s a mighty green car.
- http://Web At_Liberty
  
  Some of the electricity is from regenerative braking.
  
  Most power plants – including coal – have to run at night whether the power is used or not. And it’s much easier to control emissions from a set of generation plants than non-point pollution from millions of cars.
  
  Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, genious.
  - http://Web Andy
    
    Or, pay $0.02 more per kwh to your utility (like I do through the DTE Green Currents program) to get all of your electricity generated by local renewable energy resources (wind, biomass). No coal or nukes required to drive my volt!
    - http://Web darth
      
      RSweeny is more correct that he knows.
      
      Coal has about 1/2 the energy density of gasoline, so 123 lbs of coal has about the same energy as 10 gallons of gasoline. (Gas weighs 6 lbs / gallon) If the car used gas for energy, it would be getting 150 MPG (1500 miles / 10 gallons) which seems pretty high to me.
http://Web Fleming

I’ve had my Volt for just over a month now, and I’ve gone 1189 miles on 0.3 gallons of gas!!! That works out to 3963 mpg!!! unfortunately I have to travel to Orlando Thursday so my mpg’s will drop considerably.
http://www.i2eyedesign.com Mac McDougal

The speedo registers “0 mph” for the entirety of the video. Let’s just say that as a piece of storytelling, this leaves a lot to be desired.
http://Web Volt3939

The 0.5 gallons used is actually the assembly line tests performed on the ICE, before the car was even delivered. My Volt had 5 miles on the ODO when I got it, and the 0.5 gallons used already showing.
So far I have added another 0.4 gal. to the use(the trip from the dealer used most of that on the first day!)I have put just over 1000 miles on the ODO so far, and don’t see the need to put ANY gas in so far. The tank is still full from the dealer! How many other cars can claim that after more than a month of daily commutes?

BTW, my Volt runs off the solar installation on my house, so when I charge at home, no coal is being burned to run my car. So far it’s only been charged for a few hours away from home, just to test out the available chargers in my area.
- http://Web Carbon Buildup
  
  So why didn’t you buy a Leaf instead? I average four miles per kwhr, and of course never need gas. Why pay more for a gasoline engine that you don’t use, and a shorter electric range?
  - http://Web tc
    
    like!
http://Web t_

Guys, how much does it cost to move the Volt for those 1554.1 miles(I mean for the electricity)? Just curious.
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http://www.wholebuffalo.com WholeBuffalo

Just curious, is there any problem with the gas going bad in Volts where it so little is used?
- http://www.sublimeburnout.com Christopher DeMorro
  
  @ WholeBuffalo
  
  Gasoline has about a 2 to 3 month lifespan before it starts losing its potency, depending on environmental conditions. However, the Volt has a special sealed gas tank and venting system designed to maintain the potency of the fuel over extended periods of time.
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