Any Ampera owners on here?
Discussion
I'm still thinking about scratching the "EV with range extender" itch.
I don't want the i3.
That seems to leave either the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV or the Ampera.
I saw an Ampera recently and the outside looked really cool.
Has anyone got one and would they care to share their real-world experiences?
Thanks
I don't want the i3.
That seems to leave either the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV or the Ampera.
I saw an Ampera recently and the outside looked really cool.
Has anyone got one and would they care to share their real-world experiences?
Thanks
Thanks for the replies so far
mids - any idea which dealer is selling them at 21k new? That is really very cheap considering they started off at 30-something. They did feel over priced at 30-something. I know that it's new tech and the battery costs a lot of money etc. but still, that's basically 5-series money even when you factor in the government grant.
purpleperil - question, does the range extender mode also charge the battery? For example I want to be able to go through town on electric until the battery is depleted, then go on the motorway for a couple of hours in range extender mode, and then have a full battery for when going back into town at the other end. That would be a good use case for me.
Or is the the case that once the battery is depleted, you are in range extender mode until you plug it in?
It isn't obvious from the info on the web, and I would rather know as much as possible before troubling a dealer...
mids - any idea which dealer is selling them at 21k new? That is really very cheap considering they started off at 30-something. They did feel over priced at 30-something. I know that it's new tech and the battery costs a lot of money etc. but still, that's basically 5-series money even when you factor in the government grant.
purpleperil - question, does the range extender mode also charge the battery? For example I want to be able to go through town on electric until the battery is depleted, then go on the motorway for a couple of hours in range extender mode, and then have a full battery for when going back into town at the other end. That would be a good use case for me.
Or is the the case that once the battery is depleted, you are in range extender mode until you plug it in?
It isn't obvious from the info on the web, and I would rather know as much as possible before troubling a dealer...
Had a good look at one today.
I love the exterior. Very futuristic and a real head turner. It looks really good in silver or white. It's the best looking Vauxhall on sale today (IMHO).
The interior I am not so sure about. I love the door design and the swooping swage line that runs all around the top of the dash. Like the Insignia or Jaguar XJ. But the centre console, with its shiny grey plastic, monolithic design and screen protruding above the dash, looks a little tacky. The membrane controls reminded me of a ZX81
and would surely be difficult to use when driving. And I don't see the point of having a hulking great gearshift lever in the centre console when it's all electronic. Surely they just need a little switch on the dashboard like the Prius. It feels out of place and rather bizarre.
Bit torn at the moment as to whether I should take a test drive. I need to decide whether I could live with that centre console! I feel like I should be waiting for the Gen2 (assuming there is one).
I love the exterior. Very futuristic and a real head turner. It looks really good in silver or white. It's the best looking Vauxhall on sale today (IMHO).
The interior I am not so sure about. I love the door design and the swooping swage line that runs all around the top of the dash. Like the Insignia or Jaguar XJ. But the centre console, with its shiny grey plastic, monolithic design and screen protruding above the dash, looks a little tacky. The membrane controls reminded me of a ZX81
and would surely be difficult to use when driving. And I don't see the point of having a hulking great gearshift lever in the centre console when it's all electronic. Surely they just need a little switch on the dashboard like the Prius. It feels out of place and rather bizarre.Bit torn at the moment as to whether I should take a test drive. I need to decide whether I could live with that centre console! I feel like I should be waiting for the Gen2 (assuming there is one).
I tried an Ampera out today.
On the plus side, it looks really great (did I mention that before...) and NVH is pretty good. It's also quite nice to drive; nicer than a Prius. Having all that torque instantly from standstill is really cool. And you can get a surprising amount of stuff in the boot; I thought it would be tiny but it's not.
Main issues for me were:
On the plus side, it looks really great (did I mention that before...) and NVH is pretty good. It's also quite nice to drive; nicer than a Prius. Having all that torque instantly from standstill is really cool. And you can get a surprising amount of stuff in the boot; I thought it would be tiny but it's not.
Main issues for me were:
- Interior quality is not that great. I already mentioned the centre console. I couldn't see myself living with the buttons. Also, the graphics on the TFT screens felt rather cluttered.
- As others pointed out, you are really meant to charge it regularly and drive it as an electric car, using the range extender only when you need to. I hoped that it would be possible to drive it like a Prius with a really big battery (sort of like the Prius plug in which Bonefish Blues suggested), but you can't really do that. You could manage the power yourself using Hold mode and the various other options, but that defeats the point.
- When the range extender is running the economy is not very good. I managed about 39mpg in this mode. Allowing for the fact that I wasn't used to the car, let's add 10% and then be generous and round up to 45mpg. Not great. Under similar conditions I can get 55mpg in the Prius+, and that has 7 seats (the Ampera has 4). Again, I get the impression that range extender mode is there as a backup in case you can't charge, rather than for daily use.
c1derman said:
Thought I would go and look at one as I have a Vauxhall dealer close to where I work in Bristol. However once inside I was told they didn't have one to see, so I just asked for a brochure instead. The sales chap then went looking for one. He came back empty handed and asked a colleague where they were. This colleague went on to say that they don't actually sell them and the closet dealer that did would be Swindon...oh and I could download a brochure online. Great.
Yeah, according to the website it is only sold through certain specialist Vauxhall dealers and servicing has to be done through one of the specialists as well.I think they missed a trick there. They would surely do better if normal Vauxhall dealers at least had access to a demo model. I guess the dealers need special training...
For me there were three deal breakers in the end.
The first was that the mpg in petrol mode isn't that good.
The second was that the engine cannot charge the battery. Once your electric range is gone, you HAVE to plug it in to get it back. This was a major issue for me. I wanted to drive around on leccy in town and then use the engine on the motorway and get it to top up the battery at the same time so that I then had a full battery for when I am back in town. No can do. (I think the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV can do this.)
The third was that I couldn't get on with the interior.
The first was that the mpg in petrol mode isn't that good.
The second was that the engine cannot charge the battery. Once your electric range is gone, you HAVE to plug it in to get it back. This was a major issue for me. I wanted to drive around on leccy in town and then use the engine on the motorway and get it to top up the battery at the same time so that I then had a full battery for when I am back in town. No can do. (I think the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV can do this.)
The third was that I couldn't get on with the interior.
It's a shame but IMHO they didn't really help themselves. The Ampera was only available in a small number of dealers. I bet most people had never even heard of it.
My personal deal breakers were listed above. If those had been solved I might have bought one.
I can see diesel owners getting hit with higher taxes soon and this will surely create a shift to petrol/EV/hybrids, perhaps the Ampera was just too ahead of its time.
My personal deal breakers were listed above. If those had been solved I might have bought one.
I can see diesel owners getting hit with higher taxes soon and this will surely create a shift to petrol/EV/hybrids, perhaps the Ampera was just too ahead of its time.
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