RE: Vauxhall Ampera: Spotted

[FeelingLucky]

MrBig said:

bozzy. said:

ruprechtmonkeyboy said:

You can pick up a Golf GTE for not much more than that. A far better prospect!

Perhaps, although Car magazine only averaged 37.2 mpg out of their long term loaner! I’d take that with a pinch of salt though, I’m sure more is possible with the right driver.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/amp/car-reviews/long...

As someone who has done more than 2 years and 55k in a GTE I would love to know how the hell they managed that. I have a 70-90 mile daily commute (depending on route) and I average an indicated 70mpg. My Octavia VRS doing exactly the same use that it replaced was averaging 44mpg. That is being charged at either end, but that is the point of the car. If you buy a plug-in and then treat it like a normal car, then you will get st fuel economy and should have bought a regular 'ICE' car.

We quite often pop to the shops or into town at the weekend on EV mode, and I like the fact I'm not using a stone cold petrol engine to do the 4 mile school run when its raining. These cars are niche, no argument there, but if they are a good fit for your likely use they make a lot of sense.

As we have a charging point at home I have often looked at the Ampera as a viable option, but the age of the batteries on the older ones is a concern. Also, they seem to have picked one of the worst petrol engines available from the GM range? Still a tempting proposition, especially for the money, but part of me wonders how well it will age over the next 3-4 years which is how long I would be looking to run it for.

It mentions in the article how they rarely charge it up by plugging in. Staggering, and utterly the wrong person to conduct a long tem test of a PHEV.
I also average over 70MPG, but the vast majority of my journeys are completed in 100% EV (which is statted separately from the MPG readout, MPG refers to hybrid modes).

I heard an anecdotal story (3rd hand) originating from a Vauxhall marketing man, about how the cars were imported to UK some months before going on sale, and being stored in a field. Unfortunately at the time Vauxhall weren't aware to the poor design of the tailgate seal and they all leaked. The return rate due to electrical gremlins was through the roof. Also check out some of the owner experiences on EV forums, they're horrific.

Oddly the vast majority of users loved the vehicle, many stating the decision to move on to something else was regrettable, but necessary due to clueless Vauxhall dealers most of which didn't have a tech trained on the Ampera. After reading all of this, I, like some have already suggested, moved onto a GTE.

[Shakermaker]

FeelingLucky said:

I heard an anecdotal story (3rd hand) originating from a Vauxhall marketing man, about how the cars were imported to UK some months before going on sale, and being stored in a field. Unfortunately at the time Vauxhall weren't aware to the poor design of the tailgate seal and they all leaked. The return rate due to electrical gremlins was through the roof. Also check out some of the owner experiences on EV forums, they're horrific.

Yes, this happened. A lot of people were getting 2012-reg cars that had been sat in a field since sometime in 2011 and then registered. There were model differences as well, that Chevrolet made between 2011-production cars and 2012-production cars, and you wouldn't immediately know which you had but of course when you need parts for them its a bit tricky.

[sjg]

hammo19 said:

I have been tempted by the Ampera/Volt option. The car still looks modern 6 years on and looks good on the road. Range is very good, the car appears practical and would fit in with everyday life better than some current EV offerings.

My key concern is how good are the dealers in servicing and repairing the car.

It was what put me off, even in SE London it would be quite a trek to an Ampera-capable dealer, there aren't many. That and no roofrack or towbar options for carrying bikes.

Cheap lease turning up for the Golf GTE meant we went that route instead - to be honest with our usage journeys tend to be under 10 miles or over 100 miles so the extra electric range wouldn't have made a huge difference for us.