230 miles per gallon were designed to be in the Chevy Volt, with first GM estimates. The formula used for this wasn’t ever approved for the car. This means all hybrids will have to recalculate their mileage from this mistake.
Hybrid mpg calculation
Hybrid calculations of mileage were hard for the EPA to figure out. The standard calculation for “real” miles per gallon involves simply dividing the number of miles driven by number of gallons of fuel. Unfortunately, it is a bit more complicated for EPA estimates. City driving, highway driving and the maintenance of the vehicle all impact the efficiency of a vehicle. Hybrid vehicles add variables that also complicate this estimate. A mpg estimate formula issued by the EPA is very complicated usually.
The problem with Volt’s calculations
The government decided to give out their own formula on calculating mileage for the Chevy Volt. The formula never hit “final approval” if you ask the EPA. In original marketing, the Volt was touted as getting up to 230 miles per gallon. Now, GM and government regulators are “working collaboratively” to come up with a new formula to estimate miles per gallon. New calculations will make it between 70 and 140 mpg probably.
Electric needing to be balanced too
Regulators have always had a hard time with electric cars. The fluctuation of energy and fuel make comparisons with money hard to do. Mileage is just something that we don’t correlate with electric cars. It is nearly difficult to determine considering the mileage of a hybrid is affected more by variables such as habits while driving. In short, the EPA is working hard to answer a question that is, at best, difficult.
