One spectacular Christmas, my guys received Power Wheel Cars and they drove around my parent’s house like two speed demons trying to beat each other to any and every destination they could dream of. They both felt so powerful and free and they raced until their batteries were out of juice and needed to be plugged back in. So a little while ago, when Chevy asked me if I’d like to try out a 2015 Chevy Volt it instantly made me think of those days. Except this time I’d get to be behind the wheel of a fun electricity-powered car, not them. This time they’d be the backseat drivers.
The cool thing about the Volt I tested was it had enough battery to do about 30 miles on an overnight charge but would also use regular gas if I drained the battery. So sure enough on a drive from Seattle to Bellevue and back, I watched as it switched over on my dashboard screen and my car kept going. (Thank goodness!) And I didn’t have to stop to recharge or refuel.
I’ve been a lot more into things that make life greener lately. So this Volt was amazing because my hubby and I drove around Seattle for a week and a day and didn’t even have to fill up gas once.
We even had a ton of gas to spare.
We drove to THE Roastery. (Yes, the Starbucks one that I’ve been addicted to since it opened.)
And a fancy party. (I thought my driver was pretty handsome-I love when we get to get dressed up!)
We tried out Stateside. Their lunch noodle bowl was delicious. And their cinnamon dessert is divine.
And we drove it early one morning to the new Rodeo Donuts pop-up but not early enough to get donuts (next time.)
We visited Fisherman’s Terminal and grabbed some fish and chips. (This is one of my favorite almost-secret Seattle places.)
And we had a fun dinner at Spaghetti Factory. (If you get a window seat there is a fantastic view of the Echo sculpture at the Olympic Sculpture Park)
I even made it to my book club in Ballard and survived parking AND an incredible rain storm.
We did a bunch of mundane and ordinary errands too like driving to school, lessons, groceries and work and we liked watching how much power we used getting to our regular activities.
So this was definitely a fun week of driving. And I especially loved that I could plug MY CAR in at home just like I plug in my hair dryer and toaster or my kids old Power Wheels. I hope there are more cars like this in the future-it was so nice not having to go to the gas station. And we are now thinking that an electric or hybrid vehicle is the way to go for our next vehicle. So thank you Chevy! My family had a great time driving the Chevy Volt.
(PS. I received the use of the car for the week and a day from Chevy but I did not receive compensation nor was I required to blog this post and of course these ideas are my own. I provided the electricity to power the car for a bunch of the miles and now I’m curious how much it costs to actually power an electric car from my home plug but I know it’s definitely less than the cost of gas.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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