Small write-up of my experiences of buying and running a Vauxhall Ampera.
About the car
The Ampera is a PHEV with a ~16kw/h liquid cooled battery, of which ~10kw/h is usable. The battery is T-shaped, and runs under the centre console and behind the back seats (hence it's a 4-seater). The electric rage is between about 55km and 65km, depending on driving conditions. There are two electric motors, a "big" one (148bhp) and a "small" one, and a 1.4L 4-cylinder petrol engine that is relatively conventional. There are three clutches with planetary gear sets etc (I tend to get lost after this point), but the short version is the big motor is used to get moving, the big and small are combined when accelerating hard, and the small motor is used when cruising. The small motor (only) can be driven as a generator by the ICE. The ICE can drive the wheels directly but this never happens in practice.
When the charge is "used up", the ICE fires up and runs the generator. When I say used up, it is never actually used up, as around 30% is kept in reserve. So even if you have 0km electric range the car will spend a lot of time, in city traffic especially, running on battery.
As the battery buffer is so large, even when the range shown is 0km, there is very little relationship between the throttle position and the engine tone (when it is running). There's no tachometer, so you can only really tell engine revs using your ears. At low revs the engine is virtually silent, but at high revs you will notice it.
To avoid the engine oil going stale, the ICE will fire up after every 6 weeks of non-use for 10 minutes (i.e. if you're running 100% on electric). The fuel tank has a capacity of 35 litres and is pressurised to mitigate against the fuel going stale. However, the ICE will fire up to burn off petrol if a significant portion of what's in the tank is more than a year old (car keeps a log of petrol fills and dates).
Model years
Like with all cars it pays to do your research first. Probably the most important thing to bear in mind when buying one of these is that they were only made in for the model years 2012 and 2013, but were on sale between 2012 and 2015 inclusive. You may find a 2015 that is a MY12, and conversely you may also find a (very late) 2012 that is MY13. The easiest way to tell when looking at ads is that the MY12 has no arm rest in the back, whereas the MY13 does. It can also be confirmed if you ask the dealer for the 10th digit of the VIN. C=MY12, D=MY13. (There were apparently some MY14 models made, but never spotted in the wild, so assumed unsold)
There are not many differences between the MY12 and MY13 aside from the arm rest. The MY13 I consider to be a version 1.1 in that some things were fixed and there are a couple of small differences in the software. The granny charger is also different.
Warranties
- 3 year whole car manufacturer warranty expires 3 year after the registration date.
- 6 year corrision warranty. Expires 6 years after the registration date.
- 8 year battery and electronics warranty. Expires either 8 years after registration or 100K miles, whichever is first. Covers granny charger too.
- For warranty to be kept up servicing must be done in an Ampera authorised Vauxhall dealer (Charles Hurst in Belfast is the only one here).
Things to look out for
- Check recalls were done. Boot struts on MY12 were replaced under a recall. MY13 should have the new struts.
- Keyless entry door buttons can fail. Covered by 3 year warranty only.
- MY12 granny charger can fail. If your cable is orange it's the MY12.
- Some MY12 cars had Michelin tyres fitted which fall apart internally. Not likely to be many of these left by now tho.
- Rear reflectors (on the tailgate) fill with moisture. This is a design flaw that was not fixed under warranty. I've read though that there is an updated part number for them, which allegedly fixes the problem.
- Charge door can stick in below freezing conditions. Lots of hacks to mitigate against this though.
Estimating how much mileage was done on ICE
Rough estimate is
(40/LifetimeMPG)*Mileage = EstimatedICEMiles
Our car showed 265mpg lifetime economy, with almost 21000 miles on the clock, so...
(40/265)*21000 = ~3200 miles on ICE
Models and Trims
Earth = base model. I've never seen one of these in the wild.
Positiv = Full spec, leather, front & rear parking sensors, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, etc.
Electron = Positiv plus Satnav and BOSE sound system. Can play DVDs!
Chevy Volt is the same car as the Ampera but with black plastic lower trims on the body, and different front and back bumpers. It also has more conventional (and nicer) alloys. Servicing was taken over by Vauxhall dealers approved to work on the Ampera.
Driving and economy
Charging is done via a Type-1 on the front passenger wing of the car. Max is 3.6kw on a home EVSE, or 10 amps or 6 amps on the granny cable. MY13 defaults to 6 amp when it detected the granny cable, but this can be changed.
Drives like an EV all the time, even when the ICE is running. Plenty of poke. While the Leaf would beat it to 60km/h, it will beat the Leaf at all speeds above that. It's quicker to 100km/h and is definitely better at high speed overtaking. The car is much lower than the Leaf and somewhat sportier to drive, but at the expensive of visibility. Little body roll and the brakes work well.
As mentioned the electric range is 55 to 65km. The GOM, unlike the Leaf, tends to be pessimistic. It might say 55km, but I'll nearly always get more. I don't really know what the urban fuel economy is like on petrol as I haven't driven it around town on petrol much, but it should be pretty good, as the ICE shuts off a lot at low speeds. High speed driving I got mid 50s mpg at 106km/h (indicated) and early 40s at 130km/h (indicated). Strangely, the car at those speeds will get better fuel economy on cruise control than it will on n97 mini control. This is a first for me! The Civic IMA would beat it at those speeds, but for a reason: Ampera is 1.7 tonnes, Civic is 1.2 tonnes.
What I bought
Like a lot of EVs, the prices of used Amperas has held firm in recent years, and in many cases cars have gone up in price. Combined with the fact that the car was around £36,000 new in the UK, you're not gonna get a €5k Ampera, as you could have done once upon a time with the Leaf. Starting prices are generally around £9000 for a high miler, and it goes up from there. Knowing that they were only made in MY12 and MY13 there is the point, where all things being equal (mileage, condition etc) a 2012 registered car will be cheaper than a 2015 registered car, both in purchase price and VRT, so the 2012 will make more sense. The only thing the 2015 will have that you'll be paying extra for is a number plate.
I spent several weeks looking, and ruled out all MY12 cars. MY12 or MY13 makes no difference to the price, but it was an easy way to narrow my search. Eventually settled on a MY13 that was registered in December 2012, black, with 20,700 miles on the clock, with full dealer history, all previous MOTs (confirming mileage was accurate), 1 owner from new, etc etc. It needs a good polish and a small scuff needs to be repaired (no-one notices it, but I know it's there!). The one in the photo isn't mine, but you get the idea.
Everything else.... aka what I like and don't like
A lot of this is in the context of just having come from a 152 Leaf Tekna.
- Car feels space age in a lot of ways. There's the whirring of the battery cooling pump, which reassures me that the battery should still have "all 12 bars" (there are no battery bars in the Ampera) for ever more. OTOH, I worry that the pump will fail some day
- Not having DC fast charging doesn't bother me, as I'd hate to have to be putting up with the public network again, I do wish it had 6.6/7.2kw charging on AC. At home 6.6kw can add a meaningful range in an hour, not so much on 3.6kw, as I know from the Leaf.
- TPMS actually shows tyre pressures without having to use OBD. I don't know why the Leaf doesn't. The downside is that when the car is in metric mode, tyre pressure is shown in kilopascals! Why?! Should be in Bar ideally, but I still use PSI anyway.
- Nice comfort features on it that are probably standard on Vauxhalls, but new to me. Stuff like it will turn on the headlights if you unlock it in the dark with the fob.
- Single biggest annoyance is the in-car entertainment system/heating controls. The buttons are touch sensitive rather than being actual buttons, and while everything you need is in there somewhere, the system has quite a learning curve to it. It's an order of magnitude more complicated than the Leaf, and it doesn't need to be.
- No NissanEV Connect type app, but the fob has a 100 metre range. Preheating can be done from the fob, and is quicker and easier to do than on the Leaf due to the app being so slow. Side lights come on when preheating too, so you can tell at a glance.
- The skirt on the front bumper is incredibly low to the ground. Ferrari low. Scrapes on every speed bump known to man. Fortunately they're cheap to replace (£30) and the bumper itself has average clearance.
I feel like I'm kind of rambling at this stage, so I'm gonna leave it there. Anyone with any questions, feel free.
