海角大神

When General Motors launched the聽聽Volt plug-in hybrid back in 2010, it chose to emphasize how it differed from electric聽聽by highlighting how its gasoline engine meant folks didn鈥檛 suffer from range anxiety.

Now, almost two years after the Volt launched, charging data by a charging infrastructure company suggests that Volt owners have exactly the opposite problem: gas anxiety.

In short, Volt owners do everything they can to avoid using their car鈥檚 built-in gasoline-powered range extending engine.

And that means plugging in more often than all-electric cars, like the聽.

The data comes from electric car charging provider Ecotality, which has been tracking the charging habits of around 6,000 plug-in car drivers in the U.S. as part of a $230 million research project part funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.听

Known as the EVproject, Ecotality offered plug-in drivers a free home charging station, as well as access to its nationwide public charging network, in exchange for collecting anonymous data on charging patterns.听

The EVproject was set up to see the viability and demand of electric聽聽charging, but its findings so far confirm what many electric car advocates predicted would happen.听

First, the EVProject鈥檚 data shows that those with electric cars like the 2012 Nissan Leaf tend to charge at home most of the time, with a single nightly charge providing more than enough range for daily driving duties.听

鈥淚f you have a home charging station, you don鈥檛 really need to rely too much on commercial infrastructure,鈥� Colin read, Ecotality鈥檚 vice president for corporate development聽.听

鈥淗ome charging meets a lot of our needs,鈥� he continued, pointing out that 89 percent of all聽聽charging takes place at home.听

Second, plug-in hybrids, like the聽, tend to spend more time charging their cars than their all-electric counterparts.

Moreover, those with Chevrolet Volts are 11 percent more likely to charge away from home than Leaf owners.听

With gas prices reaching unexpectedly high levels in parts of the U.S., it is logical to expect plug-in聽owners to prefer using electricity over gasoline wherever possible.听

Although the聽, and Volt聽--already knew about the Volt--that it was primarily an electric car--Read, and Ecotality, were surprised by the data.听

鈥淲e never anticipated that a 40-mile[sic]-electric-range plug-in hybrid would charge more than a 100 percent electric car,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have that gas engine that you鈥檙e paying an extra premium for a reason.鈥�

We鈥檙e not surprised to learn that Volts charge more often than Leafs, but are you?聽

Do you own a Volt? And how would you describe your charging habits?聽