Three things here.

1) the range cluster is called a GOM...Guess -O- Meter. Its based on your driving history and other factors.
if you bought it from somewhere very hilly like Switzerland that means the example driving its basing the guess on will distort the result, it wont really apply to real life for a bit.
This will correct in time.

2) as the days get colder the battery heater will consume more power ESPECALLY when the car is wet and acting like a heatsink, also cold causes the voltage to drop meaning you cant pull as much power from the battery at the buttom(now the ampere doesn't have the problem as 0% is actully ~8% full, but it ewffects what it thinks 8% is, means it does effect range.)
Meaning ACTUAL real world range will shrink this time off year.

3)273lb of torque....are you driving quite joyfully? That effect range

TLDR; Wait for the car to learn you location and driving style.

 

@Marli thank you for your insight. I do have a few more questions.

Is it possible to reset the lifetime mpg gauge on the on-board computer?

Also, I've tested the preconditioning via the remote. The climate is set to ECO. When I turn on the precondition the DLR lights up and I can hear some noises from inside the engine compartment. Just as if the AC compressor works. Is that normal? I was left with the impression that in ECO the AC should not work.

 

Is it possible to reset the lifetime mpg gauge on the on-board computer?

No, its called "lifetime" for a reason!

 

Are you preconditioning when unplugged or immediately before driving and then seeing less than 10.5kWh used?

 

@RunningStrong I have not driven after preconditioning yet. I just tested it with the car stationary so I know how it works. So far I've driven the Ampera w/o any heating.

 

Pre-Condition whilst plugged in to the wall.
ECO mode just runs the heaters and fans more gently, less heat and slower air flow. The AC runs and will fire up if needed. You are more likely to be hearing the water pumps and fans rather then the AC when its cold. the Pre-Condition warms the battery first if needed then the cabin.

The 8.5kW usage is low and may be due to a software update see this software update thread

 

The 8.5kW usage is low and may be due to a software update see this software update thread

Thank you so much!
So flashing the older version of FW should help. Is that procedure possible only @ official dealerships? Has anyone else here done it?

 

My 2012 Volt uses between 9 to 9.5 kwh, so 8.5 doesn't sound too bad. Range between 45-60 km depending on weather and speed. Personally I would not revert to the old software version, as the update was made to improve cell balancing, as I understand it. My guess is that the old software will give longer range but will degrade the battery faster.

You can check if you have a bad cell using the MyGreenVolt app. But it would probably not be worth the cost of replacement in any case.

 

It is possible to reset the lifetime mpg meter, as this happened to me when car was 3 years old. It suffered a major fault when the contators welded, and had to be flat-bedded to be repaired. I don't know what software the dealer reloaded/changed, but it started again from me and the prev history was ignored. The odometer miles the car had done didn't get reset!

 

With a good OBD2 adapter and an android phone you can reset your lifetime using the 'MyVoltLifetime' app. Not something I would personally do because it covers up the cars history a bit and there isn't really any benefit to it.

 

Thanks everyone!
This morning, at ~ 3 degrees (celsius) car was reporting 50 km range (no heating used) and it was going great (+6 km) before I started my ascent to the office which is located in the mountain. When I parked on the lot the GOM showed 17 km left. I guess on the descent back I'll be able to regenerate 2-3 km, but ~ 50 km seems to be the maximum I can achieve at this point. No aggressive driving whatsoever. I'm being really gentle on the pedal.

 

50 km = 30 miles, I have to admit at -3C and up a mountain I'm not surprised. I've seen worse on the flat at -10C and the heating on. Keeping the battery warm is really important as the car will - you have no say in it - keep the battery safe and cosy.
So Pre-Heat if possible, if you have to park all day and car gets chilled use the engine for heat (hold mode) though if its cold enough you will see ERDTT appear (engine running due to temperature) which is a idle mode used to generate heat. On the MY13 models you can set the temperature this runs at (2 or -10C ) I don't know what the MY12 is set to.
At -30? the car will not start unless plugged in. Just how cold is it in the mountains?

 

So today I managed 8.9kwh out of the car for 56km total. Apparently the weather helped a bit, with a cold morning around 5 degrees(C) and warm afternoon up to 20 degrees. I've adapted quite quickly to driving the car, with a very light foot on the pedal and using L mode in the very center of city, while going in D on a more freeway-like roads.

Now, to my new question. I do have a 16A granny charger that I bought. It is brand new. When using it on the 16A mode, the car makes this very light sound as if a pump/fan is working somewhere under the bonnet. Is that normal? My guess would be that the car is cooling it's hybrid battery or something. Should I expect same sound when using public 32A chargers?

 

Noise sounds normal for charging at 3.3Kw it's the thermal management system keeping the battery happy.

 

Could be anything at the moment.

Do several full charges and note how many kWh it says you are using per charge.

Should be around 10 but routinely one kWh up or down.

Time will tell.

 

8.5kw seems low, even after the software update (which caused a 5% drop in mine from 10.3kw to 9.8kw). I have a feeling there was some sort of difference between 2012 cars and the following model years when it came to thermal management of the battery. AFAIA you should try to keep these cars plugged in when not in use, as that way the car can keep the battery happy during either hot or cold temperature extremes even if it isn’t set to charge. But I have a nagging feeeling that 2012 cars will not manage the battery in this situation even if it is plugged in, but 2013/14s will. This might explain why your battery has possibly degraded a little.