Hey where have you been?
My $0.02
At the very least, I'd wait a few years to allow them to work out all the bugs of a new model. (that rule can applied to almost anything)
The Volt won't be available nationwide until the end of the year. It is nice and quite, and has perky acceleration.
It takes 10 to 12 hours to recharge with 120 volts, and a bit over 4 fours with 220-volt charger that you have to pay extra for; that's on top of the $48,700 sticker price.
It doesn't do well in cold climates, in the battery-only, usually between 23 and 28 miles of battery life. Calculating the miles per gallon are not really meaningful without knowing a trip's length. That's because calculating a fuel-economy figure depends on the ratio of electric to gasoline use.
From Consumer Reports-
"It is typical to see artificially high mpg numbers on the car's trip computer. For example, let's say you make five trips in a week. Four of them are 25 miles without needing the gas engine. On the last trip, 55 miles, the car uses 1 gallon of gas beyond the 25-mile electric range. The trip computer would calculate 155 miles on 1 gallon of gas, or 155 mpg. That might contribute to the feel-good factor, but the figure is misleading because it doesn't count the electricity used."
Also, read up all that you can from unbiased sources; Consumer Reports gave a lukewarm review, and brought up good points too.
Good Luck!