I don't think there are any premiums, at least with a good dealer. I negotiated mine to below the sticker price.
No doubt a Cruze would save you money on gas over your mini-van, and cost less to buy than a Volt (but not less to fuel and maintain!) But a Cruze is not a comparable vehicle to a Volt in terms of performance, handling, ride, and tech features, so you pay less and get "less". Some things are priceless, like driving past a gas station in bad weather or a dangerous neighborhood at night because you've got plenty of charge.
Few people need a Level 2 charger for a Volt. I didn't get one for home, and don't use one at work. After almost a year and a half, I still see no use for one. Just regular outlets. I commute 68 miles round trip, no gas. I charge at night from when I arrive home at the SLOWER 8 amp rate and usually done charging by ~3 AM. At work I charger at the faster rate from 8 AM and it's done around 2 pm. I arrive to work/home with 15-20 miles range left, so my Volt has an estimated battery range of ~50+ miles.
On longer trips and vacations (150 to 500+miles) I have gotten between 191 and 69 miles per gallon, just by plugging in overnight at the hotel/motel or using the occasional Level 2 station.
Or just drive it like a regular car, only charge overnight at home, and you'll still be amazing at the savings and mpg.
You don't typically use all the battery in your Volt before recharging, unless you have a mega-commute, so the ~9 hour charge time is exaggerated worst case. You always keep it plugged in when at home, top it off like a cell phone. Just doing that, it's not hard to do 60,70 or more miles in a day all EV, especially in your climate (I live in hilly chilly New England!), more if you happen to run in to a Level Charging station while out.
Your electric bill may go up ~$30-35 a month, per 1000 miles a month. Yes, that's really cheap, 3 to 5 times cheaper than gas.
The computer 'calculates' a remaining oil life based on usage.. presumably more than just milage too.
