[[email protected]]

Couldn't wait until next year so ordered one sight u seen from Italy and picked it up at Ted's outside Dulles on the way home. Bare bones model with quick charge only option. Having seen how fast the Volt we have loses charge climbing up from low altitudes I was concerned if I could make the 255 mile trip to Floyd VA up on the Blue Ridge. Started at 220 ft. and climbed over 3000 during 255 miles. One way! 45-50 degrees! Because of the lack of convenient D.C. Charge stations I took the 55-60 mph route down 29. I topped up in Charlottesville in case. First Greenlot was dead, still, as was one in Roanoke. The second one worked in Charlottesville. Made it to Floyd on 60.1 kWhr. Very impressed by the increased efficiency of the Bolt over early Volt, both in m/kWh as well as regeneration. Bolt took measurably less juice to climb up the mountains. Really happy!
BUT the seats are weird. After 30' noticed the side cushion irritating. Moved seat back a bit and no longer a bother. Road as passenger last night and realized passenger seat seems more comfortable. Probably an issue of driving position? Anyway no seat warmers so whenI get them installed will get seat bottom modified as well. Great Car. Cold, turn up he heat; lot's of battery.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Sweet! If you keep it under 60 mph, 260 miles is possible even in those conditions. I'm glad you had some fast charging options along the way.

As for the seats, I was able to immediately adjust them to my liking, but the issues I've heard from people vary. Some of those who can't adjust exactly the way they want have put in seat cushions, which they say help. I haven't seen the need to do that yet.

 

[CYAOPEC]

Honestly, non-functional chargers are a joke and a real threat to EV adoption. I hate stories like this where a charger isn't working.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Honestly, non-functional chargers are a joke and a real threat to EV adoption. I hate stories like this where a charger isn't working.

It's kind of exciting, though, when you show up with 2% capacity left. Is it working? 0_0

 

[BAZINGA]

Honestly, non-functional chargers are a joke and a real threat to EV adoption. I hate stories like this where a charger isn't working.

That is my biggest fear and reason I've held off buying a BEV. But it sure looks like GM really over engineerd the Bolt and under estimated its range.

 

[llninja]

BUT the seats are weird. After 30' noticed the side cushion irritating. Moved seat back a bit and no longer a bother. Road as passenger last night and realized passenger seat seems more comfortable. Probably an issue of driving position? Anyway no seat warmers so whenI get them installed will get seat bottom modified as well. Great Car. Cold, turn up he heat; lot's of battery.

Try one of these

https://onpurple.com/seatcushions

They are a little pricey, but well worth it.

 

[Sean Nelson]

But it sure looks like GM really over engineers the Bolt and under estimated its range.

Their range estimate is based on the standard EPA tests. If people get more than that, then it's really the conditions (grade, wind, temperature, etc.) and their driving style that should get the credit, and those same factors should be blamed when people get less.

 

[Raymondjram]

Their range estimate is based on the standard EPA tests. If people get more than that, then it's really the conditions (grade, wind, temperature, etc.) and their driving style that should get the credit, and those same factors should be blamed when people get less.

That ois true even with non-hybrid GM cars. On all my past and my present GM vehicle (2009 Chevy Equinox) I get better MPG than the EPA rating.

 

[Qinsp]

Their range estimate is based on the standard EPA tests. If people get more than that, then it's really the conditions (grade, wind, temperature, etc.) and their driving style that should get the credit, and those same factors should be blamed when people get less.

You can exceed the submitted specifications, but you need a good explanation if you fall short. If the explanation is good, you can just resubmit lower numbers. Hence why so many company run tight on the numbers, there is not much downside to exaggerating.

 

[mczajka]

Couldn't wait until next year so ordered one sight u seen from Italy and picked it up at Ted's outside Dulles on the way home. Bare bones model with quick charge only option. Having seen how fast the Volt we have loses charge climbing up from low altitudes I was concerned if I could make the 255 mile trip to Floyd VA up on the Blue Ridge. Started at 220 ft. and climbed over 3000 during 255 miles. One way! 45-50 degrees! Because of the lack of convenient D.C. Charge stations I took the 55-60 mph route down 29. I topped up in Charlottesville in case. First Greenlot was dead, still, as was one in Roanoke. The second one worked in Charlottesville. Made it to Floyd on 60.1 kWhr. Very impressed by the increased efficiency of the Bolt over early Volt, both in m/kWh as well as regeneration. Bolt took measurably less juice to climb up the mountains. Really happy!
BUT the seats are weird. After 30' noticed the side cushion irritating. Moved seat back a bit and no longer a bother. Road as passenger last night and realized passenger seat seems more comfortable. Probably an issue of driving position? Anyway no seat warmers so whenI get them installed will get seat bottom modified as well. Great Car. Cold, turn up he heat; lot's of battery.

Congrats! Hope to see you at a future mdvolt.org event!

 

[thelogenator]

On the flip side I've observed 175 miles of range on a 100% charge. 70 mile commute, 90% freeway driving at 75 mph, 30 degree weather and heater set to 74 degrees. Conditions and driving style matter a lot. Realistically, if you live in a cold weather climate you should assume you'll only get 60% of the EPA rated range in an absolute worse case scenario. This is true of all electric vehicles. But with a Bolt EV that still leaves you with 142 miles of range which is amazing in my opinion. That's a ton of driving in one day for most people.

 

[Bacardi]

Their range estimate is based on the standard EPA tests. If people get more than that, then it's really the conditions (grade, wind, temperature, etc.) and their driving style that should get the credit, and those same factors should be blamed when people get less.

That ois true even with non-hybrid GM cars. On all my past and my present GM vehicle (2009 Chevy Equinox) I get better MPG than the EPA rating.

For MY17, the EPA catered to more "real world" driving with heavy HVAC/acceleration/speed cycles...If you turn HVAC off, never press the accelerator more than 10% and do not speed, it's not difficult to get 10-20% better of the MY17 EPA range/MPG, whether a Bolt or a ICE Hellcat...

 

[Ladogaboy]

On the flip side I've observed 175 miles of range on a 100% charge. 70 mile commute, 90% freeway driving at 75 mph, 30 degree weather and heater set to 74 degrees. Conditions and driving style matter a lot. Realistically, if you live in a cold weather climate you should assume you'll only get 60% of the EPA rated range in an absolute worse case scenario. This is true of all electric vehicles. But with a Bolt EV that still leaves you with 142 miles of range which is amazing in my opinion. That's a ton of driving in one day for most people.

I agree, but those are often the conditions when you most need that range. On one of my longer road trips, I was only able to get about 160 miles out of 80% charge for the very reasons you are describing (75 mph speeds in 40 degree temperatures). Of course, all of this will be an afterthought when the CCS charging infrastructure is built out with similar coverage to the Supercharger Network.