Chevrolet Bolt – Wired gets 240+ miles from one charge

Wired staff drove a pre-production Chevrolet Bold electric vehicle down the California coast from Monterey to Santa Barbera. When they had racked up 240 miles (386 kilometres) the range estimator still showed 20 miles (32 kilometres) remaining.

/ Chevy Bolt electric car electric vehicle EV cell battery charge recharge charger fast charger Supercharger lithium ion LiIon LiFeO4 lithium iron phosphate Tesla 60 kWh kilo Watt hour battery 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car 240 miles single charge lowest range achieved driving four Bolt EVs along the California coast same trip 32 miles remaining car’s display 2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car 238 mile EPA range rating 119 MPGe combined Bolt EV EPA range rating 238 miles combined real-world use six-hour drive route 235 miles Monterey California south Santa Barbara scenic coastal Route 1 one of the most frustrating routes in the world Chevrolet team member comparatively free slow-moving rented motorhomes gawking tourists half the drive route covered speeds 40 to 60 mph country roads highway toward the end trip keep up with traffic 70 to 75 mph crested 2,000-foot pass over coastal mountains descending sea level our destination air conditioning low counter temperatures more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit miles before final grade Bolt replaced miles-remaining number instrument cluster orange Low Range warning halfway up the grade warning began flash insistently GM passenger it’ll be fine warning comes up based variety factors kicked in on the early side some battery capacity remaining traveling up to 75 mph before starting the steep climb 60-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack motor rated up to 150 kilowatts 200 horsepower relatively light Bolt EV remaining range inescapable physics energy used overcome aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed mix of speeds Bolt EV delivered 4.1 miles per kilowatt-hour 240 miles used 58.7 kwh 97.8 percent total stated pack capacity of 60 kwh less aggressive driver achieved 4.8 mi/kwh 4.5 mi/kwh remaining range price half average Tesla sold today electric car market second-generation Nissan Leaf Tesla Model 3 electric BMW crossover utility compact-sized electric car Volkswagen other vehicles 200 or more miles of range Bolt EV pre-production Bolt EV may not quite correspond final vehicles hit dealer floors before the end of the year Bolt EV’s shape short length tall height boxy bigger car substantially larger Chevy Spark Mitsubishi i-MiEV interior wide remarkably spacious four tall adults can sit easily inside unlike Volt flat floor center position rear real seat seating position perched on a hump Bolt’s interior large crisp displays central touchscreen touch screen fully digital instrument cluster size resolution brightness easier to read information simple speed range remaining energy cluster total energy consumption other data central display thin seats comfortable room in the back full-sized adults normal Drive mode gear selector lever just like automatic transmission idle creep keep foot on the brakes alternative Low range increases regenerative braking considerably smoothly slow the car complete stop without using brakes one-pedal driving Tesla Bolt EV regen Chevy electric cars mimic automatic-transmission driving experience various modes that increase regen one-pedal driving conventional mode Bolt EV genuine one-pedal driving conventional feel idle creep entirely absent in Low hill-hold function mode Sport mode remaps accelerator deliver power more quickly weight 3,580 pounds relatively light 60-kwh battery size 94-cubic-foot interior volume handling and roadholding predictable 200-hp motor more than enough performance keep up with traffic acceleration is good too looks considerably smaller than it actually is tall wagon small minivan interior volume 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV more interior volume than you'd expect superb instrumentation electric-range cars costing twice as much enjoyable performance electric vehicle Bolt EV usual test route recharge speed winter 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pricing features trim levels options released car on-sale /