Community Question: Is A 200-Mile Range From The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV Enough?
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The average American drives around 37 miles per day. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is good for at least 200 miles on one single charge. Sounds like plenty, right?
Loading up the calculator with those numbers, and performing some very basic math, shows that range would be good for about 5.5 trips, driving 37 miles per day. These numbers are the basis of today’s community question. Is a 200-mile range enough for you?
From our viewpoint, yes, it is. Why? Because the 2017 Bolt EV can recharge up to 80-percent of its battery in merely 45 minutes. No, it’s not the same as driving up to the local petrol station and filling up in less than two minutes, but the Bolt EV won’t leave you waiting around when you’re ready to drive. It would merely require an hour of planning time.
That said, we know there are plenty that would disagree. But we’d counter with maybe an electric vehicle isn’t the solution for said argument. That’s why the 2016 Chevrolet Volt exists; for those who suffer from extended range anxiety, our dear friend gasoline is ready to kick in at a moment’s notice to take over from our mere acquaintance, the electron.
We’ll leave it at that for you. Now, go ahead and vote in our poll below and do discuss in the comment section below.
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A 200 mile range is good for now but as other manufacturers join the part and up the ante then Chevrolet will have to find a way to keep its advantage.
You nailed it. My Volt behaves exactly the same way. I have to look at the Bolt as a 100 mile range car, because in January when the temps are in the negative degrees, that’s exactly what the Bolt will be. I read GM (actually LG) is using a chemistry that’s supposed to handle temperature variances better, but I’ll need to see more more facts and testing before that sways my thoughts on the issue.
You buy a Volt if you want unlimited miles and a Bolt if you never get anywhere near 200 miles in a day.
I think it is good enough, but have a big question. We have a Volt and the range is cut nearly in half in very cold weather. What will be the impact on the Bolt? If it is similar, range may go down closer to 100 miles. Will this cause range anxiety for those who rely on the Bolt as their only vehicle in cold weather areas? This is a side of electric cars that doesn’t seem to get too much attention.
Good enough for around town and daily beater work.
To solve the longer trip issue it is not range but charging times that will be the issue. Until you can charge in the time it takes to fill a tank it will be life style altering.
Say I leave Ohio going to NC. This would require me now to stop in Southern WV and wait the required time to recharge my batteries. As of now 10 min I am in, take a leak, grab something to drink and in NC in just over 5 hours.
As it is now most charge times will be longer than my trip and if I use the fast charge too much it could reduce the life of the batteries.
This is where the Hybrids will fill a larger roll till they solve the charge time issues.
That is why this will take Gas, Diesel, Electric, Hybrid and Hydrogen to solve the many needs of many people. GM is doing it right working all areas as no one single way fits all.
Yes and no. A 200 mile range is great for now, but GM’s EV powertrain team should have their eyes further down the line. It’ll only be a matter of time when a 200 mile range won’t be enough to woo buyers. A longer range should, if not already, their top priority.
Hypothetically, say a 1000 mile range. Enough juice to last you all week, then just plug it in on the weekend when you’ve got down time. Get the recharging time for the car scheduled as routine as it is for your phone; say every Sunday evening at 6pm. Do it routinely and you won’t even think about range anymore.
When range anxiety is safely out of way and out of the buyers mind, the GM can safely ramp up EV production across the product range.
Well if it’s for people who travels about 40 min away from their house to work and back then they might have just a little juice left. But if you say to travel from New Mexico to somewhere like Los Angeles then it’s gonna be a bit of a stretch. But if you say around town then it’s liveable
I don’t want a thousand-mile-range EV. That means I’m paying extra for batteries that I don’t need, which might fail, and cost me a fortune.
Ask any first-gen Prius owner that had to do a battery swap.
500 miles I think will be the eventual sweet spot on the very high end, 200 miles is sufficient for even long distance driving… once the SAE DC Fast Level 3 charging network equals Tesla’s existing Supercharger footprint.
Scott 3, any word of these new chevrolet equnoix getting voltec 2 electric drivetrain?
Not that I have seen.
The weight has dropped but the trouble is the large frontal area and aero drag. This is a killer for EV range and may limit the use in a taller vehicle for a while.
I would not be shocked to see the Malibu Hybrid system though in the Nox. Now that system is based on the Voltec 2 but much better suited to work in the Bu since it is not a plug in.
That is my prediction once the new Nox arrives. Officially I have seen nothing but if you really look at things it would make the most sense. Note the Bu and Nox are on similar platforms.
I think the Bu non plug in system would really be a home run in this segment.
We should know more soon as the new Nox is not far out.
I see GM wanting to do more EV models. Range like here is not so much the issue but it is the chagrining time. We can now travel a good distance but we still have to wait to re energize. That changes your travel plans and that will be the next hurtle.
The trick there is to charge a batter fast but not do long term damage. Many systems today have a fast charge but they can shorten the life of the battery long term.
The “charging time” depends if you want it now or can do it overnight. Do you stand and wait for your smartphone to recharge or do you let charge while you sleep or work? Apply the same to the Bolt EV or any future BEV. And overnight charging is much better than having to visit a service station under bad weather. Would anyone use a smartphone that needed gasoline for refueling?
You are missing the point.
For an EV car to replace the ICE car for many people they will want to have a car that can be repowered in the same amount of time they can refuel anything they have now.
To own one car and live with it for all use one could not use a Bolt for that in many cases. To make a trip as many still do it would be extended with 2-3 charging periods just to go 600 Miles.
Now if all you used your Bolt for is just going to work and the store then you are golden.
As it is now if you want to use the phone deal. Many people can not wait over night to charge a phone so add on battery packs and plug in chargers in their cars as they go keep them from having to give up any of their needs and or lose anytime.
This is why GM is still doing Hybrids and looking into other options as while EV cars have come a long way there is still much to do even if the range is good.
Right now the ability to charge in the time of a gas fill would satisfy many drivers and make a EV a car they could live with as a single car.
I just look at the state of the EV cars and what part of life people would have to change or plan around over a ICE and these are the areas that still need work. I expect at some point in the near future many of these will be handled but not yet.
Range here on the Bolt is good for a commuter car but for a one car does it all like some people need it falls short.
The other issue is city dwellers. If you do no have a charging station at home where do you charge?
Ride sharing is appearing to be one option GM is looking at but I expect we may see more options.
But like the cell phone some people can wait over night but many like my wife she has the extra power pack to make it the rest of the way along with the plug in of the car evey time she drives.
If someone can make a battery that charges in less than 10 min’s they would hit a home run. It will be done but who will get there first?
A “battery that can charge in less than 10 minutes” doesn’t exist even for smartphones because the energy transfer is too high. Present smartphones (including your wife’s) use opportunity charging when and where it is possible so they don’t have to wait until the battery is charged. As for your wife using a “power pacK’, that is because the smartphone battery is small enough to carry, and the plug-in is using a second battery that is charged by the gasoline engine of the vehicle. But if they didn’t exist, would she watch and wait for those 10 minutes, or do something else? That is why overnight charging is the best solution.
Charging outside of the home is not the best solution, and this BEV isn’t built for long distance traveling, just so a compact isn’t built to carry tons of cargo. Most car owners never do long trips driving their own vehicle, and prefer to rent or use mass transportation. So those are the best candidates for a BEV such as the Chevy Bolt EV.
If you do buy a larger BEV and carrying a bigger battery when driving short trips, that is like using a heavy truck with a heavy Diesel V8 engine to carry your shopping from the mall or store. Change your lifestyle to travel less and save money (I did) , and use electric transportation for all your local travels. If you need to travel far, take a bus, train or plane.
A lot depends on the availability of charging stations at work. Working at the GM Tech Center we are lucky to have free charging stations at most every parking lot powered by solar charging battery banks. I have a 55 mile round trip commute but with the ability to charge while at work this vehicle would be very viable.
That is just it. It will take a while till we see much in the way of charging station outside some of the most major metro areas and California.
Doesn’t work for California’s longer commutes. Example. From Lancaster to Valencia Fwy 14 is 40 miles one way. To go to LA or the Valley add to that.
We are retired in out late 70s.
We have 2 cars in Australia, a Spark as a shopping trolley and a Holden Calais as a touring car.
We live 60 miles form Sydney, 100 km.
The Bolt is ideal as a shopping trolley and local commutes AND it would cope with family visits to Sydney and back home.
Although the Bolt may not be available in RH drive and in no way cos effective it would be tempting to buy as an easy to use, quiet, and good performing unit.
It has become practical and could be prestigious.
The Bolt is perfect for the person that lives in the city and does most of their driving running errands etc . If your driving mostly on the highways and have long commutes to work then this isn’t the car for you . As battery technology improves and becomes cheaper you will see it in more cars .
I think GM did a great job with the Bolt .
You are thinking of an electric car the same way as you think of a fossil car. That’s just dumb. Think of it as a cell phone. You plug it in every night and then you have 208miles of new range every morning. THAT is plenty. And when you travel longer than 208miles in a day, you can fast charge it and the few times this happens you can wait an hour since you have saved so much time not going to the gas station all the other days.
Biggest issue for the Chevy Bolt is what happens in an environment where regular unleaded gas is selling for under $1.50 which may happen because Iran said they’re planning to increase their Oil output by 500,000 barrels oil per day which may cause the price of oil to trade for $20.00 per barrel or less.
It is livable but I would like to see more. When the EV can give me around 400 miles on a charge, like a tank of gas in a midsize sedan, there will be no issue. That said, I do want to buy a Bolt with 200 plus miles capability for a commuter car. If they get to 400, it will be my only car as long as I can charge on the road.