Just a few weeks in the past, I wrote a narrative concerning the 2017 Chevy Bolt my spouse and I bought in June. There have been two issues concerning the automobile that made it engaging to us. First, though it was a 2017, it had solely 26,500 miles on the odometer and it had a brand new battery pack put in in Might, which implies the battery is underneath manufacturing unit guarantee till Might of 2031 (assuming, after all, Normal Motors remains to be in enterprise by then.) Second, it’s eligible for the federal $4,000 used EV tax credit score.
A 3rd issue is that whereas we in all probability overpaid a bit contemplating what new ones are promoting for (if you’ll find one), we additionally bought silly cash for our trade-in, a 2013 Honda Civic Si. The online impact is that the Civic depreciated by solely $500 a 12 months since we purchased it in 2015. The market giveth and the market taketh away.
Our Chevy Bolt After One Month
It takes some time to get used to the Bolt. There’s a host of buttons, dials, switches, and push buttons to determine. We have been caught in a cloud burst sooner or later and wanted the defroster. So we pushed the defrost button and that labored high-quality. However after the rain stopped, we couldn’t shut it off. I assumed at first it was on a timer the way in which many rear-window defoggers are. I assumed after we shut the automobile off at dwelling it could reset. It didn’t.
The proprietor’s guide had no clear rationalization. I signed up on the Chevy Bolt discussion board to see if anybody there might assist. [A quick shoutout: The people who run the forum are first class. Highly recommended for Bolt owners.] In the end, it was a Google search that did it. It seems you’ll be able to’t disable the defrost operate (not the max defrost operate) except one of many buttons that directs air to the sprint or flooring vents is chosen. After I realized that bit of knowledge, the issue went away. (There are occasions once I yearn for the nice outdated days when air flow techniques have been managed by levers and cables. I have to be getting outdated!)
Charging A Chevy Bolt
Vary nervousness. Everybody talks about it, however many individuals don’t perceive it. They suppose driving an electrical automobile is similar as driving a traditional automobile. We’re accustomed to going to a gasoline station, filling the tank, and driving till we have to fill the tank once more. It’s like a camel slurping down numerous water after which heading out throughout the trackless desert to the following oasis. Electrical vehicles are extra like hummingbirds, taking little sips at any time when the chance arises.
Most individuals who don’t personal an electrical automobile haven’t any clue concerning the alternative ways to cost them. The slowest is Stage 1, which is mainly plugging into the closest 120-volt wall outlet. It’s gradual — on the order of round 3 miles for each hour.
The second is Stage 2, which makes use of a 240-volt outlet. Most of us will not be electricians and don’t perceive that not all 240V circuits are the identical. Some are 20 amps, some 30, some 40, some 50, and a few extra. 60 amps is roughly equal to what you want for an electrical range. The upper the amperage, the extra electrons get transferred to the battery for each hour the automobile is plugged in.
Stage 3 chargers use direct present (DC) as a substitute of alternating present (AC) and they’re accessible with totally different energy ranges. The naked minimal is 50 kilowatts, abbreviated as kW. Some are 350 kW. Once more, you don’t must be an electrician or know the definition of a kilowatt. Most of us don’t know what the definition of 1 horsepower is, however we perceive that extra is best.
The Achilles heel of the Chevy Bolt is that it could actually solely settle for about 50 kW of energy whereas charging. The charger itself could also be able to rather more energy, however the automobile is unable to utilize it. This implies, sadly, that on street journeys with a Bolt, drivers will sit and watch different electrical vehicles arrive, cost up, and get again on the street whereas the Bolt remains to be ready for extra electrons to get downloaded.
That’s the most obtrusive weak spot of the automobile, and if that’s a problem for you, don’t purchase one. I’ve a neighbor who routinely drives his Bolt forwards and backwards between Ohio and Florida. He bemoans the freeway charging expertise, however the ache of spending a couple of extra hours on the street is greater than offset by the enjoyment of not having to pay for a rental automobile for a couple of months. You pays your cash and also you takes your alternative.
I had event to return to the seller two weeks after I purchased the automobile. I had found a lower within the sidewall of one of many entrance tires and the seller agreed to exchange it. We agreed to separate the associated fee for 2 new tires, since each entrance tires have been about half worn. Within the service bay was a shiny new DC quick charger that proudly proclaimed it had 50 kW of energy. Woo hoo!
I didn’t need to embarrass the workers by telling them 50 kW is yesterday’s information. It is a Cadillac/GMC retailer, and once they (lastly) begin promoting Lyriqs and Hummers, that charger just isn’t going to be as much as the duty of charging these vehicles. However for the Bolt, it was excellent. I didn’t must cost up. I had about 75% SOC. However I needed to search out out what this DC quick charging was all about (did I point out it was free?), so I plugged in.
OMG! I didn’t fairly perceive what all of the brouhaha about CCS vs. NACS was earlier than, by no means having used a CCS quick charger. First off, the cable appeared like one thing you’d use to tie an ocean liner to a pier. And the plug on the top? Yikes, it was large, and ponderous, and exhausting to deal with. I’m used to Tesla Superchargers. The twine is slim and supple and the connector is that this fantastically designed piece that feels good in your hand. The CCS connector felt like a canned ham compared.
Ultimately, I bought the Bolt attached and charging started. The automobile bought as much as 80% pretty rapidly after which charging slowed to a crawl. It took absolutely 40 minutes to get to 100%. I didn’t must cost to 100%, however I needed to expertise this for myself. Lesson realized. If you’re travelling, cost to 80% and get on down the street to the following charger. Ready to get to 100% is torture and finally takes longer than charging twice to 80%. That hummingbird analogy is trying extra correct on a regular basis.
Driving The Chevy Bolt
I’m pleasantly stunned how good a automobile the Chevy Bolt is. My different automobile is a Tesla Mannequin Y, so my expectations have been excessive. The Bolt is not any Tesla, however in some methods, I desire it. It truly appears to journey extra quietly with much less tire noise. I get used to the radio and local weather controls. I nonetheless just like the little orange lights that seem within the side-view mirrors to warn me if there’s a automobile in my blind spot.
The journey is snug and managed. The regen works marvelously properly, making one-pedal driving a delight. The automobile doesn’t creep when stopped. The guess-o-meter that estimates vary is entertaining, because it plummets when going uphill after which provides miles again while you go down the opposite facet. The estimated vary numbers truly correspond fairly properly to precise miles pushed.
I’ve discovered it’s less complicated to concentrate to the inexperienced SOC indicator on the left facet of the instrument cluster and consider it like a gasoline gauge. With expertise, I do know that if it exhibits a 50% cost, I can drive about 125 miles. If I must go 200 miles, I might want to cost up alongside the way in which. If not, I’ll merely plug in once I get dwelling.
I’m utilizing a 120-volt wall outlet at dwelling. It’s painfully gradual, however it’s common for the automobile to sit down for a day or two with out getting used. Whether it is plugged in all that point, who cares? I by no means must cease at a gasoline station anymore, and nobody ever got here and stuffed the tank of our Civic whereas it was parked. It’s all what you get used to. As soon as you determine the brand new regular, the fears about vary and charging principally disappear.
Ultimate Ideas
There are many complaints concerning the entrance seats within the Chevy Bolt, particularly on early vehicles like mine. How an organization that has made thousands and thousands of seats might get issues so mistaken is a thriller to me. I discover the entrance seats within the Bolt to be like sitting on a wood bench — and never in a great way!
I discovered a number of movies on YouTube about how you can add padding to the seats. It appeared like extra hassle than it was value, particularly the half about not damaging the wire to the seat heaters. I checked on-line and located any variety of seat cushions starting from about $25 to over $150, however studying the opinions, it appeared folks weren’t thrilled with any of them.
My spouse really helpful I attempt a Cush reminiscence foam cushion, so I ordered one from Amazon ($20). It’s nice! I put it on the entrance seat and it’s like I’m driving a Rolls Royce. Finest twenty bucks I ever spent and it makes driving the automobile a lot extra nice.
Here’s a screenshot of my newest vitality effectivity report, which refreshes each time the automobile is absolutely charged. It exhibits I’m driving practically 5.5 miles for each kWh used. That’s fabulous, particularly since a lot of these miles are in pretty hilly terrain. However, I’m virtually by no means on the freeway and rarely want to make use of the A/C.
Total, I’m delighted with the Bolt. Yesterday, I made a visit by way of Bigelow Hole, which has a lot of hills and curvy roads main as much as and away from it. It’s a street that I used to savor once I had my Mazda Miata. The Bolt flattens the hills and the regen tames the curves in a manner that’s totally different than the Miata however simply as satisfying.
I even had a possibility to move a slower automobile on a two-lane street on the way in which dwelling. The Bolt simply leapfrogged that automobile prefer it wasn’t even there. No throbbing engine. No gnashing gears. Simply easy, easy acceleration. As quickly as I made a decision to move, I used to be by and had the street to myself. Electrical vehicles are superb!
The Takeaway
There are some issues I don’t take care of with the Bolt. To regulate the side-view mirrors, you first must press both the suitable or left button after which make the adjustment. It’s an annoying distraction. However I’m studying to essentially benefit from the automobile. The primary few weeks, I babied it, fearing I might deplete the battery if I drove con brio. However now I’m driving it the way in which I usually do, with a sure diploma of élan.
No automobile is appropriate for each driver, and a Chevy Bolt does have some limitations which is able to make it not the suitable alternative for some drivers. However for most individuals, it’s a completely high-quality car that simply occurs to be electrical. I nonetheless charge it 4½ stars as a result of it isn’t as refined as a Tesla, however it’s a rattling good automobile that’s properly definitely worth the cash.
I do not like paywalls. You do not like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Right here at CleanTechnica, we applied a restricted paywall for some time, but it surely all the time felt mistaken — and it was all the time powerful to resolve what we should always put behind there. In principle, your most unique and finest content material goes behind a paywall. However then fewer folks learn it! We simply do not like paywalls, and so we have determined to ditch ours.
Sadly, the media enterprise remains to be a tricky, cut-throat enterprise with tiny margins. It is a unending Olympic problem to remain above water and even maybe — gasp — develop. So …