Chevy Bolt EV Summer Range Test

Nice. This technology is evolving. I hope it will save earth just a little bit...

Thank you for the video :) Great content! Weird question - what dashcam is that? Could you provide any details? Rexing V1?

Nice Bolt. Now you only need a washer and a nut ;)

I don't run a front plate either.... And it was windy as hell all day yesterday... It was enough to send my truck wandering all over the highway...

I'm curious about the life expectancy of the battery and the cost for a replacement. Any numbers on this?

Not the best video you have made, I can look out of a car window any time. I know you will do better.

I can't park near my house because of tourists and many of my drives are 600 miles ish, as I cross the country every other week. Diesel can do this all on one tank, I would love to get an EV or a hybrid with similar range as the UK is having another " war on motorists " and my pockets are too thinly lined to win. While it made me hopeful to see you using an EV in a rural setting, it's still 400 miles short of range and my location need more charging stations.

Props to you that you included conversions in video

Would be nice to also give Wh/km or Wh/mi.

Only 112 km/h on highway? For example the speed limit in Poland is 140 km/h. Germans even have autobahns without any limit.

There is quite a big difference between outside and inside. In summers like this I rather leave inside temp around 23-24C so it is easier to cope once you get out. But I know people in the US like things chilled a bit more :)

I was super excited to get one of these. One of the very first people in Washington state to own one. One critical flaw prevented it from being the amazing vehicle it should have been; atrocious front seats. Long range is meaningless if one can't stand to sit in the thing long enough to take advantage of that range. The vehicle I had immediately prior to the Bolt-EV was a Nissan Leaf. Leaf front seats are 22" edge to edge whereas the Bolt seats are only 18". This makes for for ~16" seat pan. Leaf seats are great; Bolt seats are torture devices. Go here ( http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/162-chevy-bolt-ev-likes-dislikes/6506-front-seats-ouch-11.html#post99194 ) for details, w/pics, on efforts I went through to _try_ to make Chevy's piss-poor design tenable. In the end the only real solution was to get a different vehicle. Avoid Chevy/GM, avoid the Bolt.

You may have range anxiety when you are often considering the road inclines as well as the cars headwind... Also, nobody likes a preachy driver. Yeah most people suck but we all make mistakes as well and the key is to just deal with it best as you can. The "model drivers" as you call them, are not even worth the spit off your tongue as you complain about them.

What's the speed limit on that road btw? Most roads like that around me are 70mph and would feel pretty slow cruising at 70. Usually cruise at 9 over. Just curious how big an increase in power consumption there would be on a flat road going 79 vs 70? I know these cars usually top out around 90, and even a tesla p100d, one of the fastest production cars in the world with a 2.6 0-60 and a 10.9 quarter mile stock, can only make it to just over 120. Slower than my 4cyl Hyundai sonata (trust me, don't try at home). So I'd imagine any speed increase over 65 starts to hit the battery exponentially harder as the resistance from drag also increases exponentially with speed and the car cannot reduce ratios (dont actually think that would help though actually).

To be precise, the reason EVs do better in the city than on the highway is because the average speed is lower, and drag (which is the dominant energy cost at higher speeds) scales with the square of speed. Regenerative braking does help efficiency, but it can only recapture some of the energy that would be lost to friction in the brakes on a normal vehicle (somewhere around 50-80% is typical). You are still much better off to *not* use regenerative braking. Peak efficiency for an EV, assuming you aren't cheating, means driving at relatively slow, constant speeds. Of course, almost no one does that in either city driving (because you have to stop) or highway driving (because you can't do 25 MPH safely on the highway). One other thing to note is that the highway vs. city trade-off actually varies by EV. The Model S, for instance, is more aerodynamic than the Bolt but also much, much heavier. The energy used to accelerate the Model S (only some of which is recaptured by regen) is greater than it is in the Bolt. Because of the better aerodynamics, the Model S loses less energy to drag at highway speeds. This means that the Model S is often better at highway speeds than it is in the city, at least on slower highways where people do ~55 MPH. Another fun fact - at a high enough speed (~80MPH) the Model S's lower drag actually overcomes the efficiency advantages the Bolt normally has (for example, the Bolt uses a more efficient permanent magnet motor), and the Model S will actually be more efficient.

Oh, cool! The car at 10:00 is moon walking/driving :D

I honestly appreciate the metric annotations

You've got the best dry humor ever.

Also we've got rest stops here in Minnesota, sort of the same thing although I haven't seen ones with restaurants in 'em. But I haven't seen most of them.

140 miles for $5?? Lucky you I get about 170 on an entire tank of gas, about $40. I should get myself an ev...

I am from Ottawa Canada,yay.

George Washington bridge into meet York City is 80 and it crosses the state line. So it ends at NYC not New Jersey... I lived right next to it lol I have seen oasises in Connecticut toll roads and new York ones iirc. I stopped taking toll roads after Illinois going west. Ohio doesn't and I 80 sucks there anyway.

Wait a minute, how the hell do you remote start an ELECTRIC car?! I thought remote start was to warm up an idling fossil fuel engine to bring it to operating temp quicker so heat is more readily available in winter, isn't it? As far as Oasis goes, on I-80, the overhead ones do not exist anywhere between Cleveland and whatever exit I got off on for Kennywood. I have travelled I-80 several times, my parents live not far from an exit. The ones on the side do exist however, and Pennsylvania has some toll booths that don't even need you to slow down, which is nice. Ohio's behind the times. Also mandatory to "move over or slow down" for ANY vehicle with flashing lights. In other words, if you can't move over, slowing down is readily sufficient. Front plates -- depends on the state, and also car age. Older cars (antique / historical) are often immune from a front plate so long as they obtain the correct antique / historical plate, largely because adding a plate can cause damage to the vehicle and they don't want to get sued (sometimes verbage exists to say that only applies if your car never had front plates however). Ohio (I'm from Cleveland btw) requires two plates, meanwhile all other bordering states allow for only one plate to be installed. I wouldn't knock the guy for not having a front plate if the state doesn't require it. Some people get creative and strap it to their sunvisor, wonder if it was something like that where the guy just forgot.

It's 120 miles to Chicago, we've got a full battery, half pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses.

Do small EVs overcome the long distance ride comfort issues of small internal combustion engine cars?

DeKalb Oasis is my go to stopping point for trips from the Quad-Cities to Chicago.

I love the sarcastic commentary about other driver. Especially the front license plate. Their so many chumps that don't know front plates are required on cars registered in Illinois.

They will pull you over for not changing lanes for emergency vehicle's in mn too.

If you took out the 5% climate battery usage you would hit the EPA stat right?

What is that constant thunking sound that sounds like you are running over a massive number of manhole covers?

So wait, does the heat help it or not?

It's okay, we have a few warp tunnels here in New York, one to Cairo and one to Rotterdam. Both are upstate , one in the Albany area and the other closer to Catskill area.

The problem with EVs is they lack utility in emergencies.

A three day power outage does not rise to the definition of an emergency; it is an inconvenience. Granted Illinois does not suffer from hurricanes so you won't need to evacuate from one but tornadoes are a possibility and I can scavenge fuel from destroyed cars. For me they lack the range for pleasant day trips through the mountains.

Really? I'd beg to differ. With this car, every day it has about 75% charge remaining after my commute (closer to 85% for my dad). If there were a power outage, I'd still have 3 days to get back and forth to work, and my dad could go a whole week. I could always use the DCFC station at the Oasis if I needed to. And, if I were so inclined, I could use some of that 45kWh of electricity stored in the car to keep my fridge going, or charge my electronic devices, all without worrying about carbon monoxide from a generator. I understand that refueling time is long, but depending on what your definition of "emergency" is, you might be really over-analyzing.

Sadly, electric cars make no sense at all in Australia. We have the highest developed nation electricity prices in the world. I pay a whopping 38c/kWh, or US$0.285 in South Australia. During the test the car covered 75km using 12kWh of energy in highway driving, or 16kWh per 100km. That's AU$6.08 in power here (US$4.56). My current diesel Hyundai i30 averages 4.2L/100km on the highway, so even with the current high diesel prices I would only spend AU$5.88 (US$4.41) on fuel to go the same distance. So the electric car is much more expensive, has a higher fuel cost than an efficient diesel vehicle, and of course a much shorter range (my car does almost 600 miles per tank). Now it may be possible to use off peak nighttime power to charge the car here in the future, or to only charge during the day and thus use solar power, but you have to remember that the government is getting no road tax on the electric car too. The electric car's running costs are only going to increase as future governments look to reclaim the revenue they lose through selling less liquid fuel. It's a very sad state of affairs for electric cars in Australia.

Just wanted to say: thanks for the metric subtitles, miles mean barely anything to us km people.

10:00, I am so glad I’m not the only passive aggressive git when I meet suboptimal drivers!

In Iowa we have a warp tunnel to Moscow. I drove past it yesterday going between Iowa City and the Quad Cities!

Taking the Turnpike (I-80) is always fun when I pass through Illinois, because those oases are so much better than your typical service plaza. In Ohio, they have to build a mirror of the service plaza on either side of the highway, so their budget is stretched more. Some day I hope to have a job where I can travel by road more, because I personally enjoy long highway trips like these.

Ah I love Menards, Here in Wisconsin we have a warp tunnel to Berlin! the Midwest is great for electric vehicles. I'm so thankful someone else understands how flat it is here. Flat.

It is very flat.

Haha, the dig about the front plate on the Tesla.. dork

In the winer Ill always precondition my ELR. I wish it had a precondition timer like the Leaf, I have to remember to kick off a precondition cycle as soon as I wake up while electricity is still off peak.

The Bolt, the Volt, what’s next, the Jolt?

Regarding your "Oasis" centers, Up here in Ontario Canada we have on the major 400 highways, what are called "OnRoute" and its similar as you can only get in and out on the highway going the same direction http://onroute.ca/

13:06 That's a little faster than 15MPH, Mr. Model Driver. I don't think I've ever seen someone follow that sign.

You are so Gloriously Nerdy, and I love you for that!

5:18 as a fire fighter I really appreciate this public service announcement. Don't just do it for government officials do it for everyone cause if you don't then we get called and then you really gotta move over and slow down (our department has portable speed bumps)

That is truly horrible. I get a 350 miles range on a full tank in my 3.7L two tonn seven seater Acura MDX having a full on AC blast that still does from 0-60 in 7.2 seconds. Just to be clear - I'm not an EV hater - but EVs are doomed to remain gadgets until the same class and size EV car with the same range will cost the same or less (as it should) as a comparable ICE car. Until that it's just simply not practical.

I'll tell you more - the actual cost of operating an MDX per year is more than $2000 in gas alone based on 20K km mileage. But again, you can't compare MDX to a Bolt. Not even anywhere close. MDX has way more capacity, power and just sheer look to it. It is also still very questionable whether the cost of replacement of a battery over time justifies the maintenance and gas over these years, let alone the difference in price for a similarly equipped vehicle. What I was trying to say is that having a 180 miles range for a car on a full tank (or charge) might be acceptable to some, but it's far to being acceptable to all. And won't be until the cost of a similar range, class, size, weight purpose EV vehicle is at least the same as the one with the ICE. Building an ICE with transmission is way more complex and costly than building two or four simple electric motors and putting a battery underneath. It should not be as expensibe as it is today at all. And it will remain the same for at least another 7-10 years. Because - double standards and greed.

You gotta look on the other side after the purchase for where it makes sense. For example, just basic costs to operate a MDX for a year is about $2000 (12,000 miles, premium fuel at 3.50 a gallon plus 2 oil changes $50 each.) Bolt operating cost is about $300. I know not apples to apples because MDX has more space, but cost wise you see where I'm going here and soon you'll have Jaguar I-pace which will have only slightly higher operational costs than Bolt but be very much on par with your MDX feature wise. Cost difference only gets bigger if you drive more than 12,000 miles a year.

Acura Addicted To be fair, en EV is more efficient. The Bolts battery holds roughly the equivalent of two gallons of gasoline (kWh equivalent to the BTUs of gasoline) making them very cheap to operate. I switched from my Mercedes Benz Diesel to which I was spending over $200 month in fuel, to around $15 in electricity - making for a very inexpensive daily driver to work. Everyone's circumstances are different, but that's just my two cents worth :)

My home state, Kansas, makes Illinois look like the Rockies.

Oh, and happy 150th anniversary of Memorial Day (since you shot this video on that day)!

Okay, well what if you shift into forward or reverse and _then_ plug the car in?

Well, these all-electric EVs have transmissions with only one gear (I read up on them in the encyclopedia), so I'd think the only "shifter" they would need is a decision-making device, other than the parking pawl, unless reverse is handled by a gear too, instead of just spinning the motor in reverse. So I don't see why any of them would have a mechanical shifter. Where would the mechanics link to: ultimately a slider or rotational switch anyway? Also, when Jason(?) from Engineering Explained talked about the single-(forward-)speed EVs only needing one gear, I think I asked him why it wouldn't still be more efficient to have the motor rev down a few times to save on battery power (as spinning a motor shaft slower without overburdening it during power demand generally saves electricity, just like spinning an engine shaft slower without overburden during power demand tends to save fuel). And while he hasn't replied to that yet (at least I think I asked him that; I'll have to go back and check, but after looking up a few things already, I'm sort of lazy now), my guess is that more than the amount of electricity that might be saved by down-revving the motor with a multispeed transmission would be lost by having the extra weight of the extra gears needed for the additional ratios. (I'll have to go and double-check if I really asked him that or not.) Do you think that's correct?

Maxx Fordham! The Bolt might shift itself into park if you open the door with it in gear - I know our Fiat 500e does. I might try this later on my ELR. The Bolt has an all electronic shifter so it can shift itself into park from drive. Same with the Fiat. But the ELR is like a Gen1 volt with a mechanical shifter.

Oops, this actually *isn't* a summer range test, though. We're still in spring for 3 weeks as of this video's posting. So a good way to reword your title would be "Chevy Bolt EV _Hot Weather_ Range Test" (as well as putting a card right in the middle over the end part where you spoke the errant phrase too). Right? (And please do, because it would be an easy adjustment, unlike re-editing the video and reposting that, for you to be seen as even more correct than you often are.)

There is also the Hinsdale oasis. They serve as great waiting spots if you are picking someone up at the airports

Thank you for putting metric alongside

Do electric cars use heat pumps or electric coils for heat or both ?

There are 2 options. EVs either have electric coils or both a heat pump and electric coils. Some makers (Chevy, Tesla) have not offered a heat pump system yet, but they have larger batteries so this is potentially less of an issue. Some models (Leaf, Soul EV) you only get the heat pump system in mid and upper models. I think all e-golfs have a heat pump. Plenty of reasons to have or not have a heat pump. Probably not a clear winner to the best system.

2x on it depending on the car. Cars that use the air conditioner to cool the battery generally dont offer heat pumps for the cabin, and either have a heater coil in the dash (Tesla, Fiat) or a heater in a water loop with a traditional heater core (Volt, Bolt, and Leaf... which has an optional heat pump).

Squanchy Depends on the car. My '13 LEAF had a heat pump system and was very conservative on energy consumption in the winter in heat mode. The Bolt does not and uses a resistive heating element for heat. But not all LEAFs have a heat pump, and most of the base models until the '18's were resistive heaters like the Bolt.

But, it's $37,000. You can get an Audi A4 for that.

Audi doesn't come with $7500 tax credit. Audi costs about $8400 bare minimum to drive for 5 years. (60,000 miles, requires premium gas at about $3.50 a gallon, 12 oil changes at about $50). Bolt would cost about $1800 to drive the same distance. Which costs more?

I've got the same dashcam, I have 2 installed forward aft of my vehicle. They are good for the price.

Holy crap your outside ! Does it Burn ?

Thank you for the excellent real world review! It's so hard to find typical-case reviews of things like this. I've definitely changed my mind a little on how close EVs are to being a realistic option for a lot of people. [At least in practical terms, if not financial just yet.]

I'm a little surprised to hear you complain about the other drivers. I mean, what do you expect from a bunch of FIBs? They're right up there with Massholes.

Had a laugh, you sound so much like me. Not accent obviously, I'm Scottish, but your comments about others droving etc

The toll plaza on the Will Rogers turnpike on I-44 in Oklahoma is like the Oasis.

You have the exact same dashcam as I do. That startup sound is unmistakable.

I used to live in Lombard and now I live in Peoria, small world. (I'm happy Peoria finally got a Portillo's, just opened. It's on Sterling Ave across from Northwoods mall if you're ever in the area.) I used to live in Ottawa too, went to high school there. I used to drive big trucks and they're very top heavy and can't do on/off ramps like cars. Can't really think of other states with the overhead oasis but I'm sure there's at-least one other state.

Anyone else!we get annoyed that only patrons get credit for supporting the channel? I watch every video and advert that pops up. I also try and comment too.

He has no way of tracking who watches, or who uses ad block.

eh. need an truck that isn't a 1998 ford ranger EV with lead acid batteries before ill think of replacing my gas truck for electric one

Man it would be great if we could get Americans to just STOP with the "muh truck" and the "muh vee ate" garbage.

Herp Derp Durr Hurrrrrrrr

Remember back when gas was over $4? Yeah, sure was nice having a lot fewer jackass trucks on the roads.

Doug Reed: What aspects of engine operation were you thinking of in your reference to 8-cylinder engines? I'm curious. (And serious; no sarcasm.)

Nominally agree on the truck part, but there''s clearly a gap in your understanding when it comes to number of cylinders and their arrangement.

Going Bolt-ly where no EV has went before

That is horrible designing when you see more of the reflection of the dashboard than the road ahead.

The bolt seems really nice, but I can tell from these videos and my experience since getting the Niro Phev that those types of cars (like the Volt) are a better choice for me now and maybe for most people. It's hard to describe why, but I'd kinda rather have a 30 mile range car that always hits it's mark even on snowy days, and beats the EPA on 60-75 degree days with the AC off and windows cracked a centimeter, than one with such a huge variance in miles (even if percentages are actually close to what you'd lose on any car). I'd definitely would wanted to have kept my college 90's SUV as a backup rather than taking $500 at the dealer for it, had I chosen the Bolt. I'm apparently lucky to be near a decent amount of free level 2 public chargers. I'm anticipating to visit CA soon, and was shocked to look at then plugshare map of SD, a huge metro area if you're counting Chula Vista National City La Jolla , and see only like two free chargers at Trader Joe type places, and everything around is part of some "Network" that charges about twice the cost of gas per mile. For such a with it town and state it surprised me. They've priced charging for San Fran Tesla X drivers that don't care about the money just need the convenience. By the time the lease is up, hopefully the Bolt gen 2 improves by the same ratio as the Volt 2 did, where 250-ish is achievable even at 40*F and 75 MPH. I'm getting a feeling that , like Google Fiber, these public solutions will be money grabs for the Tesla driver types until either this era of electric goes the way of 3DTVs or gets so popular that a government regulated solution (like what was kinda alluded to in the windmill video) takes place far surpassing these chargepoint things. For now, a PHEV is perfect relative to the amount of convenient free public chargers and the size made for level one charging at home. There's a delicate balance between the practicality of the car (iMiev being on one end, Chrysler Pacifica on the other) the mileage of the battery, the speed it charges, and the miles per same battery size. A 15,000 mile a year lease works out to about 41 per day , so the original Volt almost got there and new one exceeded what almost anyone actually commutes for. Getting the Pacifica van to >41 , while charging faster to account for it's bigger battery, and having either solar at home or a close enough free charger creates like the ultimate car scenario where you'd almost never have to use gas, pay for fuel, settle for a cramped trunk or 1960's Beetle acceleration, or deal with stares and laughs at your UFO shaped tire skirtted' Honda. We're really closing in on no compromises electric cars ... "the Anti-Prius". Here's a Q for a future video: do you think if GM loses the $7500 credits will they simply offer it at a reasonable compact hatch/crossover price of $30k, or was $37K the true absolute lowest they could sell it while making any profit?

LOL! Of course they are all trying to charge what the market will bear AND get the govt. to partial foot the bill as well. At scale, these cars will be much cheaper to build than ice cars at scale. Just doesn't seem to be any end to new car price hikes and the numbers of people willing to pay for them ICE or otherwise.

how much did the trip cost? great vid

Sorry; I heard the answer at the end of the video. How many kwh? Here, we have the highest energy costs in the nation. Thanks

9:53. That beautiful sarcasm. I love it!

Chevy's "Real People, Not Actors" marketing campaign has convinced me to never buy a Chevy again.

I wish I had a way to plug in at home. I'd definitely be looking at getting a Volt.

I’ve only ever seen one oasis and it was wither in Illinois or Indiana. Can’t remember which

It was probably Illinois, as most people's subconscious blocks-out the trauma of being in Indiana.

I've enjoyed all of your videos about the Bolt. Great car; I'm planning on buying one later this year.

Dash cam, gosh damn!

As always, really interesting videos!!

just realized that the Bolt EV looks an awful lot like a Car i made on Test Track at Disney World once. It was a fully electric car too. Chevrolet, i expect royalty payments.

No matter what video you post, if you mention an EV, there's going to be a bunch of posts about how people will never buy an EV because of $edgecase;.

EVs really benefit those households the most that (A) have more than one vehicle (B) have charging available at home where the vehicle is parked. (C) Drive 50-100 miles at least 5 days a week. This list is a huge number of households and represent the 'lowest hanging fruit' to EV adoption. If you meet all 3 of these criteria, get an EV an start saving money on fuel and maintenance. Once we start getting EVs in the garages of single family dwellings, then we can figure out how to help the on-street parking and apartment dwelling folks. Around this time, the secondary EV market should be a bit bigger and it should start to become more clear just how much easier and cheaper it is to drive electric and it will no longer will make financial sense to keep driving a gas powered car every day.

All those edge cases are all perfect examples of the “But Sometimes!” effect as demonstrated on this very channel! TC, I really can’t thank you enough for the “But sometimes!”, it’s a wonderful thing to keep in mind.

You'd think. It's surprising how committed some people are to saying how it can't work, though.

Yep. But I hope at least _some_ viewers will realize I spent more than three hours in the car at highway speeds without needing to charge, and still I am recharged by morning. Hopefully at least a _few_ people will put two-and-two together.

So many billboards. Is the entirety of the US like that?

I'm not American so I'm not familiar with the shape most roads over there are, but that road from 2:30 onward really looks like it's in bad shape. It looks almost like you're driving trough some remote part of Russia.

Nice video. Thumbs up for going out... :)

That sign at 14:26

Does the car give you any data on regeneration when you are driving in stop-and-go traffic?

It shows in kW the amount going into the battery on the same gauge as the amount going out when you are accelerating.

35,5 celsius is a brezzy day here in brazil... we live in a daily 19 to 41 celsius

Ahh, it grinds my gears when people ahead don't indicate when they exit!

I'm blue, da ba dee da ba dai... And what the state of Bad Noise calls an "oasis" is more commonly referred to as a "rest stop" or "service plaza".

It's just the ones near Chicago which span over the highway that are called the "oasis" (if I recall there's only 3 of 'em). They have restaurants and gas stations, along with a few other small stores (kiosks really) and some other amenities. Elsewhere in the state, it's just a rest stop as you mentioned. And those only have maps, screens showing traffic/weather, restrooms, and vending machines. (Maybe some EV charging, but I don't know about that.)

There's also an over the road oasis in Belvidere on I-90. And there used to be one at Des Plaines. That said, while I'm not aware of other over the road oases, a distinction needs to be made between rest stops and oases/service plazas. The former are usually on freeways and generally just have bathrooms, vending machines, and maybe an information desk. The latter are usually on tollways/turnpikes, and usually have gas stations and at least one restaurant. The idea being that tollways/turnpikes have fewer exits and it takes more effort to get on and off, so services are provided as part of the road itself. Again, not over the road, but you'll see them on the Indiana Toll Road/Ohio Turnpike/Pennsylvania Turnpike/etc. Also, small tangent, but the IL Tollway oases were rebuilt in the early 2000s. Everything above the bridge decks was torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

I’ve also seen it on the Autostrada in Italy (an Autogrill going over the highway), not a bad idea as the restaurant is easily accessible from both directions

In my travels, it seems that not only are those exclusive to Illinois, they're pretty much exclusive to the Chicago area and most notably the Tri-State tollway in particular. I've traveled the entire length of I-70 across the southern half of Illinois and don't recall ever seeing one there.

Technology Connections we have some like this in Britain, but only a handful in my experience.

Interesting!

There is one in North Korea (it's shown about 2/3rds of the way down the page): https://thevelvetrocket.com/2014/02/08/the-lonely-highways-of-north-korea/

Oh, well I knew _that_ (that rest stops exist elsewhere). I was more wondering aloud if the bridge/overpass configuration is used elsewhere. After some research it appears Illinois is almost the only state where these exist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_restaurant (or at least the only state aside from Oklahoma that's represented in that list)

90? Is that all?

Bet you could hack it and get to do 120. The battery, motor, and wiring are up to the task.

I'd like an Opel Ampera - but now that GM ditched us to PSA I am not sure if we will get that here in SA.

What I think would be a lot more interesting is a comparison of range over time. Has this car lost much range since it was new? When it is 4 years old, how much range will it still have vs when it was new? How about 5 and then 6 years.

I think it's not "a lot more" interesting because the range won't drastically change over years and for few reasons : There is an 8 years guaranty for those batteries and the Bolt one was made specifically for a full-electric vehicle. If they used a proper electrode material, it could endure five to ten thousands life cycles. GM is also known to be more conservative comparing to Tesla about the percentage of battery capacity allowed to be used and the speed of charging rate so avoiding stress increase the longevity.

a dash cam with a properly calibrated CPL filter over the lens would greatly cut back the glare and dash reflections.

I always enjoy your EV videos, mostly because of how real yours are, unlike everyone else who "hate" EV because it is "too difficult." On a somewhat unrelated note, how do you write your closed captioning? I could never figure it out in Premiere with trying to export CEA-608 and it cutting off the last parts of sentences or with Open Captions only exporting as closed captions sometimes. Even though I am not deaf, I watch with CC because it helps me understand the video better and your CC quality is always so good compared to most community-contributed videos out there!

I got confused at first, I thought this was a 8-Bit Guy video since he also has an electric car!

Clay3613 same

Only two channels I follow that do electric car reviews...

Doesn't he kind of have two? An i3 and a Volt?

Clay3613 those are the only 2 guys that have them?

This was super boring but i watched the whole thing at work while i edited video in the other monitor.

Jezz...u have a hell of a commute to and from work.

Thanks for showing us gas drinking folks ;D

8:40 - I don't know about Illinois, but in Québec, they only need a plate on the back, not the front.

It varies by state. Here's a map. https://www.cstatic-images.com/stock/1170x1170/97/13573899-1426104484897.jpg

Illinois used to be one-plate, but that changed some time ago. Most states in the US are two-plate.

Illinois citizen here. It depends on state. I don't believe Indiana requires a front license plate, for instance, but Illinois does. Something about visibility in cases where the front is visible but the rear isn't.

I recently did a drive from mid East Texas all the way to Chicago, roughly 18 hour drive and just a tiny bit short from 1,000 miles. As much as I'd love to have an EV, I don't think I would've been able to realistically make that trip. That said, this video makes me a bit more optimistic about getting an EV in rural Texas.

Yup. I would not attempt that in an EV in 2018 for sure. Thankfully there are other options for making that trip. If you can't come up with any, than you should definately stay away from an EV for now.

What is the white box next to the word "REXING"? I remember that sometimes when a program features home video, they would censor the date of recording with blur.

It's actually to cover the license plate. The dashcam isn't GPS equipped.

It's to cover up the speed.

get a polarization filter for that dashcam to eliminate the reflections. i even made one from polarization foil bought online

About chargers: I wonder if there are chargers for European 400V 3 phase lines and if that would even be a good idea anyway.

could turn it into DC and charge the battery directly.

Can't justify $30k for this small of a car. $25k would be much better price.

The CVT transmission sucks because it cant handle high torque

#1 Absolutely 100% correct on moving over for emergency or other stranded traffic on the road, we should not have to put up signs to project this; it should be common courtesy but as we know it is not. I have spent my life on the road as a service tech; learning from road condition; truckers moves and just common sense. I have traveled allot of states in life and I have to hand it to Illinois drivers and being the most courteous I have come across. Explanation as to why is unknown, but if you want into the road someone will oblige without issue. I like electric automobiles allot BUT ;) , when the fuel tank degrades or says it's done the cost it prohibitive in an economic sense. Thing is it might be a baby step but we are moving forward. The fact that we are trying to move forward without help from the energy companies is something to be said. One day at a time and things will start to click. Lookup Comed's hourly pricing program if you are not already on it, I have saved 22% over two years so far.

Thank you so much for consistently putting metric units up on the screen!

Great video, nice to see you take advantage of the great range of the Bolt EV and show that EVs don't have to limited to only city driving. I did not know it could be that hot (mid 30s Celsius) in Illinois in late May. Do you have idea why your garage only has 208 V instead of the more common 240 V?

I live in a condo building which has a three phase electrical supply. When you tap two phases of the three, you get 208V across them rather than the 240 of standard split-phase household service. It's nothing out of the ordinary, just an odd quirk of industrial/large building supplies. Similarly, my appliances are also on 208V. Most appliances are designed to tolerate that voltage for apartments, condos, etc. And these temps in May are almost unheard of! We were very near the record this weekend, and as I write this it is now 53 degrees (which is 11.6° C). That's more along the lines of normal.

18:29 but STILL SPEEDING lol

15:57 it's so they can pull almost any car over for speeding. Speed limits are messed up around the city

9:53 letting him in is NOT how we do things in Illinois

5:11 thumbs up for that

Also, I can corroborate that warm weather improves electric range. I get about 3-3.5 miles per kw/hr in the winter and I’m seeing over five now that New England is in the sweet spot between needing heat and needing air conditioning.

My Volt also occasionally takes an oddly long time to start up the internal displays.

Why would anybody waste their money on this thing?

I never said it was easy. I went through a lot to get mine installed. But as I said, _people do things they want to do._ That getting an EVSE installed in your situation is difficult isn't meaningless. You likely won't be able to have in EV in your situation without some serious sacrifices. But please, respect the fact that these vehicles are desirable and practical to other people in other situations. The world is not homogeneous.

Whats a parking sport? You need to visit some major cities sometime. People here park in the streets, but if you think getting a charging station installed is easy come to NY and try get me a parking sport first.

You're not impressing me with that predicament. As someone who worked with my condo board to install a L2 charger in my parking sport, I simply cannot see this as an impossibility. I even made a video about it: https://youtu.be/QQqhoM3fDrQ My point is that if an EV doesn't work for you, that's is fine. But for others, it works great. People do things they want to do.

Great, I will throw an extension cord out of my condo window to charge up at night. Like I can get parking in front of my building whenever I want.

Because it is an extremely practical vehicle which costs next to nothing to operate. Charging at night when electricity costs between $0.017 and $0.02 per kilowatt hour means the cost per mile is $0.006. This car will go 100,000 miles with a fuel cost of $600.

I don't have anything against electric vehicles, I think it's more that for now at least they're no better value than a comparably sized good petrol engine once you factor in everything like battery replacement and depreciation. If taxpayers weren't subsidizing this industry it wouldn't exist yet it still barely breaks even with optimum driving conditions.

Right car, wrong manufacturer, the people who want EVs don't want a Chevy.

AC isn't the issue with electric cars.. It's HEAT. Not only does heating use more energy than cooling, but fuel cars get their heating for free. If you live in a cold climate electric cars will way under perform on mileage.

You have such calm sarcasm for road rage. Ride with me in my wrecker and you'll learn a few words lol

I'm in a city and often have to park up to 500m from my house. I've never seen a charging station anywhere other than a hotel car park (though admittedly I haven't looked). There are certainly not any on the street where I need to park. How can this work? I could charge at work but I never go in the car because of...guess what...extreme traffic congestion. :-(

Thank you for the information. I am very interested in the EV, but before I buy they will have to get to the place where they are more practical. By that I mean they need to go 500 miles using full heat or air. They need to get the price down t a comparable gas model which is 15k to 18k, and they need to get the charging times down to 10 to 15 minutes max empty to full charge. I consider a comparable gas model being in the Corolla range when comparing room, size, and comfort. I will keep watching for improvements.

That car only goes 12 miles on a full charge? Why would you buy that? I understand you like technology but thats not practical. You should have bought the range extender option. EDIT: Oh wait I'm thinking of the chevy Volt. Also why don't you have a gimbal for your camera because the lighting is off and it would fix that. :) Techmoans guide to youtube comments are great.

Will you be running a review of the Tesla 300 & 500 mile electric semi trucks?

From a fellow Suburban Illinoisan, Thanks for this. Always was a little worried about Electric vehicles in conditions like where we live. But this shows that I have pretty much no reason to worry. Love your videos!

In Georgia you have to move over a lane if someone is on the side of the road

I usually have nothing nice to say about GM but at least they don't seem to be going full retard on trucks like Ford is. Hurrr

holy shit Those ad billboards are grazy looking like a modern free apps in phones all the time everywhere same size both size off the road never seen so much in so little time

So, how much have your power bills increased since switching to an electric car? I have always wondered that. Have you ever calculated the cost per mile compared to gasoline?

Excellent, thank you!

I did show cost at the end--it works out to about $0.03 per mile traveled. If I still had by Civic, which got 36mpg on the highway, then that would have needed 5.05 gallons of gas, which is right around $3.00/gal in my area currently. That would cost about $0.083/mile. So it costs about a third as much as a fairly efficient compact, and half as much as a decent hybrid.

I'd rather follow a truck doing 25 mph than one that takes the ramp too fast and overturns. Cool video! I would buy an EV like the Bolt if my financial stars were aligned right.

I didn't mean to sound like I was complaining that he was going that slowly. Mainly I get frustrated because there is a truck at all! I can't ever manage to take that ramp without a truck being there.

All those tax hikes and massive spending going on in Illinois and golly gee are those roads in awful, awful condition.

That car charges quicker than my phone

What kind of regular maintenance does an EV need? I know tires and stuff, but what about fluids? Does it use fluids or it is all fly-by-wire?

Sounds like an EV pays for itself in maintenance savings alone.

Very little maintenance is required. The Bolt manual has 4 things. That's it. 1. Rotate tires every 7,500 miles 2. Replace cabin air filter every 25,000 miles 3. Perform a brake system flush and check every 50,000 miles 4. Perform a coolant system flush ever 10 years or 150,000 miles. Of course there is still a suspension and wheel bearings, but almost no maintenance is required to the drive-train itself. Aside from the coolant flush, it's all maintenance-free.

In Maine we have rest areas but they are mostly driveway and a bathroom the closest thing we have is in gardener and that place is super expensive a French fry cost like 2:50 for a small and its not even over the interstate like that is

The Bolt EV manual says for the most efficient range, stay 55 mph or under.

I only charge mine with the super fast charging station using the SAE Combo connection! Charges up to 180 miles in 1 hour! I've been averaging 120 miles in an hour with moderate temps in the 70's.

Fun and useful video but do we need to take up a collection to get you a real video camera, windshield mount, and/or microphone? The audio sounds like you used a camera you got in a box of breakfast cereal (which about sums up most Chinese no-name dash cams).

34.5 °C is a comfortable night temperature in India right now. Today morning it was 42°C in the shade.

I appreciate you being careful to drive more normally this time, with the A/C and everything! That highlights the car's abilities really well. Thanks! How many charge cycles are the batteries good for?

LG Chem (who made the battery for GM) quoted the pack at 2,000 charge cycles (Note: a charge cycle is the entire capacity, so three daily trips using 1/3 of the battery is only one charge cycle, not three). Assuming 200 miles per charge average, this should get the Bolt to 400,000 miles on its original pack. It will almost certainly function beyond that, but then capacity loss will be expected.

I watched the whole thing. I have intention of driving or ever buying a car. But your voice is just so damned easy to listen to!

I really enjoyed this detailed demonstration. Maybe this question has been answered elsewhere, but ... does the car have information / directions to nearby charging stations? Or do drivers use a phone app or somesuch to find them?

Not as of yet. The Bolt receives over-the-air updates to its infotainment system so it is possible (though unlikely) this will be added in the future. There is an app called PlugShare which is what most drivers use, but I don't rely on public charging at all with my Level 2 station at home.

Since I noticed you had the radio tuned to 720 WGN... how's the AM reception in the Bolt? The BMW i3 and Tesla Models 3 and X don't have AM radio because they claim the electric motor causes too much interference (heck, the Model 3 didn't even include *FM* radio until they added it with an update!) -- but somehow GM managed to make it work in their electric cars.

It seems completely fine! I can tell its reception isn't a good at far distances--getting near Peoria you can hear a little static--but it's still intelligible. The only weird phenomenons I've encountered were in the Volt. When I get near my parents house, for some reason there is a sporadic "SSHK" like the static between two-way radio transmissions at random times. This only happens once I get past where I-180 meets IL-29, and it starts like clockwork. It's very strange and I have no explanation, especially as it doesn't happen in the Bolt, and it hasn't happened in any other car I've driven down there! The other thing which isn't the fault of the car was a set of aftermarket LED headlights I had installed in the Volt caused AM interference for a few minutes upon startup, but it would go away. This is no longer an issue as the diodes had worn to the point where they are much dimmer than the halogens and I swapped them back. The Gen1 Volt has terrible headlights unfortunately. Now separate high-beam bulb, just the shutter and projector.

About time Menards broke into the Peruvian market.

How is the NVH? I know it's a compact/sub-compact, not a luxury car, but Chevy's tend to be smooth and quiet in general. Also, thanks for being a conscientious driver; good to know there are others out there! Great video!

The car is very quiet. Wind noise is a bit worse than average, I'd say, but that's more due to its shape than anything else. So far there are no rattles, squeaks, or issue like that. You hear more of the electric motor in the Bolt than you do in the Volt, but I personally like that. Plus its still worlds quiter than an ICE! But, the suspension is a lot stiffer than your average Chevy. I like it, it feels sportier, but my Volt is without a doubt a more comfortable ride. I used to drive a Civic and I'd say the Bolt is probably about that stiff, perhaps slightly more. Still, everyone who has been in the Bolt with me has said they really liked the ride of the car, so perhaps I feel it more as a driver than passengers do. My mom and dad haven't had complaints either, thought the seats are a little sub-par. I don't find them too uncomfortable, but the comments about them being narrow are true. They are weirdly narrow. As you can probably tell I'm not a small person and they seem _alright_ to me, but the seats in my Volt are hands down better.

“On the highway, there’s no braking going on...” Oh boy, just wait till you drive the freeways in LA. EVs are wonderful for rush hour traffic though. Good video on range anxiety.

Over here in the UK, we have many rest stops (or what we call Service Areas) which were built over the road, mostly in the 1950s and 60s, it's kinda cool to sit there and eat your food watching the traffic racing past... Also it may interest you to know that *every* UK service area has at least 2 AC fast chargers provided by the utility company Ecotricity as part of their electric highway scheme. I enjoyed this video a lot and laughed at your commentary! :)

Whoaaa I wasn't expecting an answer, not to mention such a detailed one! It covered all the subsequent ones that I was saving for later, lol. Great job mate, you got it all covered. Keep it up! You're goooood!

Life expectancy is based on the number of complete charge cycles. LG has quoted the battery back as being capable of 2,000 cycles. Assuming an average of 200 miles per cycle (to account for winter efficiency) this should get the car to 400,000 miles before significant range loss occurs. As far as replacement cost, you should know that very, _very_ few EVs have needed their batteries replaced due to wear. What few batteries have been replaced were done under warranty for a defect of some sort. The Gen1 Volt, which has been on the road since 2010, has no reported cases of battery capacity loss requiring replacement. So the problems with giving an answer to this question are that 1) this hasn't been an issue yet 2) the cost of producing batteries keeps dropping, so in 10 years if the Bolt needs a new pack, It might only cost $3,000 and 3) the battery is serviceable, and bad cells can be swapped with new cells, and this alone can provide another 200,000 miles on the original battery pack.

Atak Snajpera is right ;)

I didn't look at your link because I am *aware* of the seat issue. That's why I asked if you had an LT or a Premiere. I'm glad you've answered that now. My point is that you are being wildly combative against GM because the seats in one of their vehicles aren't to your liking. This is a preference thing, and though it's a shame that they are as they are, I'm not going to tell people to run away from the Bolt because I didn't like the seats. What would be _better_ than calling it a "POS" over nothing but the seats, is to tell others "You know, I really like this car, but the seats were a deal-breaker for me. I couldn't tolerate them and needed to sell my car. Which was damn shame. I hope GM will redsign the seats for the 2018 model year. If you're considering a Bolt, be sure to take it on a lengthy test drive to gauge seat comfort for yourself". It's good that you want GM to fix the issue, and so do I! The best way to make this happen is probably to call GM corporate. Get engaged on social media. Tweet at them. Be persistent. Complaining to a dealer won't do much--dealers really don't give a rat's ass about their customers. This puts GM at a huge disadvantage, which is of course why they keep suing to force Tesla to have a dealer network. GM would _love_ to sell their products directly to consumers, but all states have laws preventing them from doing so. Tesla is immune to those laws because the have never had dealers. I'm sure you knew all that, but I'll write it here anyway. But telling people to run away from the Bolt doesn't help EVs as a whole. It may even hurt them. I am not tolerant of slamming any company that is trying to produce EVs because of one subjective issue or another. I'd much rather be glad that GM is producing a meaningful EV, while other big players like Toyota are sitting on their hands.

If you had taken the few time units to read the link I cited, and just a few more for some cursory browsing of the thread in which it resides you would have learned some things. 0) It's not _just_ me. While that doesn't rule out that I'm speaking from _my_ experience, it is indicative that there is a real issue. 1) Chevy/GM aren't owning up to it being an issue and offering _any_ assistance/guidance. No warnings, no fixes, no alternatives, nothing but dealerships/reps 'laughing'. 2) I spent $700 on the modifications to the seat _just_ so I could stand to be in the thing the 80min/day. I researched other options for replacing/modifying the seat. Chevy/GM engineering decisions to locate airbags into the seat thoroughly screw anyone here. 3) I _wanted_ this to be a thing. It had the range, I like everything else about it. And I mention that in my posts on that thread and in every survey/complaint I took/filed I specified _why_ I had these issue. For a $44K USD vechicle it's a sad sad thing for a manufacturer to ignore. Had they offered _any_ solution other than "fuck off and die in a ditch", it would have been different. I would have paid pretty much any amount of money to get a sane seat. They didn't/don't. And by _any_ amount of money, I mean that my ultimate solution was to acquire a Tesla Model X and unload the POS Bolt to a dealer for $27K (Fully 'pimped' Premiere @8k miles and ~9 months old at the time). So yeah, I took a bath on the thing. 4) Ultimately, if my telling people to avoid the vehicle ends up getting back to Chevy/GM in the form of reports of person not wanting to buy/drive the thing because they've heard of bad seats, and those losses negative impact Chevy/GM sufficiently enough to pull their heads out of their asses and design a reasonable seat for the thing, everyone wins. But I don't expect people to take my word for anything. I expect them to be smart enough to consider assertions on the internet w/no backing to be merely opinions. While I did provide some backing that there _is_ an issue, there are persons such as yourself, in the very thread I cited that have found no issue w/the seats. Here is a response w/more detail about my case/experience ( http://www.chevybolt.org/forum/162-chevy-bolt-ev-likes-dislikes/6506-front-seats-ouch-14.html#post104666 ). But I fully encourage everyone interested to go take an actual test drive. I _want_ more people to try it as the more that try it, the more instances of persons finding the experience hateful, the more of _that_ feedback getting to Chevy/GM. 5) That I ultimately had to go buy a Tesla to get both the requisite range and comfort should be sufficient backing that I am an EV advocate. There are some _very_ nice ICE vehicles on the market for _significantly_ less than a 100D Model X that I could have chosen. This is not to say that Tesla are flawless. I could write a lengthy post on irritants/woes/issues those things have as well. _HOWEVER_, being unable to tolerate riding in one for any amount of time due to poor seat design is _NOT_ among them. Again, all of the above could have been gleaned from the thread I cited. Your videos paint you as a person that doesn't shy away from a bit of research. I realize it's not realistic to expect you to research everything, but I did provide a link to some backing in an attempt to preemptively gate the very type of response you vended.

So because of your subjective experience with the seats of one particular model, you'll tell the world "Avoid Chevy/GM, avoid the Bolt"? I find no serious issue with the seats. I'm not saying you didn't, but please don't write off the car and tell people to avoid it. Instead, tell them that perhaps they should spend time in the car seats to see how comfortable they are for them. Maybe you could tell us if you had an LT with cloth seats or the Premiere with leather. I've read there's a substantial difference. You are not an EV advocate if you're OK telling the world to avoid _not just the Bolt but GM as a whole_ over seats. That they weren't good for you does not mean they aren't good for anyone else.

At least in California, you have to move over. You can only slow down if it is not safe to move over. It's not like you can choose to slow down 1 mph because you're too lazy to move over.

It's only a 3 % increase. Also, the price of electricity is much, much more stable than the price of fuel. A little increase in the price of diesel, and now operating an EV is cheaper. I'm sorry about your electricity (and Internet access, isn't it?) prices.

Go any sort of appreciable distance from Milwaukee, and you'll start to notice a sharp decrease in WI's flatness.

Everybody has different needs. If the Bolt fills the host's needs, and your MDX fills yours, then all is good in the world. Take a moment to look at the history of the ICE, and see how it took it a century to get where it is today. In comparison, battery technology and charging networks are in active development. Look at the range the first Nissan Leaf had, and see how much the Bolt can do, for basically the same price. Also a 350 mile range is not impressive. Diesel engines have a range of 600 miles and much more torque.

I couldn't agree more, maybe one day EC's will be the standard but it's not today

Okay, it's nice to know that some EVs have 2 (or more?) forward speeds. I've noticed that on the newer Siemens train cars that we use here on UTA Trax. Other than hearing the high-pitched whine of a motor instead of an engine, those cars sound just like a regular automatic road vehicle with 3 speeds. So why don't road-based EVs have as many speeds as fuel-powered ones? One or more manufacturers figure they can get away with giving their EVs 2 forward speeds, but more would compromise the weight savings too much? So "all-electronic" is a misnomer for any of those shifters then, because even when you turn a switch to operate a motor, yes, it's electrIC, but not electronic, because motors don't tend to be considered electronic parts (even brushless DC ones that need electronic inversion in order to run). They're electromechanical. So yes to the term "all-electric shifter" (just like you might call an electric fan), but no to the fake term "all-electrONic shifter."

The Gen1 volt and ELR have a physical shift lever, that pulls on a cable, which engages the park pawl. The Bolt EV, Leav, 500e, have electric shift levers / buttons, and a small motor engages the park pawl. The Gen 1 Volt / ELR do have the capability to change the gear ratio of the electric motors... there's essentially a low and high range. If I've been toodling along on the highway in my ELR and floor it, the shift / kickdown is easily felt.

The heat pump was optional on the e-Golf (only the SEL had it)... not sure about the current models. Because the GM and Tesla products have 2 evaporators... one for the dash, and one for the battery coolant loop, that makes it hard to reverse only one evaporator. On the i3 with a dash heat pump they actually have 2 refrigerant systems, with 2 compressors! One for the dash, and one for the battery.

Well then you should buy an A4.

spazzman90 so we're all paying for that tax credit with, our taxes. That's artificial. And if you're going to do TCO, what's the amortized cost of replacing those batteries? But forget all that, the real point is that an Audi is a gorgeous driving machine, whereas a Chevy Bolt is, at best, an adequate commuter pod. For the same price, I'm not moved by slick environmental marketing, I'm moved by the superior driving machine.

spazzman90 and who pays for the tax credit? Plus the Audi is a better car in every measurable way.

Don't forget the expensive brake jobs because the german car makers believe brake dust all over your rims is a feature of the experience.

I’m a city bus driver and my company use to have three all electric buses. Guess what now they sit rotting in the bus yard. They also got hybrid buses too which are still being used but the thing is is that they are investing in CNG buses. We already got over a hundred of them in our fleet and they built out CNG station I’m assuming in a parking lot area I use to park my car. So why didn’t they buy more hybrid buses??? They seem to think CNG is better. What does that tell you? My company is into solar and wind energy as well so going green is on their minds. All electric and hybrid buses were a bust. They use to have propane buses as well but they also didn’t last. Diesel buses are slowly faded out as well.

1:09, it has a Laserdisc machine inside

You bitch about drivers very much like I do, I appreciate that :D. And thanks for the metric units, being German, it really helps although I roughly know the mph/kph conversion.

I'm loving the snark in this video.

I love your consideration of the metric system. Awesome channel!

I'd still rather have a v8

We need to cruise the tristate and shit-talk bad drivers.

Electric cars won't become mainstream until they have a 400+ mile range and can be fully charged within an hour, car companies should of went down the hydrogen route instead of electric its the batteries that's the weak link the technology just isn't there yet.

rhyfel zen It's not the battery it's the charging infrastructure. 200-300 mile range (in fact most ICE cars design their tank around that range) would be fine if high voltage charging stations were as common as gas stations. The 10 hour figure is charging this car on a puny 40V outlet.

I guess this is one way I learn about IL traffic law updates.

That is great that they have a shift interlock for the charge cord! There have been people in traditional gas engine cars accidentally drive off with the filler hose still attached and they ripped the hose off of the pump! That can't happen with electric.

Try a range test in the cold of winter. That would be the ultimate test. Batteries have less energy in the cold and the heater also draws insane amounts of power, it is like running a space heater since there is no engine heat available.

You may have missed it, but I already have. https://youtu.be/UogqTenNrks

What is the difference between the Chevy Bolt and the Chevy Volt?

2:04 The sound from Test Track?

I see from your dash view that the Bolt is able to receive AM radio. I was under the impression that electric cars were not able to have AM radio because of interference. At least that is the case with the BMW i3. What does the Bolt do differently?

I have no idea what's different, but GM has figured out how to get perfectly fine AM radio performance out of their EVs. My Gen1 Volt and the Bolt EV both work fine. I'm assuming the Spark EV is the same. I don't notice any interference when accelerating or regen braking, so it seems to me like BMW and others are lazy about this or have a flawed design.

:))

They still have less flexibility. The "Nay Sayers" have valid points. I could for example use one of these for everything except very long road trips. Plus these cars are still significantly more then conventional cars.

Kamion King you get 7500 back from the feds and more depending on your state

Electric vehicles don't have CVTs. They don't even have a transmission.

pussy ass car

Doug Reed Wrong I live 30 miles east of St Paul near the St Croix river valley just as flat.

5Rounds Rapid I own www.chevyjolt.com lol. So yea lets hope one day there is lol.

@9:54, this is me all the time!

Lol. No one in Illinois drives the speed limit.

Can you drive on the range extender when the battery runs out? Or is that only a hybrid?

I like these videos they are different then the regular in the house videos.

Based on your appearance and you channel I would have thought you would drive a Ford F350 with a Cummings power stroke diesel V8. Also it would have a gun rack american flag back window decal and a chrome plated pair of testicles hanging from the trailer hitch. The side door would be covered in brown tobacco juice and floor littered with beer cans and empty packs of Marlborough cigarettes lotto tickets and sheet rock mud.

True EV can be used in the country but gas engines are efficient enough on country roads the EV will not pay for itself.

The need to pre-condition is another reason I wouldn't buy such a car. Super example in how this car can work for a great many people. I liked your sense of humor. Thanks for sharing this with me.

To be clear, there was no _need_ to. I probably would have lost only 2 or 3 miles of range had I not.

I get a kick out of the fact you talk to other cars on the road and comment on their lack of turn signals sarcastically, I do the exact same thing.

I feel this video could have benefited from some music. Anyway great content as aways.

282 W/mile for the first trip, 267W/mile for the day.

Who cares? Show us what this crap can does in the winter when the cold eats battery life. All I can say is you have to be a stunned fuck moron to want a vehicle based upon late 1800’s tech. Did not provide the transportation needs then, certainly does not now with the distances we travel. Jaguar has proven turbine electric hybrid is the way to go. Works so well they created a super car with this tech.

Because a supercar is indicative of the technology required for daily driving... Also, I very clearly said that I had already done a winter range test, and I placed a card and an end-screen tile linking to it. Here's a link for your convenience: https://youtu.be/UogqTenNrks

Ryan Toomey the Volt has a gas engine with a generator the Bolt only has a battery with an electric drive unit.

My Bolt listed for 39.8k, I got 4K off list from the dealer, 2 k instant tax rebate from my state and was able to use 6k of my federal tax credit. So I paid 27.8k

You're asking me to compare apples and oranges there. There is no benefit to running premium in a vehicle which doesn't require it. But for people that can use an EV, there are many concrete benefits, many of which are not financial. Read: "for people that can use an EV". If you can't, of course there aren't benefits! As I feel bears repeating, people do things they want to do. Also, your "sarcasm" isn't very, well, convincing.

Telling you to be respectful of my situation was something called sarcasm. If you find it offensive when I asked why anyone would waste their money on this thing, does that mean I need to apologize when i asked someone why they wasted their money on premium when regular would have been fine?

+Frank Pizzo--Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Your first comment shows *no* respect to the millions of people in situations like mine where an EV _IS_ a desirable vehicle. I feel like I have been pretty respectful to the fact that EVs are impractical in situations like yours. Read my most recent reply. Specifically the 4th and 5th sentences. I've told _many_ people that EVs aren't suitable for everyone. When I said "sacrifices", I didn't mean simply adjustments to driving and fueling. I meant working with your building management or local city officials to get some on-street EVSEs installed. Work to make charging possible where you live. That's an extreme sacrifice of time and frustration that many people don't want to go through, and I don't blame them. But my point is it isn't impossible. Unlikely, sure. But with enough persistence, things change. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. In short, don't tell me I'm not respectful of the predicament you're in when you start out by proclaiming this vehicle as "waste of money" to "anyone". Different people are in different situations. I can respect that. Can you?

Frank Pizzo Outside of cities there are tens of millions of people that could easily use them but they are too accustomed to gas engines, but they do cost a lot more initially. They are great in traffic jams the gas engines run while you sit there, the EVs only use 1or2 kWh when stopped and on. I love mine!

I heard NYC should be getting 50 charging stations spread across all boroughs, but that was last year and haven't heard anything since. In a city where millions of people park their cars in the streets, I don't see any reason why they would ever buy an EV without a way to charge them. He talks about it being difficult or without serious sacrifices, but in realty its impossible. TC need's to be respectful of the fact that EV's are impractical and undesirable to millions of people in situations like mine.

Frank Pizzo I would guess sport is a spell check issue, you know what he meant. EVs would be a problem for a city like NY. Where I live in upstate NY there is no problem parking my 4 cars and boat. So installing a charger for my EV was no problem. Sorry city guy!

The 'trim' I had was in the thread I linked. I'm "...being wildly combative against GM..." because they fell over on the design of one of the round 0 major components of any vehicle. Were it _just_ me, then sure you'd have a leg to stand on. As it's _not_ _just_ me, there's backing that it's either a poor design or QA issue. Given the narrowness of the things and underlying construction of the seats, I assert it's design. Regardless, the way GM/Chevy chose/are choosing to handle it is a level of fail that earns them all manner of combativeness I or anyone else also negatively impacted can muster. EV mass adoption is not contingent upon Chevy/GM continuing to make the Bolt/Volt or even remain an automobile manufacturer. There's some evidence to suggest they really couldn't care less about the Bolt from the outset. That it was _purely_ to check a box/placate the PRK's draconian laws and allow them to continue to sell more trucks and, to a lesser extent, their other ICE offerings. The company could implode and every employee could go into the macrame industry and it wouldn't make the least difference insofar as EV adoption. Wrt to your advice on how, and to whom, I should complain, once again, had you looked over the thread you would have learned that I had done "all of the above". The most impressive person I was ever able to speak with directly was someone in the 'customer satisfaction' arena. All I ever got out of her were 'assurances' that someone would look into my issues and that I would be contacted by someone at a later date. Not that I was holding my breath anyway, but no one else ever contacted me. And I've heard of no one on that cited thread nor other forums being contacted from any member of Chevy/GM w/any interest in even trying to understand/investigate the issue. As to how I should or should not vend my message, that's not a thing you get to dictate. Do I have angst, you betcha. Effectively, I paid nearly $18K USD to drive a Bolt 8K torturous miles over the course of ~9 months. When/if you do that and can still be as magnanimous as you think I should be, then, and only then, do you get to lecture me on my message. If my message ends up killing a Chevy/GM sale because someone elected to not even deal w/the hassle _or_ paid extra care to the seating and found it lacking in _any_ manner, then I am absolutely overcome w/joy and wonderment. The seats kill the vehicle. If they couldn't get that right, they don't deserve to be in the space/continue to operate as a company. It's _their_ job to make a product _worth_ buying. Had they put up some kind of warning about the seats being too narrow for certain individuals, i.e. "You must be this narrow to enjoy this ride." or "Ooh, looks like you're larger than what we envisioned when we designed the seating. We recommend looking at our other line of automobiles for a better experience." and I still partook, I and everyone else in my situation would have zero cause to complain. As that continues to not be a thing, it's entirely the right of anyone so-burned by them to complain as loudly and broadly as desired.

Morbid Eel , that would be from the seams in the road caused by the freeze thaw cycles from our nasty cold winters.

what happens when it says 0 miles left and is there a "emergency lets go anyway" mode

I hate electric cars. Just wait till you have to replace the batteries.

While I believe that one day, fully Electric vehicles will be a much more common sight, right now, for me at least, they're not suitable for me. Whilst yes, the range would be suitable for me commuting to work (55kms each way) They would however be unsuitable for me overall. I commonly travel 400 to 500 KMs a day on weekends for recreation, and often up to 1000 KMs road trips (Australia really is sparsely populated relative to the land mass). I know charging stations are popping up in more and more places, but it turns my one day drive, into a 2 day drive, with the overnight accomodation, and the need to at times take a day off work just so I can actually get to where I need to go, then it suddenly just isn't worth it. Untill they have a range of at least 700kms, with drastiacally shorter charging times, I'll stick with my V8 (whick can do up to 800 to 900 KMs on 70litres of fuel)

Great video. I was really curious about the climate use. Is it hard to back into the garage? Might make it easier to charge.

Hey you should ALWAYS have hil top mode on its not good for batteries to get to 100%

Great video, thanks. I'm not sure if I could be bothered worrying about what way the wind was blowing or how hot it is outside to know if I have enough miles on battery. I do like idea of freedom from the gas pump, but the tech doesn't seem quite there, but it is getting closer.

You move over if it's safe to do so. Don't just pull out in the other lane cutting someone off creating a dangerous situation. If you can't move over safely, the legal requirement is to slow down.

You know, it is not bad a range...for an electric car. But even a relatively inefficient large luxury sedan will get more miles on a tank. Electric really needs to be better to be honest.

Aircon does not use a lot of energy in an ICE vehicle too though.

@19:41, there is one on the Turner Tunpike near Stroud, OK.

The Bolt EV does not have a range extender. It is purely electric. The Volt does have a range extender, but that's an entirely different car.

John Donlon ahh that’s not bad. Chevy website said 30k after rebates so I thought that was it

I'll admit I ignored your link, but again that was because I knew what you were talking about. I completely understand that the seat issue can be a deal breaker _for individuals_ and I don't blame you for getting mad at GM's response. But I must disagree with your stance. No vehicle meets everyone's needs, and comfort is a subjective metric. I'll grant you that the Bolt has below average comfort and this has been widely documented. I'm not disagreeing with you there, and I hope that GM will fix it. But I can assure you there are _many_ people who would find the seats to be acceptable. Telling these people to avoid the Bolt outright would be a shame.

would be cool to see how the car would act when power is too low... so we kind of know what to do, if we don't pay attention. in controlled matters of course.

NO COMPARISON with the Model 3....I own the 3, I've driven the Bolt....sigh....some day the other companies will wake up....likely after a shift in current management.

You are right my apologies, it's just that I don't understand the rational behind the purchase of that vehicle. I too would prefer the 3 to be a hatchback, but the other benefits have far outweighed that for me. (AP, Power Seats, OTA Updates, Looks, Sportyness, RWD, etc etc)

Was I comparing them? I don't think so... The Bolt is the single greatest piece of evidence that companies are starting to wake up. But since it's not "perfect" (whatever that means) it's derided as being a meaningless effort. I don't agree with that. As a matter of personal preference, I don't understand why the Model 3 is a sedan. At the very least I expected it to be a liftback. Having lived with a coupe for many years with a traditional trunk, I *much* prefer hatchbacks or liftbacks. But that's preference. Having the frunk in the Model 3 does make up a bit for that loss in utility.

With a quoted 2,000 charge cycles, the battery pack in the Bolt should not experience significant degradation until there are 400,000 miles on it. There are thousands of examples of 8 year old EVs such as the gen1 Volts made at the end of 2010, and they've shown no significant battery degradation. The idea that replacing batteries is a common need in EVs is unfounded.

Having a rest stop bridge sounds interesting. I've never seen them in Michigan, Ohio, or in the Chesapeake area. It sounds like one of those things that probably wouldn't be built that way today unless it was necessary to conserve real estate in a busy area, but rest stops are usually outside busy areas to begin with. I always loved stopping on long drives between Maryland and Michigan on the Ohio Turnpike rest stops to play pinball when I needed to stand for a bit.

19:35 - We have one in Nebraska called the Great Platte River Road Archway. It's more of a museum, but it does have some restaurants.

Most EVs have some emergency reserve range (usually 10 miles, maybe less, maybe more) but you are a real idiot if you use them. First, for not charging when you knew that it was low. Second, there is no way to know how much reserve charge is there, and if you exceed it, the car will just stop, probably with very little warning, which could be a serious danger. Needing to charge is not random. It's on a big gauge on the cluster and is really really obvious, and it's on the car's phone app too.

Nice videos, summer and winter. I sent video links to some friends that might be interested.

I'm interested in how this car handles snow. I am about to move and this would have good range for my new commute but I will have to use some dirt roads where we get snow and those would be the last that get plowed.

Derek Ash Lol. No. Petrol and diesel will still be the dominant form of transportation.

They are always improving the range...by the mid 2020's virtually nobody will be buying gas powered cars.

That depends on a lot of factors, like how much the EV cost you, and how many miles per day you drive. driving the same number of miles, an EV is 1/3 of the price...when was the last time you filled up with 1 dollar a gallon gas?

You don't actually get a $7500 check back, rather you owe $7500 less on your taxes. But if you don't owe that much in taxes, they sure don't give you the difference. Until it's an actual check or deposit, I don't count it.

If you don't have a garage, how do you charge it safely in rainy weather?

I have a new 2017 Bolt and have driven it twice to Austin from San Antonio. On the first trip I drove 220 miles with 20 left on the Guessometer and on the second trip it was right at 230 miles with 15 miles left. Both trips were with A/C set at 72F and I traveled at 70-72 mph which is a little slower than I usually drive. Cost for each trip is just $6.00. Also, since it was a leftover 2017 car I paid $33k plus I get the federal $7500 tax credit and the new $2500 TCEQ Texas rebate. Like finding money on the ground. They are gonna write me a $2500 check for helping clean up the air. Also, we only really need to charge it once a week unless I run up to Austin.

Derek Ash So in the US only then. There are still millions of cars sold outside the US in countries where it is just not feasible or possible that there will be a charging network all over the country to the same extent as petrol stations. Especially since electric cars have shorter ranges and will require more on long roads closer together just to go places for a weekend away.

SDav21 - you're correct. I meant to say NEW cars. Again, in under 10 years over 50% of new vehicle sales in the US, will be electric.

Is it weird or uncomfortable that I knew where you were nearly the entire drive? Pretty much once you hit I-80 I could see, and know most landmarks...

Watching from Austin, but you're in my old stomping grounds. Grew up in Mendota, shopped in Peru/Ottawa, and worked in the burbs. Enjoy the channel - keep it coming!

The main reason why I don't buy an electric car is pretty simple. Mine is 6.5 years old, I don't drive that much, so it has already lost a significant part of its original value but is far from needing to be replaced or any costly repairs. It just wouldn't make any sense in a financial way. By the time this car has to be replaced, the evolution of EVs will have gone on, and I am pretty sure they are much better then than they are already. When that day comes, I would probably consider switching to electric, if there is any choice left at all by then. ;-)

I tried redoing the math (maths for me, but because you are in US), and I kinda see that in my country, a similar trip on Petrol would cost me 3 times as much. I am unable to see why aren't electric cars picking up steam (pun intended) when they are so much more economical compared to Petrol cars. Maybe because they are expensive to buy new? Or is it the fear that the batteries will last only 2 to 3 years (as most people looking at the lifetime of their mobile phone batteries as comparison point)? I need to do more research on this really.

Derek Ash Diesels are clean when they operate with the urea injection system. Just because VW didn't use it doesn't mean all diesels are dirty. The press has just vilified diesel for no reason. Mercedes models have normal size tanks. It is just that efficient. Their new E220d can easily avergae 55 mpg on a highway drive. And yes it is too much effort to plug in. Some people don't have garages and some live in apartments. In some countries people park on the street with no charging available. In my country their are petrol attendants who fill the fuel so we don't have to. And because it can be so efficient you'll only ever go there twice a month. It's a lot less time than planning trips around routes with chargers or plugging in in the cold or while it's raining. So still. And actually many households will have more than 2 cars. They won't be expensive cars but cheap ones because it is a necessity to have it. Each parent for work and each child for university or work still living at home. It becomes quite inconvenient. And again, an old Leaf has an unusable range. There are brand new cars available for that price with a range of 700 miles. Why would someone buy a second hand EV with 80 so that they can not even go anywhere. It's just silly at this point.

clean diesel...yeah, ok, we'll just pretend diesel-gate never happened. My Ranger's 270 miles was an estimate from a trip 2 weeks ago...accorded to my calculator it should of been 312 (19.5 gallon tank, 16mpg)...but it's old, so that probably plays a slight role. Mercedes must have big tanks, 750 miles is impressive. You wont be getting that in an EV any time soon, the best I've ever heard is the 2020 Tesla roadster, which is 620 miles. I think current EV's are great to be the second car, in 2 vehicle households. Unless you have the money for high-end Tesla's, then you can completely switch over to electric. As they are the only car that has a good range, and quick charging, and stations all over the place. Electric doesn't have to mean expensive, I bought my 2015 Leaf last September for 12k. The biggest cost in EV's is the battery, EV's are actually faster and cheaper to build then ICE, but the batteries are pricey. But battery prices will continue to fall for many many years to come. You think plugging in a car is too much effort?! It takes a few seconds, you spend far more time waiting to fill your gas tank, then it takes me to plug it in, and go inside my home. It charges while I sleep, having it charge in 10 minutes would be stupid. Almost all electric cars have TMS (Thermal management system) they keep the battery at the optimal temp, so the only real ding to EV's in the winter, is the heater keeping you warm. Very few people even own 4 cars. Most homes have a 150A or 200A service, and the standard electric car charger uses either a 30A or 50A breaker, so it's no problem having a couple car chargers, per home. I personally have a 20A one, which is slower, to completely fill my admittedly small battery, it would take 7 hours. Which I'm fine with, because it re-charges, while I re-charge. If I had a Chevy bolt or model 3 or something, then I would replace my 20A with something bigger. FYI, I'm an electrician.

Derek Ash You definitely can not equate this to moving from horse to the early car. An electric car is still a CAR. It is just powered by batteries and not fuel. But it's definitely not the same type of shift. And still, the US is not the only country in the world. There are many where it is just not possible or feasible to have just an electric car. Your Ford is terribly heavy on fuel then. Seems to be a US mindset because petrol has always been so cheap there that there has never been a need for manufacturers to take their smaller but more advanced and more efficient engines there. And you're also assuming cars with engines are not smooth? So many modern cars are so quiet and smooth you don't feel the shifting and barely hear the engine. And besides sometimes an engine makes a very pleasant noise if it is well designed. Muted but good. The new Mercedes E Class for example with their new 2 litre diesel is so clean, so smooth and so so economical. One can drive almost 750 miles on a tank of diesel. No electric car can do that. And on top of that, it'll be able to tow a family caravan without even losing that much range. It'll be able to take the family to their 800 mile away destination which will see them travel sometimes over 100 miles between a stop with no need to worry about losing a massive chunk of range or being stuck with nowhere to charge. You don't have to faf about with plugs everday when getting home or try to look for routes with charging stations when going on a holiday. You just get in and go. And it's not like it's costing a lot to maintain. For 6 years they cover all servicing and cars can last hundreds of thousands of kilometers with normal maintenance which is not expensive. And after 10 years the fuel tank will not lose its capacity. By the mid 2020s 50% of cars will just not be electric. The difference between a horse and car was that the car was simply better. That's not the same with electric and fuel. Because petrol and diesel cars still have a massive range with quick filling options making electric a worse choice for most. And about your truck vs a p100d. What is the price difference like? Right. So now range becomes all about how much you can pay. How sad. In most countries people can only afford cheaper vehicles. These cheap vehicles can travel 700 miles on a tank of fuel because they are efficient. Now if these people are forced to buy electric, they must struggle with a stupid unusable range. And because that's their only car, the can't travel long distances because it can only do 80 miles. How stupid. Electric needs to at least be comparable on range and convenience as a current petrol or diesel vehicle otherwise it'll remain niche. If one has 4 vehicles in a garage. Imagine all being plugged in now. Will there be 4 wall boxes for each? Extension cords strewn all over? Will the wiring be able to handle all that charging? Then everyone must park a certain way to get the plug to fit. Too much effort. It needs to be able to be charged in 5 to 10 minutes out of houses. Oh and not to mention the amount of range batteries lose in the cold. It's still in its infancy and is useless for most.

I said US because it's pretty well known that the US isn't leading the charge as much as we could be. For instance, China should hit 50% of new car sales being electric by the early 2020's. Some electric vehicles today already have longer ranges then some gas vehicles. A Tesla model S 100D can go roughly 335 miles...compared to my 2002 Ranger, which can go 270 miles. Grant it, I don't care that it's range is that short, because gas stations are all over the place, but charging stations are finally beginning to spread, with companies like Electrify America. There wont ever be as many charging stations as gas stations, because that many aren't needed, because people charge at their homes 99% of the time. We already have an electrical infrastructure in the US, easily capable of handling EV's, and as more EV's hit the roads, more power plants will be build...bit of a chicken and the egg scenario. I know all about short range EV's, I own a 2015 Leaf, which gets around 80 miles on a full charge (if your lucky). But EV's have a lot of perks, fun to drive, quick acceleration, quiet ride, smooth acceleration (no shifting gears), less maintenance, cheaper per mile. For EV's, it's basically as cheap as gas being 1 dollar per gallon. My round trip to work is 16 miles, mostly interstate, after 3 days of work, i plug it in. which costs me $1.05. By 2020 virtually all EV's will have ranges over 200 miles, 3-5 years after that, they will mostly all be over 400 miles, and chargers will be everywhere. When the model T rolled off the assembly line 100 years ago, people didn't think it would replace the horse and buggy for a very long time, 20 years later, horse and buggies were virtually extinct (especially from cities, which many banned horse & buggies because of manure and dead horses, the smell was unbearable). Fast forward to today, you have cities that are banning gas & diesel because of their pollution. The parallels between horse and buggy vs. early cars are very similar to today's gas & diesel vs. electric cars. It all boils down to the batteries, which are improving every year, because there is countless billions being dumped into researching new batteries chemistry's.

Did you say your charger only gets 208 volts? Must be connected to 3-phase power, which is a subject for a future video.

Derek Ash That's YOUR state. Out of hundreds of others around the world. Electricity will be what wars will be fought over. It is the future oil. Local or not. There will still be resources needed to produce electricity. Where there is mass need for something there is potential for abuse by providers. Price fixing. You name it. The more power they will need to produce the more they will need to spend to produce it with new infrastructure and the more they will charge. It's not like a solar panel will be cheap either nor will it be able to power 4 cars and a house. It's not as rosy as you think it'll be. The power will just be shifted to electricity providers now because with out them people won't be mobile and will have no choice but to pay and bow down.

I disagree, your thinking would be correct if we switched form gas to hydrogen. But not electricity. Utilities are (semi) local, which helps. Plus they can only charge so much, because otherwise people would buy their own solar panels and not even use them. The days of gas going up because a hurricane hit the gulf of Mexico are soon to be over. Or some foreign country trade dispute or war. None of that stuff effects your electricity price. Like I said, in my state, 50% is hydro, and 25% is wind.

Derek Ash Who said I hate EVs? I just don't like where they are currently at as well as people like you who want to force a less convenient solution for mobility on to everyone. It is not at a point where it can replace petrol or diesel worldwide and in all applications. It just isn't. I really don't know what diesels you've experienced but clearly never a clean one. I start a diesel everyday inside a garage and leave it to run for a while. There is absolutely NO smoke or funny smelling fumes AT ALL. Car diesels are NOT truck diesels. They DO NOT smoke or have wierd diesely smells. You say that about opec. Fine. But with new developments come new issues. The new opec will become those electricity providers once everyone is after electricity. That same power will just shift elsewhere and it is power the electricity providers will have. So....

Well, the good news is I don't need to convert you over to EV's, you hate them, I like them. Gas & diesel will get less popular every year, EV's will get more popular every year. Cities and countries are banning them because of their emissions, people want clean air to breathe. If you think your diesel is clean, then let it run in the garage while you put the windows down and listen to music...let me know how that works out for ya. EV's are so much easier to build, even companies like Dyson are working on them. Solid state batteries show a ton of promise, and should enter the market in phones next year, and a year or 2 after that will be cars. They go twice the range for half the price, that is what will make the EV adoption rate skyrocket. I like knowing I can "fill" my car up on electricity from any source, whether it's coal (which would still make my car cleaner then yours), or any other sources. My state is powered by 75% renewables, 50% of which is hydro (dams). OPEC can kiss my ass.

Nope, wrong again. electricity can gathered by too many things, it will never be extremely expensive. Coal, Hydro, Geo-thermal, Solar, Wind, tidal, nuclear, with all these options, it's uncontrollable. No giant monopolies. And yes, I could put solar panels on your roof and power your home, and all 4 of your precious cars.

I'm not worrying about every country on Earth, only the one I live in, America. That said, every country has electricity, and even if they get if from the dirtiest source (coal), it's still cleaner then Gas/diesel. I'm a fan of clean air and less smog and other particulate in the air. However I don't champion EV's just because their clean, but because of the many reasons I have laid out. Countries around the world would be smart to pursue EV's. You could have solar panel canopy (or on the ground), and have that power be stored into big batteries, which then (through wires) gets transferred to your car. It's far more efficient then pumping raw oil out of the ground, then pumping it through long pipelines to get it to a refinery, then refine it into gasoline, then fill up an entire train full of tanks, which goes to a city to fill up their giant reservoir tanks, where there is a waiting line of diesel trucks with tank trailers, which then drive to you local gas stations and fill up their underground tanks, then it finally gets pumped back up to your cars tank.

Derek Ash There still will be. Because not every country or state or whatever will be able to use sources such as geo thermal or wind etc. And they won't be producing enough power to charge millions of electric cars. So my point stands. You can't be living in lala land. The power will shift and you will end up paying more for electricity.

Pretty impressive! However, when you face 400 to 600 km+ distances between towns in remote regions of Australia(far north Queensland, as an example). It's not very practical.. You'd need something big enough to sleep in while you stopped to charge from either a petrol stations power/charging station(if they had one!) or via a generator overnight(most likely scenario) before you can continue the next day. That's the problem remote Australia faces with the electric car.... Over all, petrol (gasoline) car.. Can travel 800km+ in a day, only stopping to fill the tank at a remote road house and for the odd break, of course... While also towing a fully loaded trailer.. And still averaging 35mpg(imperial gallons).. When an electric can do that, then I'd call them a "viable option"!

Thank you for using your indicator.

I hate it when you sped up the camera.

I quite disagree with the conclusion: EV cars gets less efficient on high way mostly because of the wind plus the motor not as efficient on high RPM. The regenerative break is a magic trick to get the acceleration energy back (with some loss) but there is no acceleration on a high way whatsoever as we keep the speed constant so that is actually more efficient in that perspective :P Conventional cars are as bad as electric on high way but they are just even worse in cities as the motor needs to constantly run plus any acceleration energy gets burned onto the breaks. Hybrids can mix both world but two motors in one car is just hopeless :) Btw, I love that car ; I think it deserve more attention. Too bad its design makes it look a like a toy...

I love your very civiliced and humble road rage ;)

183 miles for $5.50... My wife's VW TDI SportWagen gets about 40 MPG on her commute, and Diesel fuel right now is a bit pricier than normal -- $2.95 per gallon in my area right now. But it's normally around $2.75 or maybe even $2.70 per gallon... So let's say, best-case scenario, she could drive her car 183 miles at 40 miles per gallon and fill up at $2.75 per gallon... That's still a bit over $12!!! And her car is *very* efficient when compared to most cars of that size. I just wish you could charge the Bolt as fast as you can fill up a fuel-powered car... We pretty regularly travel greater than the Bolt's 238-mile range in one go. Several times a year, honestly. So the money we'd save by owning a Bolt would be wasted on renting (and fueling) a wagon or SUV for those trips. Man, I wish they could make an electric-powered car that could be charged from completely dead to 100% full in 5 to 10 minutes... Whoever figures out *that* little trick is going to be a multi-billionaire.

*chevy*

Thank you for posting the Celsius at the start there. Just had to post this... my mind started to wander (even though i know the conversion) then that got me back on track lol. -edit- also loved the text reminder for closed captioning (my girlfriend is a native hindi speaker). I think I geek out when people are considerate and take the time to assist others in a basic way with actions or information.

clicked for the EV, stayed for the sass.

I loved this video! I even did a video about the "gogoro" motorcycle on my channel. (You had the cabin temp set at 71F???? I've lived in Taiwan for nearly 22 years and I would freeze at that temp. HA! I usually choose 26C because lowering the humidity is more important than the temperature). Keep up the great videos!!! (Wish I could talk to you about the psychrometric chart...)

I think highway range is strictly worse due to air resistance, which rises in a squared relationship to speed. Low speed re-gen does re-capture lost energy otherwise spent on braking, but it is better to not use any re-gen or brakes if it can be helped. Re-gen isn't 100% efficient - there are losses, so when hypermiling, coast if possible. One question: have you tried to see how many usable killowatts there are in the Bolt EV's battery pack? You're calculations seem to indicate that all 60 KWH are available. Great video: I noticed the courtesy of moving over for the guy stopped just prior to you mentioning it.

In Michigan we have a hyper-tunnel to Hell.

You got me. Though I have street parking half the time, I bought a Volt. Wow what a nice car. It was used so was hugely depreciated. I'll never buy a gas-only vehicle again.

I usually enjoy Technology Connections videos because you use logic, and you acknowledge pros and cons of different technologies. Respectfully, in this video, it seems that you are too emotional about the topic of electric vehicles to remain objective about the pros and cons. And, the snarky attitude doesn't help. (I don't intend to offend, only to offer honest criticism).

You ever take that charging station apart? What size contactor is in that badboy to make such a loud *chunk*. Guess it was probably amplified by the plastic body

Technology Connections I totally accept what you say... and I hate electric cars.

i never understood whats special about combustion engines. they are loud, don't have continuous power output. meaning shifting disrupts acceleration, same as having to rev to peak performance and are also prone to problems due to complexity and vibrations. the thing that stops me from getting something like the leaf is the price and charge times.

Can the charge plug be locked in? I could see some hippie coming along and pulling it out for fun.

23:36... charge indication missing from instrument cluster. Mine does that now as well. Used to show the charge time when you’d open the door. I really miss that feature.

183 miles on $5 of Electricity, sign me up!

Random question. What maintenance does an EV Car require?

I love love love the idea of an electric car. I am the perfect candidate (as most people are) for an electric car, based on my daily commute. But as we all know, time is money, and as of right now 7-7-2018, nothing, and I mean nothing, can compare to the energy density of a gallon of gas, and the speed and cost at which it can be obtained. When you can power a 747 on an eight hour transatlantic flight carrying 300 people using batteries, the problem will be solved. Until then, it's fossil fuel.

I didn't think a place so close to where I live, which is Ohio, could be so much smoother than here. Although, Ohio is very hilly, and I live near a large valley (near mad river mountain) and it's smooth around here but not flat, and where you are at is actually pretty flat.

What's up with this EV hypermiling that driving normally with A/C or Heat and Radio, I hear no radios in any of these...

not bad a cost. Not big autonomy as a gas/gasoline car (yet). However: very interesting video. Thanks a lot

24:15. Regenerative braking cannot increase range over non-use of brakes in general. Miles used without brakes will always use less power than miles used with braking. Regenerative braking only helps mitigate the use of brakes in journeys that need stop and start driving.

Main concern... with the summer range test you did, you had temps in the mid 90s... how much of a difference would it make on battery performance in the American Southwest where triple digits are common in the summer? I have a Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and I've had a few times where the gas engine has kicked in because of battery heat. How would that affect a straight EV that doesn't have the option of switching to a gas engine?

This is like if David Mitchell did Top Gear... Subscribed.

I find it odd you bought your parents dash cams. How many YouTube videos are they releasing? I mean it, seriously. What is the point of the dash cam?

You say that the airconditioning doesn't really make that much of a difference in your mileage, but you are driving on your own in your car, but what if you were driving with 3 others in the car? Then the airconditioning would need more energy, and it would definitely take more than 4%

I also get back home from work at around midnight. I feel your pain.

It would be better if the car had a small high efficiency gas motor to add to the range

I'll try hybrid first then move into full on electric..

wow you passed just right by my house, i live south of 80 in marseilles

By my calculations, your 48.8kWh for your 300km drive would cost $16.68 in Australia, including GST. Your electricity is way cheaper than ours.

Poor audibility during the drive.

Do you know what the top speed of the bolt is?

In would love to have an electric car, and if I lived somewhere with a mild climate, I’d drive it year-round. But with triple digit heat for 2-3 months out of the year and 90+ heat for 4-5 months... I wouldn’t love it so much

I would love to have an electric car, and if I lived somewhere with a mild climate, I’d drive it year-round. But with triple digit heat for 2-3 months out of the year and 90+ heat for 4-5 months... I wouldn’t love it so much

Perú!

The best EVs are yet to come, I guess?

OMG! How can you drive that distance in the seats... I would need a wheel chair.

Would like to know what the climate system would be like cooling off a car sitting in 110 degree temps in the open sun with no access to a plug. Would that 4% jump to several times that ? Real world conditions for some of us.

We have an oasis on the I90 in Angola, NY. It isn't built over the highway, rather it is built in between the two directions of roadway with parking lots on either side and a footbridge over the road connecting to the main building. Since I have only ever seen that one I figured it was a rare find.

What do you actually do for work?

Why not just not use the A/C? You'd get even better energy usage. I've used the A/C maybe 3 times in 18 years (mainly cause my old car lost A/C after a wreck and it was never fixed.) I only use A/C to clear off humidity if it's rainy and the indoors fogs up. And I live in the southeast where's it's not just hot but humid.

I thought you had a Dreamcast in your car for a moment

Have an i3...and have the same charger....also, you’re adorable!

9:52 My god! You're my spirit animal!

He is right I live in Illinois to it's a law

I'm just curious what the dollar outlay is for the faster Charger option that use use to charge your car at your apartment, I enjoyed your videos. I visit Phoenix AZ quite a bit, I'm an Aussie, and really like your car but would be a bit concerned about how it would perform in the Arizona hot summers and if this would have an effect on the life of the battery pack

Excellent and information rich video, by the way is your dashcam a VIOFO A 119? I hope you do a video on the Gamecube s optics and its copy protection techniques. Regards

Isn't that how you technically have to merge? the "zipper merge"?

What stupid people in the comments! "Pollution controls are unfair to gas engines".

This. I'm always astonished when TC does the math on how much his commute costs. I mean, $5.5 for almost 300 km of driving is hecka cheap.

I would love to have an electric car, but first I kinda need to be able to get a car, period :/ Oh well at least there's decent public transport where I live.

It really only takes several seconds to charge. Get out, plug in and you're done.

It seems like you don't want to use a DC Fast charger. Do you think it will shorten your battery range over time? I do.

I have had a VW TDI before. Your concerns about saving money on fuel should not be your focus. The reliability and super high maintenance costs for a TDI will cost a fortune. The Bolt has basically no maintenance costs except rotating tires. The Bolt EV will kill a TDI off the line and all the way to 100 mph. The Bolt will also out handle your VW. 95% of your drives will be in range of a Bolt, so why focus on the 5%.