Chevy Bolt makes successful 2,000 mile trip in 16 days. I can do it in 4 with a Model 3.

[jamnmon66]

LOL. I'm on a road trip right now (at the hotel). We did 769 miles yesterday (Denver to Columbia, MO) in 12 hrs. And roughly another 700 today in 14 hrs (Columbia, MO to Portsmouth, OH including a 2 hr. stop at the Gateway Arch).

The only inconvenience was having to go a bit out of the way on the final leg to top off at the closest SC. There's no EV charging available in Portsmouth (that I could find). We arrived with 81% battery & I was able to run an extension cord out to the car from our room. With the 120v adapter, I should have around 93-94% when we wake up. Should be a non-issue to do our business here for a day & a half and then on to Cleveland and then Central Pennsylvania.

With the nav, it's not much harder to plan out charging than it is to get gas. The downside is that it takes a little bit longer. But, it's sooo EASY once you find the SC. We ate at about every other stop & the car was done before we were every time.

The car just soaks up the miles. And the EAP makes it more relaxing to drive long distances.

I LOVE THIS CAR!

 

[RDoc]

Then the Bolt folks can rent an ICE with the 12k they saved over a Model 3.

And a driver, true FSD.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Anyone have stories about a Bolt or Model 3 going from LA to SF for the weekend? I make about 4 trips to SF from LA once a year leaving on Sat morning and returning on Sun morning. I don't think any other EVs can make that trip right now.

I still haven't done it in my Model 3 yet. Not sure how much it'll take compared to a Prius. I can usually do 4.5 hours without stopping. Now, I might have to take a couple of 20-30mim breaks to charge and plan lunch around it. No biggie but my first trip might be scary without any Supercharger experience yet. Just reading stories that they are always full and have lines on the holidays is stopping me from taking my first EV road trip.

I believe that some Bolt owners do it without a problem.

Seems like the Google-fastest route for you would be (the ) I-5, stopping at Kettleman City, CA and Dublin, CA. But Dublin, CA can be busy, I've read.

Locals would be able to give better advice: maybe going via Gilroy, CA would be better. Depends on how much driving you plan to do while you're there and whether you'd have destination charging.

Key thing to remember is that for you, the "scary" thing is not range anxiety, it's that you might have to wait to charge. Choosing the stops is about optimization.

What's kind of funny, is that you're worried about the Superchargers being busy rather than dealing with holiday traffic.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

2018 Chevy Bolt EV makes successful 2,000-mile road trip

Hurts reading about it.

Counting supercharging, I think I can do a very chill 500 miles per day.

Most of it conserving personal energy through EAP.

Model 3 owners have it good.

I've done the annual 620 mile trip from MA to VA in the Model S in 10:45.....

I'll be able to be down to about the 10 hour mark now, thanks to eliminating one charging stop due to the Model 3's efficiency,

 

[Saghost]

I believe that some Bolt owners do it without a problem.

Seems like the Google-fastest route for you would be (the ) I-5, stopping at Kettleman City, CA and Dublin, CA. But Dublin, CA can be busy, I've read.

Locals would be able to give better advice: maybe going via Gilroy, CA would be better. Depends on how much driving you plan to do while you're there and whether you'd have destination charging.

Key thing to remember is that for you, the "scary" thing is not range anxiety, it's that you might have to wait to charge. Choosing the stops is about optimization.

What's kind of funny, is that you're worried about the Superchargers being busy rather than dealing with holiday traffic.

This is an aspect I don't see mentioned much, that to my mind is just as important for easy road trips as the Superchargers - range anxiety.

Tesla's estimates at destination are such a useful tool - they tell you when you've charged enough, they tell you when things are going south and you need a backup plan or to slow down.

AFAIK, there isn't another car nav or phone app that gives you this feedback, so with another long range EV you'd be back to "it's two hundred road miles, and a thousand feet higher, so I need 220 rated miles in the battery" (and yet, most of the others won't give you rated miles - they show some sort of compensated history, that's usually more relevant, but not for judging future stops with different speeds and elevation changes.)

I like the high and low range limits and trending that GM gave the Bolt, but Tesla's percentage at destination is a much more useful tool. (Actually, I'd like to have both - maybe add a predicted energy usage overlay for the energy usage screen so you can adapt in real time.)

Without the percentages, I'd still have range anxiety on road trips - or else I'd way overcharge to prevent it.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

ZERO...thats the point of taking a plane...get to point B as fast as possible. SFO to LAX, BUR, SNA, etc...heck yeah I'll fly.

But then how do you get around at your destination?

(just playing Devil's Advocate here...if it's over 700 miles/12-ish hours, I'd fly, too.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I already have 1400 miles on my model 3 in a week......just from going to work.

49 miles each way....every day. Autopilot is getting a workout.

What's your wh/mi looking like? Surely you've done a few launches...you know....for science.

 

[Darmie]

It's a good read.Sad that Chevy's attitude has always been it's someone else responsibility to provide the charging network. No other car manufactures heart is in a full EV. If you remember GM made the EV-1, then crushed them all. Why you ask? Well they came to the conclusion that the masses were in love with the EV-1. People were telling the world how nice of a car this was and oh how clean it was. The problem with the last statement was GM realized quickly all other cars they manufactured was dirty. Best way to clean up their act was to destroy the clean car. Times have changed and it is good to see there are now options on the market. I truly believe the Bolt is a great car for what it is but we are a long way from dependable charging. Electrify America is putting DC fast charging around so maybe this will become great options in the future.

Easy to do over 1,000 miles a day in a Tesla.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

But then how do you get around at your destination?

(just playing Devil's Advocate here...if it's over 700 miles/12-ish hours, I'd fly, too.

I think it would depend on where you live. and where you're going.

From here, flying is a bit of a pain. An hour to an airport or limited flights from a local airport. Every flight having at least one change. Then add the usual: cost multiplied by number of people, luggage fees, rental cars, or lots of taxi/they're-contractors-not-employees-honest at the other end, time spent in cramped seating and airport terminals.

We've gone to a wedding-made-it-a-vacation in Pittsburgh. 750 miles each way, about 12 hours of driving, but I'd rather do that than deal with the hassles of flying. But that was in a Volt. In a BEV and hitting chargers, well, maybe not, but maybe, if the charging breaks can be timed with meals.

 

[Msjulie]

Flying is rough if one of 2 of your passengers has 4 legs..

 

[Lasttoy]

All EV other than Tesla are city commuters. Period. End of story. This article puts any other notion to bed.
Im in DC in 12 hours, eating, charging, etc. Try that in a Bolt.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I think it would depend on where you live. and where you're going.

From here, flying is a bit of a pain. An hour to an airport or limited flights from a local airport. Every flight having at least one change. Then add the usual: cost multiplied by number of people, luggage fees, rental cars, or lots of taxi/they're-contractors-not-employees-honest at the other end, time spent in cramped seating and airport terminals.

We've gone to a wedding-made-it-a-vacation in Pittsburgh. 750 miles each way, about 12 hours of driving, but I'd rather do that than deal with the hassles of flying. But that was in a Volt. In a BEV and hitting chargers, well, maybe not, but maybe, if the charging breaks can be timed with meals.

To give a good example:

My wife and I are about an hour from Logan Airport in Boston. Her family is an hour from Richmond airport. It's a 45 minute flight......

BUT, you've gotta be there 2 hours early. So for a 7am flight, now I'm leaving the house at 4am. To the airport, through security, on the plane, land in Richmond. About 20 minutes to the gate, another 20 to get your bag, and another 20 at the rental counter.....then an hour to her parents' house.

You've left the house in MA at 4am, and reached your destination in Central VA at 10am.

If you left the house at the same time in the Tesla, you'd have covered almost 2/3 of the trip in that time. But almost 0 of it would have been wasted time (TSA, gates, baggage claim).

Plus, all you'd have paid was tolls, and not the $150/ea plane ticket, plus $30/day car rental.

 

[rdlink]

Question is: who wants to drive 2000 miles? Tesla absolutely has a huge advantage with the supercharger network, but I would fly to a destination 2000 miles away instead of driving.

I did a 2500 mile road trip earlier this summer (in an ICE). I have over 230,000 Southwest points. I wanted the drive, to see the western US.

FWIW, I tried to map my complete trip using a Tesla. The route I took home would have been impossible using SCs taking the route I took. One more SC in West Central Utah would have made it possible.

 

[Garlan Garner]

What's your wh/mi looking like? Surely you've done a few launches...you know....for science.

I've done quite a few launches ( for science ) and as a defibrillator for my emotions.

wh/mi = 262

 

[smartypnz]

Never thought I'd say this, but my M3 charges too quickly. Having a MS for 5 years (my wife's) and finally getting the M3 for me, I was at first surprised that the charging rate was that much quicker.
GREAT!!! Except that our recent road trips showed that the car is ready before we are. Tesla has made Supercharging a social thing. We enjoy talking with fellow Teslites and educating non owners. A welcome break on a road trip. (And watch the Teslas pulling out of the SC lot - that's the Tesla smile!!)

Please Tesla - don't make it too much faster!!

 

[rypalmer]

Easy to do over 1,000 miles a day in a Tesla.

View attachment 327846

That's some serious endurance. My max one day drive has been 1,100km, about 2/3 of your 1,000mi. I don't care to go much further in one day until I have a longer range. That said, a Model 3 LR would crush me on charging speed as well as range.

 

[dhrivnak]

2018 Chevy Bolt EV makes successful 2,000-mile road trip

Hurts reading about it.

Counting supercharging, I think I can do a very chill 500 miles per day.

Most of it conserving personal energy through EAP.

Model 3 owners have it good.

To be fair if you read it there were very few times they were waiting on charging and they likely have not gone any faster with a Model 3. They were visiting friends, family and local sites. In my opinion just what a vacation should be.

 

[Saghost]

To be fair if you read it there were very few times they were waiting on charging and they likely have not gone any faster with a Model 3. They were visiting friends, family and local sites. In my opinion just what a vacation should be.

Like the hour the spent at the Chevy dealer when the DCFC was a Level 2, or the time they dropped the car at a Ford dealer for several hours while they depended on friends to drive them around?

 

[Joe F]

Well I applaud them for even attempting this in a bolt, even if I think you have to be a nut to drive a bolt when a Model 3 is within reach with longer payments for some.

Actually, I'm thinking the appeal of sitting in a Chevy dealership, munching those free hot dogs and chips is well worth the investment! That is, unless the salesman has to go talk with his manager to give that family 4 dogs instead of having them sharing the one they were probably offered. Such a deal!

 

[MXWing]

Electric-car road trip: lessons learned in Chevy Bolt EV over 1,300 miles

Welp, I found a scary bedtime story to read to my kids.

238 mile range isn’t valid if you drive on the highway or use the AC.

Tesla was first full BEV and I understood the potential limitations and difficulties upon reliance on Tesla's SC network.

Going from potential inconvenience of SCs vs planning your trip around charging and being anxious the whole time is is insanity to me.