Bolt EV drive to Lake Arrowhead

[EastWestBrothers]

This past weekend, my wife and I took our dog up to Lake Arrowhead for a little mountain cabin getaway and to do a bit of hiking. We have access to a gas-powered car, but we decided to give the Bolt's longer range a thorough testing.

Our destination was 100 miles of driving distance according to Google Maps. Rough elevation of the location of the cabin is around 6,500 ft. Started pretty much near sea-level, so a lot of climbing.

On the way up, we started at 100% state-of-charge and an estimated range of 282 miles. We did detour a bit for lunch, but otherwise, it was around 80 miles of highway driving at steady speeds of 65 mph.

Started the climb up the mountain with the estimated range reading around 170 miles or so. That last 20 miles started with speeds of 55 mph and eventually averaged out to less than 30 mph.

Arrived at the cabin with just under 100 miles estimated range and a 50% state-of-charge. Was able to plug into a trickle charger overnight.

We did drive around a little bit during the weekend and with a not insignificant amount of elevation change. Trickle charging both nights to add a little bit of range back into the battery.

Return trip had us started at around 65% state-of-charge and 151 miles of estimated range. One-pedal driving the entire 20 miles down the mountain. Arrived at the bottom with no change in the SOC, but showing an estimated range of over 222 miles. Hopped on the freeway and did the remaining 80 mile drive at steady state 65 mph.

Returned home with 40% state-of-charge and showing 108 miles of estimated range.

Total trip distance was 248.4 miles according to the car and we used 55.7 kWh, averaging 4.46 mi/kWh, despite the massive climb and the constant elevation change while driving around up near the lake. Surprisingly, that is a higher average mi/kWh than what is currently showing in the car for the lifetime of the over 2100 miles we have had it.

This trip pretty much gives me total confidence that anything within a 2-hour driving radius is easily attainable with the Bolt and that it really can be a total gas-powered car replacement for just about everybody.

Pics and a more narrative piece to follow.

 

[JimFallstonMd]

Good right up and I am glad you have the confidence in the Bolt enough to risk trying this. I hope I have as good of an experience when we take a longer trip in the future.

 

[BoltyMcBoltFace]

I went up there a few weeks ago, just for a few hours visiting relatives.

I found the climb much more peaceful than in a gas car, where the engine is constantly revving for the climb. Even with a nice V8 rumble I'd eventually tire of the engine noise, but with a little four-banger working hard it got tiresome very quickly, while the Bolt is nearly silent.

On the descent I managed to gain one bar on the battery. Again, putting it in L and one-pedaling it down was much easier than in the gas car. You can just keep your foot on the pedal and modulate it to maintain speed on the descent, slow down for corners and accelerate out of them instead of constantly moving the foot back and forth from brake to gas.

For people who live up there or do the drive often, an EV is hard to beat. Just the savings in brake jobs would be substantial.

 

[EastWestBrothers]

The climb is definitely silent and the descent required no brakes at all, although I was being more cautious with my speeds since the fog was initially quite heavy.

I was surprised at how easy and comfortable the longer distance drive was and watching the state-of-charge shows that even with consistent highway speeds, over 200 miles is easily possible. Add in a single stop for a DC fast charge along the way to grab a meal and it should be possible to get as much as 250-300 miles in, which at normal highway speeds is 4-5 hours worth of driving. Sure it is no cross-country road tripper, but for most vacationing needs, it is plenty capable. Stay somewhere with an L2 charger for more than a single night and there should be no worry about driving around at the destination or even making it home.

EVs just require a bit of forethought.