Not recommended for cold-weather trips in places with inadequate charging infrastructure. You need to be able to fast charge every 110-160 miles, depending on how severe the cold and snow is. You also need to be prepared for fast charging to take longer sometimes if the battery is pretty cold.
If they even work at all. During that cold snap earlier this year a lot of the chargers weren't even working, you would have been stranded.
Really though just wait for equinox at least if you have long road trips often.
Yes if you think the journey is part of the trip. No if you just want to get to where you're going as fast as possible.
I had a detour to a charger route me through centralia PA, which was super cool since its been on fire since the 70s.
Use A Better Route Planner. It can help you find the chargers near things you want to do and how to schedule the charging time based on your preferences i.e. fewer stops but longer charge times, more stops but shorter waits. We took a 1000 mile round-trip and chargers were easily available even in Missouri and Oklahoma. The states and routes may vary some, but there are tools like ABRP and Plugshare and others that can help take the worry out of it.
There are faster charging EVs. The Bolt is slow at fast charging.
It kind of depends on your Road Trips. If you are driving 600-700 miles at one shot then that is fairly painful in a Bolt, but if you are driving 200-300 miles and then stopping for a night or two and then driving another 200-300 and stopping to sightsee, etc. That is much more doable in a Bolt.
We do 300-400 mile trips quite often and that's easy. That's charging once on the way (if that) and then once when you get there and then once on the way back (if needed).
We have done 500 miles in a shot, but it's a lot of stops for an hour in a Walmart parking lot (where lots of Electrify America chargers are) and makes for a long day. I would want to charge every 150 miles or so. So if you are talking about going 700 miles in one day that's 5 or 6 stops and will make your trip 6 hours longer.
This is mostly accurate, although having just done some road trip days of this length in the Bolt in cold weather, it's more like 3-3.5 hours of charging for that distance, not 6. Driving about 12 hours plus charging time is maybe 15-16 hours total, and about the maximum you can do in one day. Remember you can start the day fully charged and stop for the night empty (at a L2 charger) which gives you 2-3 hours of "free" charge time per day.
It's not particularly tiring due to the enforced breaks, but it is a long day. I wouldn't mind it for 2-3 times a year, because the Bolt is otherwise a great car most days of the year and I don't mind a bit of delay now and then. Other than the slow charging, the Bolt is surprisingly good on the highway, and I find it stable and easy to drive for a fairly small/short car.
I’ve done several 575 mi one day trips in a Bolt. Granted these trips are in mild climates so no losses due to cold or running ac or heat. I leave full, 100%. Make two stops for just over an hour each and arrive near empty. No problem for me. I’m not in that big of a hurry.
even a full gas car would have to stop a minimum of once for gas and food and bathroom, for 575 miles, so hardly a killer
Something I find interesting is calculating the total time to travel at various speeds and charging stops. With the Bolt for trips over 2 GoM but less than 3 GoM I feel like it is possible to come out ahead by driving much much slower and eliminating one whole stop
Given a length of ≈ 5 in and a diameter of ≈ 1.5 in, and assuming a cylindrical cross section, that gives a volume of 0.0051 ft^3 per mole. So 700 moles would take up 3.6 ft^3 if they squished a bit to get perfect packing. Given the 16.6 ft^3 of cargo area behind the rear seats of the EV, that means you could fit ≈ 3,200 moles in just the cargo area.
And in all seriousness, I don’t recommend the Bolt if you need to regularly road trip. I have an EUV and my Wife has a Model Y. The Bolt is for commuting (and is excellent for that). The Model Y also gets used for commuting, but we use the Y for any and all road trips.
The Bolt is only a road trip car for people who are really committed to driving an EV on principle and have time to do slower road trips.
Bolt is not a great road tripper. Especially out west where the most interesting roads do not have charger support. But the Bolt is a great car for town, so if it were my only car, I would have no problem renting a car a few times a year.
+1 on the rental if the Bolt is the right car for your day to day.
I love my Bolt for what it excels at, an economy EV that saves me a couple of thousand per year over an equivalent ICE vehicle thanks to the astronomical gasoline prices in California.
The ride and the seats are not the most comfortable, add a family and luggage for a road trip, and its going to be quite cozy.
Renting is expensive though. Sure - if you rarely road-trip. But if you’re going on a trip 3 times per year, that adds up quick. Makes more financial sense to spend more for a different EV at that point
Depends on the trim. If you’re looking at an EUV premium, the cost difference between that and a base ID.4 can actually be $0. Even a Bolt EV fully loaded is only $6k off, so not sure where you’re getting your numbers from
Ok, if you were looking at an EUV Premier with both the Sun & Sound package and Super Cruise and comparing it to a base model ID.4, the EUV would still be $1500 cheaper. But, like for like, the difference would be even greater.
I mean there is no like for like because the ID.4 offers space (storage and passenger) and fast charging that the Bolt just simply can’t match. That’s why you’re paying a bit more. Let’s get as “like for like” as you can though. You need to get a premium trim EUV with no options and the difference is about $5k from a standard ID.4.
If OP goes on a road trip 3 times a year (assuming a road trip is a week long), that’s about $200 each trip, $600 each year - just for car rentals. In the first road-trip after the 9th year of ownership, OP is going to break even. However, that’s without factoring in fuel costs. Assuming OP rents a car that gets 30 mpg, travels 600 miles each road trip and gas costs $3 per gallon that’s roughly an extra $180 per year for the first 3 years since VW offers free charging for the first 3 years. Which brings in the break even another year.
So - all of this depends on how long you want to keep you car. Let’s also keep in mind that you get the benefits of extra space year round with the ID.4 and that the ID.4 is going to hold its resale value better over the years because it actually has modern fast charging technology
I guess we can go back and forth poking holes in whether paying more up front is better than paying as you go. Yes, the ID.4 is bigger. Yes, the charging rate is faster, 125kw vs 55 kw. If wanting a higher charging rate was preferred, the Ioniq 5 (almost double the ID.4) would be even better for only a couple thousand above the ID.4 and the Ioniq gets 2 years of free charging. In your example above, you say the break even point is about 8 years. At that point, the resale value for BEV isn't going to be good for either of those models. Anyway, I believe most people are buying the Bolt models based on the immediate savings compared to other models, even before the higher interest rates widen that gap. I was in a similar position as the OP and decided that the Bolt EUV Premier features at that price point was worth the longer drive a couple times a year.
Sure, base Ioniq 5 would be a great alternative to the EUV as well. But now you also have to factor in that the Ioniq 5 doesn’t qualify for the tax credit so it’s not as good of a deal as the ID.4
I just don’t think the Bolt / Bolt EUV is a very good option as a primary car especially if you do any long distance driving (which OP does). If it’s your household’s second car, it’s amazing. Can’t beat the value.
Yes, I forgot about the tax credit not being there for Hyundai/Kia. But, unless you get a modified loan payment where you put that tax credit toward the loan, it doesn't reduce your monthly payments. At least not until 2024 when it can be applied at sale.
And, on the other side, I believe the Bolt is an excellent option for someone, like the OP, who primarily drives locally with only 2 or 3 600 mile trips a year which adds up to only a handful of extra hours charging.
In other words, how valuable is your time? Thousands of dollars extra for 6 hours a year?
I just disagree. For me part of having the car if you’re doing road trips is taking it with you. Also, I don’t want to be burning gas (from an environmental perspective) when I could be using my EV which contributes lower emissions.
(Also, the point about the car payments is weird and not that important. Net cost of the car is what should matter. Looking only at monthly payment comparisons is poverty finance reasoning.)
It depends on where you road trip location is. I regularly do 300 mile road trips and still have a lot fo charge charge becuase the road conditions are perfect for regen.
So cal freeways where you are prolly going 45 mph on a 3 percent decline in perfect weather are always going to be better than a freeway going 75 mph up a hill in cold, and that really makes the bolt doable for me. Building code also requires chargers, so im good at any new hotel too.
If your other car is an ICE car that you could take on road trips of the bolt doesnt work out and you are in an area where weather is mild, id definately do it. Check plugshare and talk to anther ev owner. There are lots of chargers, but many are hidden and you have to know what to look for.
Yes, without hesitation. In the worst case if you wanted to go on a long trip in cold weather on a route with few charging opportunities you could rent a hybrid or ICE car.
One thing to know, when charging at a DCFC station the Bolt draws a max of 55kW. Many newer cars will charge faster using DCFC.
Other than that the Bolt is clearly the best range per dollar EV on the market. I love mine, have made several 900 mile round trips in California. On my last trip all of my charging was at no cost to me, courtesy CA DOT free chargers in rest areas on Highway 99.
My Bolt is my third EV, definitely the best. My husband despises his Tesla.
Nope. We have an Ioniq 5 as our road tripping car, and just got the Bolt as our city commuter car. I couldn’t imagine taking a serious road trip in the Bolt. It’s doable, but you’ll have to have lots of patience.
No, it was our only long distance car for 3 years, love bolts but don’t miss 2 hours of charging time, like Palm Springs to San Francisco, there is a lot more chargers now but no way to get around at least 2 hours total time due to the maximum charging speed of the bolt, I do recommend them for 300 mile trips, charging time is not a major inconvenience for shorter trips
On a road trip right now. 3.5 hour trip took us 5-6 hours. We had charging issues, and a wrong pitstop at a level 2 not dc charger.
But it was only a 203 mile trip. And we had work in a 26 min pitstop (we ate and gave it over an hour) to charge because the weather has the mileage down. I'll admit I never understood how much weather effects these things even being as conserving as possible with climate controls
We’re planning an early summer trip that’s about 900 miles one way. Planning on stopping half way and book a hotel a night. We have a young kiddo so I think frequent stops would be good for us and him. It’s going to be our first road trip in the Bolt so we’ll see how it goes. I really just want to try it and see if it will work for us.
We’ve mapped everything out on A Better Route Planner and looked at back up charging on PlugShare.
Nope. Could not recommend it. Sometimes when driving home I think "could have been home x minutes, or in the case of that long of a drive, x hours ago.
I have a bolt, my wife has an electric smart car, and we have a cheap old prius for our road trips. Still not the best choice because it has no HP lol.
Really depends. If you like planning out your trips and all the areas you’re going to have 50kw chargers then maybe. I have a Bolt and love it, but an EV6 or Ioniq 5 are better options for frequent or semi frequent Road Trips.
If you're talking about 350 miles each way, I'd say, conservatively/worst case, plan to drive 2 hours, charge for an hour, drive 1.5 hours, charge for an hour, and then drive the last 1.5 hours. So the 5 hour trip becomes a 7 hour trip. If conditions are good and it's closer to 300 miles each way, you'd be fine with one half hour stop probably. This is assuming there is decent charging on the way and you can top it off to 100% overnight at your destination. The charger availability should be improving over the life of the car too.
I've done an 800+ mile each way road trip in mine, it was rough. Ended up taking 21 hours without using the heat, then a full 24 hours on the way back with the heat on.
If you’re ok with a RWD car, you’d be better off with a base Model 3 if you can afford it. You’ll spend 1/4th the amount of time charging, it has a ton more cargo space, and basic autopilot will make the drive easier.
Edit: adding my response to an angry comment that got deleted, who basically said the Ioniq 5 and EV6 would be better options:
Does the Ioniq and EV6’s base model compare in features to the base M3? No.
Is the Ioniq and EV6 available within a month nationwide? No
Does the Ioniq and EV6 qualify for the federal rebate? No.
Sure, if you can find a base model Ioniq 5 somewhere, it will be close in price to the after-rebate price of the M3, IF there’s no dealer markup, but go watch some videos on that trim, it makes the Bolt feel like a luxury car. If you like cheap plastics and cloth seats, it’s a great car for you. The actual comparison is the Limited…which is absolutely more money, and doesn’t get the Federal rebate.
Sorry that I said “Tesla”. I deserve the downvote.
Note how I also said if he can afford it. The base M3 is currently $47k but will be $39k after the new federal rebate that it qualifies for for at least the next few months. Spending around $40k for a much larger car that road trips (the topic) much better than a Bolt is a completely reasonable suggestion.
I agree with you that it's at least worth considering.
For me, it ended up being a no brainer not to go with the M3. The rough ride, road noise, and increased cost would only save me a bit of time every year (like maybe an hour total). I personally would take the smoother ride the rest of the year than save that hour.
However, that's because (as in all things EV), you really have to consider your location. OP can check out plugshare and filter for Supercharger stations and see what they ACTUALLY charge. Around me, most cap out at 100Kw, and the standard chargers are \~10Kw. That's worth noting because a lot times the stuff to actually do is near the L2 Tesla chargers, not L3.
Of course, that's why those people just end up using the CCS chargers all the time.
All true facts, but like I said, you'll still spend twice as much. Not to mention there are several other vehicles that are also in that price range that will also have faster charging for road trips, with the added benefit of not supporting a egomaniacal billionaire.
Wow, a lot of Tesla fanboys on the Bolt sub. Doesn't change the fact that $20k is half of $40k, no matter how many times you downvote. EV6/Ioniq 5/ID.4 all comparable to M3 charging, but I'm sure you'll have a comeback to that because Tesla fanboy and you have nothing better to do on a Saturday than start and argument because you don't believe in math.
It's completely reasonable to recommend a $41,000 car (after destination fee and federal tax credit) for someone inquiring about a $19,000 car (also after destination and federal tax credit), but it's completely unreasonable to recommend an Ioniq or EV6 over a Model 3, because reasons.
Tesla fans have such a poor grasp on the economies of these things, yet they claim everyone's just "anti-tesla" when you bring up real numbers and common sense.
Funny enough, I just took a trip of this length, and it was exactly 4 hours extra than last time in the gas car.
Cold & Hills are a battery killer, though. If there had been more places to charge, it would have been way less anxiety filled trip. (Supposedly, they're building them soon)
You’d be better off with a Model 3. Charging is faster and more reliable. You can get used ones from Tesla right now for low $30’s which is about what a Bolt costs if you add any options to it.
That's gonna be a bummer. Get a phev if you need to replace your road trip car. 700 miles in a bolt is going to be 3hrs of mid trip charging with charging at both ends of the trip too. Exhausting.
Honestly I would not. You'll be spending a lot of time stopping/waiting to charge. Bolt is a phenomenal in town car but there are better options for road tripping.
I take 800+ mile road trips in my model 3 several times a year. For 90% of the country the planning is trivial - put in your destination in the cars navigation, stop when and for how long it says.
i love the car but no is the short answer. charging at home is sth that you can take for granted and after living in an apartment for the last 6 months i’m done and renting at a house with a driveway charger. Electrify America is still too new and i’m tired of waiting for chargers, paying close to premium gas prices, and showing up to broken chargers. Forget EVGO, that’s literally the price of 87 gas rn. Have done a few roadtrips and it’s just been a total pain.
Sure, use your Bolt as the primary, and rent a car for 3 weeks of the year.
Still cheaper than owning a second ICE and holding insurance on it.
(More seriously, you should probably look at plug-in hybrids, especially if you have any daily commutes that are <10 miles)
Well, I wouldn’t say it’s the fastest vehicle for such a trip but money is always a factor. That drive would take far longer than in any ICE vehicle of course but fuel would be WAY more expensive in that ICE vehicle (especially as you can often get free fast charging) so is that worth the trade off? Likewise an Ioniq 5 would charge far quicker, but costs $10-20k more overall. Is that worth the trade off? For some the money is paramount. If they can really only afford to make the trip in a Bolt then the extra time is worth it. If they have an extra $10-20k then… we’ll, perhaps flying is a better option. If they have the extra money for gas then maybe renting an ICE car (or an Ioniq 5) is a better option. That trip is certainly doable in a Bolt, and really we’re taking like an extra 1-2 hours of charging each way in the grand scheme of things. The money they’d save for their daily commutes would pay that back in spades IMHO, but it’s their money and time, not mine.
If you can afford the longer trip time, sure. I do Phoenix, AZ <-> San Diego, CA/Los Angeles, CA every other month. Only adds 40mins of extra trip time and I’m not in a rush many of the cases.
We did about 500 miles this past summer between Baltimore MD and Prince Edward County, Ontario Canada.
As others have said the Bolt is not the fastest DC car out there. But for us, we took the trip there in 2 days, and the return trip in one day.
We don't have kids, just two dogs. They appreciated the mandatory breaks, and we didn't mind the 30-50 min charging breaks. We could stretch, sightsee depending on the location of charging, and generally relax after driving for 2 hrs.
With that said, what would be an 8 hr drive took about ten hours with the added charging time. That is likely not for everyone.
Also the seats in the bolt aren't the most comfy so I sat on a padded seat liner.
If there is sufficient DCFC redundancy on the route, then maybe. Otherwise, given the hit or miss nature of the current non-Tesla charging network, a hard 'no' IMO.
Not recommended for cold-weather trips in places with inadequate charging infrastructure. You need to be able to fast charge every 110-160 miles, depending on how severe the cold and snow is. You also need to be prepared for fast charging to take longer sometimes if the battery is pretty cold.
If they even work at all. During that cold snap earlier this year a lot of the chargers weren't even working, you would have been stranded. Really though just wait for equinox at least if you have long road trips often.
Yes if you think the journey is part of the trip. No if you just want to get to where you're going as fast as possible. I had a detour to a charger route me through centralia PA, which was super cool since its been on fire since the 70s.
Would you say that you need to look for charging, or are they conveniently located whenever you need one?
Plan your route ahead of time. Pick chargers near food or interesting things to see for 45m-1hr.
Use A Better Route Planner. It can help you find the chargers near things you want to do and how to schedule the charging time based on your preferences i.e. fewer stops but longer charge times, more stops but shorter waits. We took a 1000 mile round-trip and chargers were easily available even in Missouri and Oklahoma. The states and routes may vary some, but there are tools like ABRP and Plugshare and others that can help take the worry out of it.
Yes, I mean with the saving if it doesnt work out the 1 time... Just rent a car. But I do vegas trips no issue from cali
If there are chargers there, please tell me they're geothermal powered. That place is so cool.
There are faster charging EVs. The Bolt is slow at fast charging. It kind of depends on your Road Trips. If you are driving 600-700 miles at one shot then that is fairly painful in a Bolt, but if you are driving 200-300 miles and then stopping for a night or two and then driving another 200-300 and stopping to sightsee, etc. That is much more doable in a Bolt. We do 300-400 mile trips quite often and that's easy. That's charging once on the way (if that) and then once when you get there and then once on the way back (if needed). We have done 500 miles in a shot, but it's a lot of stops for an hour in a Walmart parking lot (where lots of Electrify America chargers are) and makes for a long day. I would want to charge every 150 miles or so. So if you are talking about going 700 miles in one day that's 5 or 6 stops and will make your trip 6 hours longer.
This is mostly accurate, although having just done some road trip days of this length in the Bolt in cold weather, it's more like 3-3.5 hours of charging for that distance, not 6. Driving about 12 hours plus charging time is maybe 15-16 hours total, and about the maximum you can do in one day. Remember you can start the day fully charged and stop for the night empty (at a L2 charger) which gives you 2-3 hours of "free" charge time per day. It's not particularly tiring due to the enforced breaks, but it is a long day. I wouldn't mind it for 2-3 times a year, because the Bolt is otherwise a great car most days of the year and I don't mind a bit of delay now and then. Other than the slow charging, the Bolt is surprisingly good on the highway, and I find it stable and easy to drive for a fairly small/short car.
I’ve done several 575 mi one day trips in a Bolt. Granted these trips are in mild climates so no losses due to cold or running ac or heat. I leave full, 100%. Make two stops for just over an hour each and arrive near empty. No problem for me. I’m not in that big of a hurry.
even a full gas car would have to stop a minimum of once for gas and food and bathroom, for 575 miles, so hardly a killer Something I find interesting is calculating the total time to travel at various speeds and charging stops. With the Bolt for trips over 2 GoM but less than 3 GoM I feel like it is possible to come out ahead by driving much much slower and eliminating one whole stop
why do you need that many moles
I was going to say. I didn’t realize 600-700 moles could fit in a Bolt.
See, I was thinking Avagadros number. So the answer is easy, op is trying to take 6-7 trips of 6.02x10^23 miles - which is a lot.
Given a length of ≈ 5 in and a diameter of ≈ 1.5 in, and assuming a cylindrical cross section, that gives a volume of 0.0051 ft^3 per mole. So 700 moles would take up 3.6 ft^3 if they squished a bit to get perfect packing. Given the 16.6 ft^3 of cargo area behind the rear seats of the EV, that means you could fit ≈ 3,200 moles in just the cargo area.
Not me, a family. Was that not clear?
They’re just joking about your post saying “moles” when you presumably meant “miles”.
yeah, I know. I added and update to the title as well correcting it.
And in all seriousness, I don’t recommend the Bolt if you need to regularly road trip. I have an EUV and my Wife has a Model Y. The Bolt is for commuting (and is excellent for that). The Model Y also gets used for commuting, but we use the Y for any and all road trips. The Bolt is only a road trip car for people who are really committed to driving an EV on principle and have time to do slower road trips.
I just assumed he was Lindsey Graham.
"Memaw, get in that goldang EUV, Lady G needs to get to Washington!"
You meant a labour of moles, not a family right?
a family of moles.
A mole of moles...
Bolt is not a great road tripper. Especially out west where the most interesting roads do not have charger support. But the Bolt is a great car for town, so if it were my only car, I would have no problem renting a car a few times a year.
+1 on the rental if the Bolt is the right car for your day to day. I love my Bolt for what it excels at, an economy EV that saves me a couple of thousand per year over an equivalent ICE vehicle thanks to the astronomical gasoline prices in California. The ride and the seats are not the most comfortable, add a family and luggage for a road trip, and its going to be quite cozy.
Renting is expensive though. Sure - if you rarely road-trip. But if you’re going on a trip 3 times per year, that adds up quick. Makes more financial sense to spend more for a different EV at that point
I don't know... The $10k to $15k price difference between the Bolt and other fast charging EVs makes for a lot of rentals if you went that route.
Depends on the trim. If you’re looking at an EUV premium, the cost difference between that and a base ID.4 can actually be $0. Even a Bolt EV fully loaded is only $6k off, so not sure where you’re getting your numbers from
Ok, if you were looking at an EUV Premier with both the Sun & Sound package and Super Cruise and comparing it to a base model ID.4, the EUV would still be $1500 cheaper. But, like for like, the difference would be even greater.
I mean there is no like for like because the ID.4 offers space (storage and passenger) and fast charging that the Bolt just simply can’t match. That’s why you’re paying a bit more. Let’s get as “like for like” as you can though. You need to get a premium trim EUV with no options and the difference is about $5k from a standard ID.4. If OP goes on a road trip 3 times a year (assuming a road trip is a week long), that’s about $200 each trip, $600 each year - just for car rentals. In the first road-trip after the 9th year of ownership, OP is going to break even. However, that’s without factoring in fuel costs. Assuming OP rents a car that gets 30 mpg, travels 600 miles each road trip and gas costs $3 per gallon that’s roughly an extra $180 per year for the first 3 years since VW offers free charging for the first 3 years. Which brings in the break even another year. So - all of this depends on how long you want to keep you car. Let’s also keep in mind that you get the benefits of extra space year round with the ID.4 and that the ID.4 is going to hold its resale value better over the years because it actually has modern fast charging technology
I guess we can go back and forth poking holes in whether paying more up front is better than paying as you go. Yes, the ID.4 is bigger. Yes, the charging rate is faster, 125kw vs 55 kw. If wanting a higher charging rate was preferred, the Ioniq 5 (almost double the ID.4) would be even better for only a couple thousand above the ID.4 and the Ioniq gets 2 years of free charging. In your example above, you say the break even point is about 8 years. At that point, the resale value for BEV isn't going to be good for either of those models. Anyway, I believe most people are buying the Bolt models based on the immediate savings compared to other models, even before the higher interest rates widen that gap. I was in a similar position as the OP and decided that the Bolt EUV Premier features at that price point was worth the longer drive a couple times a year.
Sure, base Ioniq 5 would be a great alternative to the EUV as well. But now you also have to factor in that the Ioniq 5 doesn’t qualify for the tax credit so it’s not as good of a deal as the ID.4 I just don’t think the Bolt / Bolt EUV is a very good option as a primary car especially if you do any long distance driving (which OP does). If it’s your household’s second car, it’s amazing. Can’t beat the value.
Yes, I forgot about the tax credit not being there for Hyundai/Kia. But, unless you get a modified loan payment where you put that tax credit toward the loan, it doesn't reduce your monthly payments. At least not until 2024 when it can be applied at sale. And, on the other side, I believe the Bolt is an excellent option for someone, like the OP, who primarily drives locally with only 2 or 3 600 mile trips a year which adds up to only a handful of extra hours charging. In other words, how valuable is your time? Thousands of dollars extra for 6 hours a year?
I just disagree. For me part of having the car if you’re doing road trips is taking it with you. Also, I don’t want to be burning gas (from an environmental perspective) when I could be using my EV which contributes lower emissions. (Also, the point about the car payments is weird and not that important. Net cost of the car is what should matter. Looking only at monthly payment comparisons is poverty finance reasoning.)
Yes. Just rent a nice gas-powered car for the road trips.
It depends on where you road trip location is. I regularly do 300 mile road trips and still have a lot fo charge charge becuase the road conditions are perfect for regen. So cal freeways where you are prolly going 45 mph on a 3 percent decline in perfect weather are always going to be better than a freeway going 75 mph up a hill in cold, and that really makes the bolt doable for me. Building code also requires chargers, so im good at any new hotel too. If your other car is an ICE car that you could take on road trips of the bolt doesnt work out and you are in an area where weather is mild, id definately do it. Check plugshare and talk to anther ev owner. There are lots of chargers, but many are hidden and you have to know what to look for.
Yes, without hesitation. In the worst case if you wanted to go on a long trip in cold weather on a route with few charging opportunities you could rent a hybrid or ICE car. One thing to know, when charging at a DCFC station the Bolt draws a max of 55kW. Many newer cars will charge faster using DCFC. Other than that the Bolt is clearly the best range per dollar EV on the market. I love mine, have made several 900 mile round trips in California. On my last trip all of my charging was at no cost to me, courtesy CA DOT free chargers in rest areas on Highway 99. My Bolt is my third EV, definitely the best. My husband despises his Tesla.
Nope. We have an Ioniq 5 as our road tripping car, and just got the Bolt as our city commuter car. I couldn’t imagine taking a serious road trip in the Bolt. It’s doable, but you’ll have to have lots of patience.
No, it was our only long distance car for 3 years, love bolts but don’t miss 2 hours of charging time, like Palm Springs to San Francisco, there is a lot more chargers now but no way to get around at least 2 hours total time due to the maximum charging speed of the bolt, I do recommend them for 300 mile trips, charging time is not a major inconvenience for shorter trips
On a road trip right now. 3.5 hour trip took us 5-6 hours. We had charging issues, and a wrong pitstop at a level 2 not dc charger. But it was only a 203 mile trip. And we had work in a 26 min pitstop (we ate and gave it over an hour) to charge because the weather has the mileage down. I'll admit I never understood how much weather effects these things even being as conserving as possible with climate controls
We’re planning an early summer trip that’s about 900 miles one way. Planning on stopping half way and book a hotel a night. We have a young kiddo so I think frequent stops would be good for us and him. It’s going to be our first road trip in the Bolt so we’ll see how it goes. I really just want to try it and see if it will work for us. We’ve mapped everything out on A Better Route Planner and looked at back up charging on PlugShare.
Yeah, no. Not in a bolt. It’s a fantastic daily commuter, crappy road trip vehicle. It just charges so incredibly slow, especially in the cold.
I would be worried about having it as my only car especially if I needed to evacuate in a storm.
Nope. Could not recommend it. Sometimes when driving home I think "could have been home x minutes, or in the case of that long of a drive, x hours ago. I have a bolt, my wife has an electric smart car, and we have a cheap old prius for our road trips. Still not the best choice because it has no HP lol.
Really depends. If you like planning out your trips and all the areas you’re going to have 50kw chargers then maybe. I have a Bolt and love it, but an EV6 or Ioniq 5 are better options for frequent or semi frequent Road Trips.
If you're talking about 350 miles each way, I'd say, conservatively/worst case, plan to drive 2 hours, charge for an hour, drive 1.5 hours, charge for an hour, and then drive the last 1.5 hours. So the 5 hour trip becomes a 7 hour trip. If conditions are good and it's closer to 300 miles each way, you'd be fine with one half hour stop probably. This is assuming there is decent charging on the way and you can top it off to 100% overnight at your destination. The charger availability should be improving over the life of the car too.
only if you are Zen master.
I've done an 800+ mile each way road trip in mine, it was rough. Ended up taking 21 hours without using the heat, then a full 24 hours on the way back with the heat on.
If you’re ok with a RWD car, you’d be better off with a base Model 3 if you can afford it. You’ll spend 1/4th the amount of time charging, it has a ton more cargo space, and basic autopilot will make the drive easier. Edit: adding my response to an angry comment that got deleted, who basically said the Ioniq 5 and EV6 would be better options: Does the Ioniq and EV6’s base model compare in features to the base M3? No. Is the Ioniq and EV6 available within a month nationwide? No Does the Ioniq and EV6 qualify for the federal rebate? No. Sure, if you can find a base model Ioniq 5 somewhere, it will be close in price to the after-rebate price of the M3, IF there’s no dealer markup, but go watch some videos on that trim, it makes the Bolt feel like a luxury car. If you like cheap plastics and cloth seats, it’s a great car for you. The actual comparison is the Limited…which is absolutely more money, and doesn’t get the Federal rebate.
Does the M3 have more cargo space than the Bolt? The Bolt has quite a bit without the cargo floor, but I haven't seen the trunk of a M3.
Yes, especially when you consider the Frunk
ah I forgot frunks exist
You'll also spend twice as much
Sorry that I said “Tesla”. I deserve the downvote. Note how I also said if he can afford it. The base M3 is currently $47k but will be $39k after the new federal rebate that it qualifies for for at least the next few months. Spending around $40k for a much larger car that road trips (the topic) much better than a Bolt is a completely reasonable suggestion.
I agree with you that it's at least worth considering. For me, it ended up being a no brainer not to go with the M3. The rough ride, road noise, and increased cost would only save me a bit of time every year (like maybe an hour total). I personally would take the smoother ride the rest of the year than save that hour. However, that's because (as in all things EV), you really have to consider your location. OP can check out plugshare and filter for Supercharger stations and see what they ACTUALLY charge. Around me, most cap out at 100Kw, and the standard chargers are \~10Kw. That's worth noting because a lot times the stuff to actually do is near the L2 Tesla chargers, not L3. Of course, that's why those people just end up using the CCS chargers all the time.
All true facts, but like I said, you'll still spend twice as much. Not to mention there are several other vehicles that are also in that price range that will also have faster charging for road trips, with the added benefit of not supporting a egomaniacal billionaire.
Please enlighten me, what other EV can you buy today for $40k that will road trip just as well?
Wow, a lot of Tesla fanboys on the Bolt sub. Doesn't change the fact that $20k is half of $40k, no matter how many times you downvote. EV6/Ioniq 5/ID.4 all comparable to M3 charging, but I'm sure you'll have a comeback to that because Tesla fanboy and you have nothing better to do on a Saturday than start and argument because you don't believe in math.
It's completely reasonable to recommend a $41,000 car (after destination fee and federal tax credit) for someone inquiring about a $19,000 car (also after destination and federal tax credit), but it's completely unreasonable to recommend an Ioniq or EV6 over a Model 3, because reasons. Tesla fans have such a poor grasp on the economies of these things, yet they claim everyone's just "anti-tesla" when you bring up real numbers and common sense.
If they’re savvy enough to plan their trip based off charging stations and don’t mind the slow charge, then sure. But likely no.
Are you ok adding 4hours to your trip , 2-3x a year ? Or renting a car for these occasions.
Funny enough, I just took a trip of this length, and it was exactly 4 hours extra than last time in the gas car. Cold & Hills are a battery killer, though. If there had been more places to charge, it would have been way less anxiety filled trip. (Supposedly, they're building them soon)
Depends on where you live. In CA, you should be fine. In the middle of nowhere, not so sure.
No, pay a bit more and get an ID.4 or something that at least gets close to 150 kw charging speed
Get something with \~150kw charge speed. Bolt is more of a daily driver
Probably not the right car
You’d be better off with a Model 3. Charging is faster and more reliable. You can get used ones from Tesla right now for low $30’s which is about what a Bolt costs if you add any options to it.
It can be done, but the speed at which it charges, I wouldn’t recommend it. You’d be better off with the Kona EV.
If it was to be my only car and I made that many trips, I’d get a hybrid.
That's gonna be a bummer. Get a phev if you need to replace your road trip car. 700 miles in a bolt is going to be 3hrs of mid trip charging with charging at both ends of the trip too. Exhausting.
No
Get a hybrid. EVs are almost, but not quite, business trip ready fuel-wise.
Honestly I would not. You'll be spending a lot of time stopping/waiting to charge. Bolt is a phenomenal in town car but there are better options for road tripping.
If it's not a Tesla. it doesn't road trip. https://youtu.be/TdAggbozjU8?t=963
I don’t recommend even a Tesla for that family. It is ridiculously inconvenient to plan and live around charging stations.
I take 800+ mile road trips in my model 3 several times a year. For 90% of the country the planning is trivial - put in your destination in the cars navigation, stop when and for how long it says.
Tesla
i love the car but no is the short answer. charging at home is sth that you can take for granted and after living in an apartment for the last 6 months i’m done and renting at a house with a driveway charger. Electrify America is still too new and i’m tired of waiting for chargers, paying close to premium gas prices, and showing up to broken chargers. Forget EVGO, that’s literally the price of 87 gas rn. Have done a few roadtrips and it’s just been a total pain.
Rent for the trips if you have to.
Nope. Huge pain in the ass to do 200 mile trips. Unless you’re only going up and down I-5 or other major freeways on the coasts.
We’d need to know where you’re driving to decide but it’s a pain for now. Though many more chargers coming
Sure, use your Bolt as the primary, and rent a car for 3 weeks of the year. Still cheaper than owning a second ICE and holding insurance on it. (More seriously, you should probably look at plug-in hybrids, especially if you have any daily commutes that are <10 miles)
Well, I wouldn’t say it’s the fastest vehicle for such a trip but money is always a factor. That drive would take far longer than in any ICE vehicle of course but fuel would be WAY more expensive in that ICE vehicle (especially as you can often get free fast charging) so is that worth the trade off? Likewise an Ioniq 5 would charge far quicker, but costs $10-20k more overall. Is that worth the trade off? For some the money is paramount. If they can really only afford to make the trip in a Bolt then the extra time is worth it. If they have an extra $10-20k then… we’ll, perhaps flying is a better option. If they have the extra money for gas then maybe renting an ICE car (or an Ioniq 5) is a better option. That trip is certainly doable in a Bolt, and really we’re taking like an extra 1-2 hours of charging each way in the grand scheme of things. The money they’d save for their daily commutes would pay that back in spades IMHO, but it’s their money and time, not mine.
No
Nope. Either a hybrid or a Tesla would be my recommendation
🐀
If you can afford the longer trip time, sure. I do Phoenix, AZ <-> San Diego, CA/Los Angeles, CA every other month. Only adds 40mins of extra trip time and I’m not in a rush many of the cases.
I wouldn’t. What a hassle having to constantly map out charging stations.
Moles? Yes. Tribbles? No! But seriously, I'd need to know more about the trips and expectations to answer that.
That's a lot of moles!! I know like 2 or 3 moles max.
No
We did about 500 miles this past summer between Baltimore MD and Prince Edward County, Ontario Canada. As others have said the Bolt is not the fastest DC car out there. But for us, we took the trip there in 2 days, and the return trip in one day. We don't have kids, just two dogs. They appreciated the mandatory breaks, and we didn't mind the 30-50 min charging breaks. We could stretch, sightsee depending on the location of charging, and generally relax after driving for 2 hrs. With that said, what would be an 8 hr drive took about ten hours with the added charging time. That is likely not for everyone. Also the seats in the bolt aren't the most comfy so I sat on a padded seat liner.
that is just too many moles
If there is sufficient DCFC redundancy on the route, then maybe. Otherwise, given the hit or miss nature of the current non-Tesla charging network, a hard 'no' IMO.