On 11 July we drove our 2027 Chevy Bolt to Bald Mountain to lead a Sierra Club hike. This is a three-hour, 97-mile drive from Bakersfield on serpentine mountain roads into the Sequoia National Forest. Speeds were often—at best—40 mph. This was not a drive at freeway speeds!
Why it may be of interest is that we drove this route to take the same hike six years ago during Covid. And being the nerd that I am, I have my spreadsheet from that drive.
Our first generation Bolt, a 2017 model, used 44.2 kWh, giving the 2017 Bolt an efficiency of 4.4 mi/kWh.
The 2027 Bolt on the same route used 42.1 kWh, giving the 2027 Bolt an efficiency of 4.6 mi/kWh.[1]
At least on torturous mountain roads, the efficiency of the 2027 Bolt is equal to if not greater than the first generation Bolt.
[1] The 2027 Bolt does not report kWh used directly, unlike the first generation Bolt. The 2027 Bolt reported 28 kWh remaining from a battery with 70.1 total kWh.
