EV Trip Reports
As the title suggests, this section is devoted to our experience driving an electric vehicle (EV). In late 2014, we leased a Nissan Leaf, a mass-market EV with an official range of 84 miles. In late 2016 we bought a 2017 Chevy Volt. When the lease expired on the Nissan Leaf in the fall of 2017 we leased a 2017 Chevy Bolt EV. We sold the Volt in the spring of 2018 when we downsized to one vehicle. We now drive electric only. In the fall of 2020 we returned the Bolt to GM at the end of the lease and bought a 2020 Bolt.
Chevy Bolt 225 Mile Roundtrip with 21 Percent Charge Remaining
By
Paul Gipe
We’re a one-car family and our vehicle is a Chevy Bolt EV. So when friends decided to go backpacking in the Golden Trout Wilderness during the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing required that we each drive separately to and from the trailhead.
Climbing the Elkhorn Grade in a Chevy Bolt EV
By
Paul Gipe
With bright sunshine, spring in the air, and a bit of cabin fever, we headed west out of Bakersfield to a remote site on the Carrizo Plains National Monument hunting wild flowers. Social distancing wasn’t a problem. Most of the time there wasn’t a human in sight for as far as the eye could see.
Bakersfield to Santa Cruz via the San Andreas Fault
By
Paul Gipe
And why not? The San Andreas Fault is one of California’s defining features and it was on the way, so why not drive a winding portion of it in our sporty Chevy Bolt EV.
What we learned on the Electric Road Trip
By
David Ferris
After two crazy months, we’re done. The reporters of E&E News have completed the Electric Road Trip, an 8,000-mile journey in an electric car and an investigation into how electric transportation will change America. What did we learn?
Problem Free 730-mile Roundtrip in a Chevy Bolt
By
Paul Gipe
We’ve been driving electric for five years and we’ve seen tremendous improvement in both the cars and the charging network in that time. This trip was proof of that. Everything worked as expected. There were no surprises. We drove to where we wanted and returned–without drama.
When it doesn’t go Right–Plan B Charging of a Chevy Bolt EV
By
Paul Gipe
Experienced EV drivers always have a Plan B for charging on the road, and for good reason. Charging network reliability, especially for non-Tesla EVs, can be spotty at best even in “green” California. We found this out–again–on a recent 500-mile round trip to the coast.
