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.
Familiarity brings Confidence–300-Mile Day Trip in an EV on a Whim
By
Paul Gipe
My wife Nancy’s friend Virginia was visiting. Virginia has a relative she hadn’t seen in many years on California’s central coast in Arroyo Grande. We have a friend in adjoining Grover Beach. The two coastal towns are about 150 miles from Bakersfield. Nancy asked if we could make a day-trip to the coast in our 2017 Chevy Bolt. “Sure,” I said and I jumped at the chance to test the Bolt on a spontaneous day trip outside its 238-mile range.
Is “A Better Routeplanner” Better? A Review for the Bolt
By
Paul Gipe
There are four route planners I’ve used for planning trips in our Chevy Bolt. I’ve reported on my experience with EV Trip Planner, Green Race, and Chevy’s own Energy Assist App. The first two are found on the web, the latter is available only as a smart phone app. The fourth is boldly titled A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) and it too is available with a web interface. They all work to a degree. The question is–for us non-Tesla drivers–what works best.
EV Trip Planners and Trip Summaries with Chevy Bolt
By
Paul Gipe
I previously reported on my experience using three different EV trip planners. See Energy Consumption Estimators, Trip Planners, and the Chevy Bolt EV. Since then I’ve been experimenting with A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) and we’ve driven several new routes and revisited several destinations we’d driven to before. Consequently, I’ve updated my trip summaries to include estimates from ABRP and added summaries from the new routes.
Bakersfield to Death Valley and Return–500-mile Round Trip in a Chevy Bolt
By
Paul Gipe
We recently completed a round trip from Bakersfield to Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park in our Chevy Bolt. We’ve done this trip many times in a gasoline-powered car, but this was the first time in a battery-electric vehicle (EV).
Bakersfield to Ridgecrest and Return Trip Summary
By
Paul Gipe
We’ve now made the trip a few times in both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt. As with our trips to Kernville, actual consumption has varied for each trip and has varied with the results of four estimators: EV Trip Planner, Green Race, Chevy’s Energy Assist app, and A Better RoutePlanner (ABRP).
Bakersfield to Kernville and Return Trip Summaries
By
Paul Gipe
We’ve now done the trip several times and we can look at the variability in consumption relative to estimates by EV Trip Planner, Chevy’s Energy Assist app, and A Better RoutePlanner (ABRP).
