Bye bye ICE

[begreen]

The Volt has been a great car but lack of support and parts from Chevy convinced me to sell while ours still has good value. After reviewing the options and several test drives we settled on the KIA EV6 on a 2 yr lease. First time with an all EV and on a lease. This will give us the opportunity to go 100% EV for our main driver. We tried the new Equinox EV, but it is a big car. It's only 2" shorter than the Blazer EV. My wife hated it. She's only 5'2" and to her it felt like driving a truck.

The EV6 is loaded to the gills with tech and features, but fortunately for my wife you can ignore 95% of it and just drive. It's only 4" longer than the Volt, but very roomy inside. I think it will be a great trip car. We'll probably take it down the Oregon coast in October. Hope it's smart enough to know where good charging is.

 

[EbS-P]

I like it! Styling is better than the ionic 5, but it would be tough choice between the ev6 and an ionic 6 for me.

Did they give you any timeline for access to the Tesla charging network?

 

[bigealta]

That car looks nice. My neighbor just got the ionic. Sounds like Blade Runner every time they drive by.

 

[Joacchim]

I've been driving electric since 2004, starting with a 2004 Honda Insight hybrid, then a 2014 Nissan Leaf EV, and now a 2020 Chevy Bolt. Charging with the sun as well. I'll never go back.

 

[woodgeek]

Bienvenue BEV BG

 

[begreen]

I like it! Styling is better than the ionic 5, but it would be tough choice between the ev6 and an ionic 6 for me.

Did they give you any timeline for access to the Tesla charging network?

The Ioniq 6 is a sedan with a pass-thru the rear seats. No big stuff back there and no car camping. The EV6 seats lay down. The rear hatch opens to a cavernous cavity for a car of its size. It's classified as an SUV, but drives and feels more like a crossover.

 

[begreen]

Bienvenue BEV BG

Yes, it's been a good ride. We liked our Gen1 Volt and loved the Gen2. The Chevy engineers listened well to original Volt owners complaints, compliments, and needs and delivered great improvements.

We're well setup with an L2 charger and solar so the segway is not a giant leap. They look good together. Wish we could keep both.

 

[blades]

Ice will never die in my lifetime and likely my sons as well. There just isn't the infrastructure to support all this wishful thinking of anti Ice ideas. For city slickers maybe ok for us in the outlands no way. Right now we are in apx. the model T time frame. I am in the northern climes- can't say as I would trust a total ev out here.

 

[gthomas785]

Ice will never die in my lifetime and likely my sons as well. There just isn't the infrastructure to support all this wishful thinking of anti Ice ideas. For city slickers maybe ok for us in the outlands no way. Right now we are in apx. the model T time frame. I am in the northern climes- can't say as I would trust a total ev out here.

I think you're right that ICEs will not go away completely, but you're dead wrong if you think EVs will not be widely adopted pretty soon. The amount of expansion in DCFC networks just in the last two years combined with constantly improving battery ranges means EVs have reached the tipping point of practicality for a lot of people in the US. This was not even remotely the case 5 years ago. Of course remote areas with lower population density will be served last because they offer the lowest profit margin for people to put up fast chargers. Regardless the infrastructure you speak of is being built as we speak and is already adequate for a lot of people, and will only get better. Charging stations keep popping up everywhere like gas stations, and contrary to the popular talking points, the grid can handle EVs just fine. Yes we need to keep our infrastructure up to date, grid operators are constantly having to add capacity to handle all the new load coming online from housing developments, Bitcoin miners, AI servers and the like. When demand gets too high TOU rates incentivize people to load shift and charge their cars at night which is already what most people do anyway for convenience. If anything, city people living in apartments are at a bit of a disadvantage because it's harder for them to charge at home and decide when to charge.

I just bought my first EV last weekend after figuring that it will be a lower TCO than an ICE car by almost 1/3 and has all the capabilities I need in a car. For sure it will be different and a learning experience, but I do not see any real drawbacks for me at this point so I took the plunge.

 

[begreen]

Indeed we are in a period of transistion. This should have started decades ago but the fossil fuel industries have created roadblocks at every step. They will continue to be a boat anchor on progress here, so yes, it's taking a long time.

 

[bigealta]

What is the realistic range for a volt, bolt or kia?
Is 150-200 miles without charge reasonable to expect without sweating about running out of battery?

 

[gthomas785]

What is the realistic range for a volt, bolt or kia?
Is 150-200 miles without charge reasonable to expect without sweating about running out of battery?

My '23 Bolt EV has a stated range of 259 miles. Of course it's dependent on driving conditions, terrain, and systems usage like the cabin heat and AC. I have heard from Bolt owners getting as much as 300 miles or as little as 150 between charges according to those circumstances.
It would be reasonable to expect at least 200 miles on a charge as long as you're not cranking the heat in -10 degree weather.

 

[begreen]

It depends on how it is configured. The Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 get about 305 miles in summer in the RWD version. The AWD drops down to around 280. The main difference is in battery pack voltage and charging speed. These cars have an 800v system that charges from around 20-80% quickly of a fast DC charger. I'm reading it's less than 20 minutes but haven't done this yet. The Bolt is limited to level 2 AC charging until the 2026 models come out.

 

[gthomas785]

The Bolt is limited to level 2 AC charging until the 2026 models come out.

That's not quite true, the 2023 Bolt can use CCS1 fast charging but is limited to 55kW due to the design of the battery pack.

 

[begreen]

That's not quite true, the 2023 Bolt can use CCS1 fast charging but is limited to 55kW due to the design of the battery pack.

Thanks, my bad. I was lazy and didn't look it up. I just recall a friend owning one that said he had to charge mostly on L2 chargers on a trip and thought that was a limitation like our Volt.

 

[gthomas785]

Thanks, my bad. I was lazy and didn't look it up. I just recall a friend owning one that said he had to charge mostly on L2 chargers on a trip and thought that was a limitation like our Volt.

Yeah, IMO that was an under-sold change in the past few years that made a big difference in my decision to buy it.

 

[woodgeek]

What is the realistic range for a volt, bolt or kia?
Is 150-200 miles without charge reasonable to expect without sweating about running out of battery?

At highway speeds (like 70 mph) in warm weather I can do 220 miles. Since I am ok with a 20 mile 'buffer' I can do a 200 mile HW trip in the summer without charging. That is about what I need to get to a beach and back home.

In mild winter, its more like 150 miles realistic (excluding buffer), lower in very cold weather. This requires being skimpy with the cabin heater and using the heated seats and steering wheel.

If you hit traffic, your range goes UP, bc you slow down. If you hit rain or a heavy headwind, you range goes down. If you think you are not going to make it on a highway leg, you can just drop to 60 mph in the slow lane to make up some margin.

 

[stoveliker]

why does rain deteriorate range?

 

[bigealta]

Does rain produce drag?

 

[gthomas785]

why does rain deteriorate range?

I always assumed it's because of the drag from tires moving through water on the road. But maybe someone else has another explanation.

Edit: I do know that when I ride my bicycle, a fair amount of effort goes into slinging water against the fenders.

 

[woodgeek]

I always assumed it's because of the drag from tires moving through water on the road. But maybe someone else has another explanation.

Edit: I do know that when I ride my bicycle, a fair amount of effort goes into slinging water against the fenders.

I don't know either, sounds good to me.

I think wet roads and tires seem to reduce friction, but falling rain seems to cost extra energy, I figured it was the mass of the rain needing to be acceerated when it hits the car? Power ~ mass per second rain impact * v^2

 

[stoveliker]

I always assumed it's because of the drag from tires moving through water on the road. But maybe someone else has another explanation.

Edit: I do know that when I ride my bicycle, a fair amount of effort goes into slinging water against the fenders.

if I go thru a puddle yes, other than that I never experienced anything beyond the frustration of getting wet

Maybe it is simply the acceleration of additional mass as mentioned by woodgeek.

Or driving habits change when it rains?

 

[bigealta]

AI says "Yes, rain can increase drag on cars. According to one study, drag can increase by more than 10% in extremely high rain rates, which is equivalent to about 250 mm/hr. The study also found that drag increases non-linearly with rain rate, suggesting that there are multiple mechanisms at play. Another study found that the drag coefficient increases as rain intensity increases, and that at higher intensities, the drag coefficient can be almost three times higher than without rain."

 

[gthomas785]

AI says "Yes, rain can increase drag on cars. According to one study, drag can increase by more than 10% in extremely high rain rates, which is equivalent to about 250 mm/hr. The study also found that drag increases non-linearly with rain rate, suggesting that there are multiple mechanisms at play. Another study found that the drag coefficient increases as rain intensity increases, and that at higher intensities, the drag coefficient can be almost three times higher than without rain."

Don't believe anything AI tells you. It's just making up words that sound good together.

 

[stoveliker]

I have actually asked scientific or engineering questions that chatgpt, and not ever received a correct answer ...

Ask for the sources when you get answers. Likely it'll tell you "oops, I was mistaken".