Bye bye ICE
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Not always. I don't think the MY has resistive, just the HP. A good heat pump will work well below 0ºF.
FWIW, nor is a heat pump in very hot weather a panacea. The range loss will be notable in either extreme. Fortunately, for our climate, it's a good solution.
I'm searching for how low the EV6's works at very low temps. It appears to have logic that turns on resistive heat in a stone cold car to accelerate warmup before switching to HP only operation.
Teslas use the motors to generate resistive heat when needed, by driving the motors off ideal phase. The best part is no part.
I bought a 2022 Bolt EV 2LT last spring and I like it, it’s just a weekend and rarely a trip vehicle since I drive a work truck during the week and for the coldest three months of the year I’ll rarely drive it at all and let it sit in the garage, plugged in at 70% SOC to keep the battery at 34 or so degrees. The car uses most of the excess power the solar array was making that I got little for from the power company so that works out well.
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Just took a 550 mile road trip in my now 6 year old Bolt (Central NY to southern VA).
Reminder for all - the Bolt is now 10-year old technology and was the first practical long-range EV you could buy. A lot has changed in 10 years and I look forward to getting some of those improvements (more efficient cabin heat, battery pre-conditioning, faster DCFC charging) when I buy my next EV in 4-5 years. For the few big road trips I do in the winter, this is very manageable and the Bolt has few drawbacks during warmer months or the other 90% of my driving miles. No regrets.
I left at 7am (sun coming up - nice to get some greenhouse warming with the sun in the winter) and it was -4 degrees F when I left. Ugh. I had charged the car up to 90% during the sunny afternoon the day before, and then set it to top off to 100% 2 hours before leaving (this is a trick to get the Bolt to start to condition the battery to warm up, in case it didn't automatically start the cycle to do that). When it is -4 degrees, I don't have any concerns with charging to 100%, especially if it is quickly discharged during a long road trip.
First charging stop 120 miles later was a long one (about 3.2 miles/kWh , so used almost 40 kWh, the battery was really cold, I was running a little heat and had an overall climb) - 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to 75% at about 22 kWh/h peak charging rate (ugh - cold battery). I've learned that the Bolt needs a good DCFC cycle to warm up the battery for the next DCFC cycle and that's what it was doing here. Next stop 120 miles later was a lot faster (29 kWh/h initially, then up to 43 kWh/h peak) and the weather was warmer (about 30 degrees F). This is the brutal fact of the Bolt on winter road trips - it takes time. Luckily, it is just me so no complaining passengers.
As soon as I could shut the heat down I did, and my efficiency was as good as 4.1 miles/kWh from Northern Virginia to Richmond (about 38 degrees F, some traffic limited average speed to 55-60 mph) - not bad for the winter with snow tires. From Richmond to the coast was about 3.4 miles/kWh going 65 mph. I can honestly say that speed kills efficiency with snow tires on. Probably about 0.5 miles/kWh of the efficiency loss during the last leg of the trip is due to the car going 5 mph faster on the highway. Posted speed was 70 mph - if I drove that speed I probably would have dropped below 3 miles/kWh (with snow tires).
4 stops total, probably about 4 hours total for charging, and some of that is time I would have spent stopped otherwise for bathroom, food, coffee or rest breaks. Some of the stops were at Electrify America chargers at Wal Marts, so I accomplished a little shopping while waiting - I live in a rural area and traveling distances for shopping is necessary, so getting this done while traveling is a bonus and I have the time while charging anyways.
Every time I make this trip I am amazed at the number of new DCFCs that have opened up. There is now a big new Ionna DCFC in Scranton, PA and another new big DCFC opening soon near Harrisburg, PA airport. 6 years ago I-81 was a charging desert and now it is pretty well served.
Reminder for all - the Bolt is now 10-year old technology and was the first practical long-range EV you could buy. A lot has changed in 10 years and I look forward to getting some of those improvements (more efficient cabin heat, battery pre-conditioning, faster DCFC charging) when I buy my next EV in 4-5 years. For the few big road trips I do in the winter, this is very manageable and the Bolt has few drawbacks during warmer months or the other 90% of my driving miles. No regrets.
I left at 7am (sun coming up - nice to get some greenhouse warming with the sun in the winter) and it was -4 degrees F when I left. Ugh. I had charged the car up to 90% during the sunny afternoon the day before, and then set it to top off to 100% 2 hours before leaving (this is a trick to get the Bolt to start to condition the battery to warm up, in case it didn't automatically start the cycle to do that). When it is -4 degrees, I don't have any concerns with charging to 100%, especially if it is quickly discharged during a long road trip.
First charging stop 120 miles later was a long one (about 3.2 miles/kWh , so used almost 40 kWh, the battery was really cold, I was running a little heat and had an overall climb) - 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to 75% at about 22 kWh/h peak charging rate (ugh - cold battery). I've learned that the Bolt needs a good DCFC cycle to warm up the battery for the next DCFC cycle and that's what it was doing here. Next stop 120 miles later was a lot faster (29 kWh/h initially, then up to 43 kWh/h peak) and the weather was warmer (about 30 degrees F). This is the brutal fact of the Bolt on winter road trips - it takes time. Luckily, it is just me so no complaining passengers.
As soon as I could shut the heat down I did, and my efficiency was as good as 4.1 miles/kWh from Northern Virginia to Richmond (about 38 degrees F, some traffic limited average speed to 55-60 mph) - not bad for the winter with snow tires. From Richmond to the coast was about 3.4 miles/kWh going 65 mph. I can honestly say that speed kills efficiency with snow tires on. Probably about 0.5 miles/kWh of the efficiency loss during the last leg of the trip is due to the car going 5 mph faster on the highway. Posted speed was 70 mph - if I drove that speed I probably would have dropped below 3 miles/kWh (with snow tires).
4 stops total, probably about 4 hours total for charging, and some of that is time I would have spent stopped otherwise for bathroom, food, coffee or rest breaks. Some of the stops were at Electrify America chargers at Wal Marts, so I accomplished a little shopping while waiting - I live in a rural area and traveling distances for shopping is necessary, so getting this done while traveling is a bonus and I have the time while charging anyways.
Every time I make this trip I am amazed at the number of new DCFCs that have opened up. There is now a big new Ionna DCFC in Scranton, PA and another new big DCFC opening soon near Harrisburg, PA airport. 6 years ago I-81 was a charging desert and now it is pretty well served.
But how does it (more dcfc) compare to the more EV vehicles? If the latter number increases relatively more than the former, charging (slots) will be harder to find?
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Have you looked up to see if any states along your route spent any IRA money on new chargers? Most are still in the planning phase
I just did a Philly to DC to Philly trip this WE in my 2022 Bolt LT2. Just me in the car.
I started warm (attached garage), and did two short stops (15 mins, 50kW) on the way back, and definitely had better eff after the pack got warmed up by the first stop. I have been driving Bolts for 4 years total, I know the quirks and am fine managing them. My lease is up in September.
There were lots of EVs at the EA chargers, but I never had to wait.
I have seen the EV future, my partner just got a 23 Volvo C40. Charges over 125 kW, charge port same location as the Tesla, integrated software so it preconditions on the way to the DCFC, etc. Didn't have to think at all.
Still trying to figure out what I will get next...
I started warm (attached garage), and did two short stops (15 mins, 50kW) on the way back, and definitely had better eff after the pack got warmed up by the first stop. I have been driving Bolts for 4 years total, I know the quirks and am fine managing them. My lease is up in September.
There were lots of EVs at the EA chargers, but I never had to wait.
I have seen the EV future, my partner just got a 23 Volvo C40. Charges over 125 kW, charge port same location as the Tesla, integrated software so it preconditions on the way to the DCFC, etc. Didn't have to think at all.
Still trying to figure out what I will get next...
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
I wish I saw something as good as Tesla on the horizon. I just don’t. Kia/Hyundai is probably topping my list both sedan crossover and full size SUV.
The newer charging stations are charging plazas with 10 or so chargers. You can be reasonably sure that there is a slot when you pull in, and if not, the wait is a short one. Contrast that to the early days when the DCFC charging station was one port, maybe two ports if you were lucky. The stories I hear about people having to wait in long lines for DCFC charging seem largely a media concoction to me or hysteria based on one incident - I have never experienced this.
NY has spent a little money on these, and there seems to be an uptick with chargers that support credit card payments (which I assume means federal funding), but I mostly just care that DCFCs exist, not how they got there.
I see lots of things as good as Tesla here today - maybe better in some ways (no 100% reliance on one big screen for everything, for instance). My problem is that most of the new offerings are still way to large for my taste.
Kia and Volvo have come out with some cars I would consider in my size range and they look quite good.
Tesla has done a lot of things right in making the whole EV experience pretty transparent in terms of managing charging on long trips, but others are catching up - by the time I buy my next car I expect everyone will be doing that. And Tesla seems to be seriously underinvesting in their cars while everyone else is still (relatively speaking) overinvesting in EVs.
We'll see what GM has in store for the next Bolt, but knowing GM, it will be a lot bigger and they will screw it up somehow. Actually, they have already screwed it up because they won't be supporting Apple CarPlay anymore and I'm not buying another car without Apple CarPlay (I don't need any car company's ill-funded and crappy version of something my phone does just fine).
In my limited experience in my area, DCFC spaces are usually available. Maybe it's different in California.
I have found it commonplace during holiday peak driving times along I-95 in the Northeast, at both EA and Tesla stations that are open to non-Teslas.
Meh, I'm looking at used Mach-E's for 50% of MSRP. Downside is charging port location makes charging at V3 Tesla DCFCs a little awkward, and impossible if they are crowded.
The Volvo Recharges on the used market are quite nice. The 23 C40 has the only downside being the 220 mile EPA range.
It seems that good Equinox sales are changing GM's attitude about EVs.
jalopnik.com
GM Wants To Sell More EVs Because It Isn't Losing Money On Them Anymore
Plus, Donald Trump’s new transport chief is already targeting efficiency standards and VW officially kills the ID 7 for North America
jalopnik.com
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Regardless of increasing isolationism, EV demand in the global market is not declining. It would be smart for GM to start making a good, EV for international markets that is sized between the Bolt and Equinox.
The Bolt EUV has a short wheelbase which contributes to a choppier ride and the car doesn't have the greatest rear seat passenger room. They have nothing in the slot filled by the VW I.D 4, Ioniq 5, and EV6.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
And the Model 3. I’m not sure I would want to compete in that sector. Those are some decent products.
About 8 years ago I was doing work for a company that deal with larger corporate customers and security appliances. I was testing something that I was working on, and went to a car dealer of all places to implement. As I was there, I chatted with the service manager of the KIA dealership attached to several other brands (like Nissan, GMC etc). I said the KIA is sure priced great, and the warranty is very tempting. His answer was, well that's good because you'll need it. He went down the list of major defects they discover as mechanics that will never be resolved with part swaps, and then proceeded to name about a dozen other issues that scared me away from the brand for life.
Im sure it's gotten much better since then. I know a couple of people that own Kia's and they've never complained to me.
It's probably good to lease under these conditions because you know in the end you can walk away without running into some major blocker that precludes you from getting away from the vehicle.
They REALLY pack those cars with features and for prices less than the base model Honda's or Toyota's. Kinda hard not to consider.
Im sure it's gotten much better since then. I know a couple of people that own Kia's and they've never complained to me.
It's probably good to lease under these conditions because you know in the end you can walk away without running into some major blocker that precludes you from getting away from the vehicle.
They REALLY pack those cars with features and for prices less than the base model Honda's or Toyota's. Kinda hard not to consider.
Perhaps you are confused with the Bolt EV? If you're going by wheelbase, the ID.4 is only 3" longer than the Bolt EUV which is 3" longer than the Bolt EV.
The EV6 and Ioniq 5 are much longer and really close in size to the Equinox EV, which is too big for the European market if you ask me. Outside of the US, rear seat legroom is not generally prioritized over things like efficiency, parkability, and cost.
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