While rating agencies give “combined” ranges, meaning city and highway driving-a bad habit inherited from cars with engines-a much more relevant datum for EVs would be to give ranges in temperate and cold conditions. If I don’t have far to go, or if the outside temperature isn't extreme, I’ll pamper myself and set the car to 21 degrees C (70 deg F), but on this frigid-weather trip I kept it to a more frugal 17 deg C (63 deg F). I truly wish I could read KWh rather than projected range remaining, but alas Chevy does not provide that information. The number varied depending on outside temperature, desired cabin temperature, and fan speed. Once I started using the heater to keep the cabin warm and, presumably, condition the battery, my Bolt’s range dropped alarmingly to around 250 km (155 mi) or less. Throughout the summer and fall, I got more than 400km (250 mi), confirming reports that the EPA range rating of 238 miles (383 km) is conservative. The trip to Rogers Pass is one I could have done on a single charge earlier in the year. and off I went.Ģ017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car showing snow accmulation in windshield trough So I tossed my warmest sleeping bag on the back bench, put some food and drink in an insulated chest, loaded my ski equipment. I had equipped it with the meanest studded winter tires I could find. I was curious to see how my Bolt EV would perform in cold weather.

It's a trip of 300 km (186 miles) from my home in the Kootenays to Rogers Pass, but there are no charging stations there-so I would need enough range to continue on or return to Revelstoke, a minimum of 370 km (230 mi).

I decided to take a break from plowing and shoveling and go back-country skiing for a couple days at Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park. What follows are Gadotti's words, lightly edited by Green Car Reports for clarity and style, and photographs.ĭON'T MISS: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car: owners' impressions after a yearĪround Christmas, there was a cold snap here in Western Canada, accompanied by abundant snowfall. But what about more strenuous usage? Our reader D Gadotti of Western Canada put a white Bolt EV through its paces in some of the snowiest weather any electric car may have seen.

2018 chevy volt range