Also to jump on the bandwagon and hopefully clear up some confusion since I've had to do Uber/Lyft to survive and rented a Chevy Bolt EV (not Volt) for a while as to why nobody can give an accurate range, TL;DR: It can be anywhere from 275 to 105 mi range on a full charge with the official specs being 238 mi, which depends on A LOT of conditions... To expand further:
To those who don't know, EVs have a HUGE swath of variables to consider to have an accurate range, and each one SIGNIFICANTLY affects the other: The best mileage bar none is (and there's even a built-in scorecard app):
- Ambient temperature: Best when driving it at 80°F or more; usually operating it in the winter will drastically kill the effective range.
- HVAC is off; it killed the range by at least 40 miles if I used it starting at an 80% battery, but c'mon, I live in LA... Why HVAC instead of just AC? EV needs to generate both heat and AC since the motor doesn't intrinsically get hot, whereas an ICE car needs an AC unit but the heat comes from the engine. Even then, you can definitely see the consumption: The EV at rest only consumes 0.5-1 kW, AC is 2-3 kW, and I've seen the heat go up to 6-7 kW.
- Elevation change: Either on a flatland or if you must go uphill, go downhill. If you're mostly uphill somehow, it obviously consumes more and regenerates less.
- Technique: Of course, that means to feather the throttle (and thus consume less electricity) and if possible, let the engine brake/regenerative brakes kick in. The next few factors aren't in the app, but good to know:
- For most EVs, your best mileage will be stop-and-go since there's ample chance for regeneration, and high speeds will consume the most energy... ICE is the opposite where highway miles barely consumes anything but for my E90, driving through 20 miles of West LA has made the car like a frat boy at the unlimited "free" beer booth.
- Stop charging at 80% (This is more of a long-term thing, but usually charging it more will cut the battery life short).
- Even then, the batteries do get worn out; it's theoretically possible for it to age enough to not even hold a charge. If you've ever owned a laptop for more than 4 years you'd know. Most manufacturers for EVs/hybrids have an extended battery warranty for this purpose, but it doesn't change the wear-and-tear in between.
The official specs are 238 miles on 100% charge; the best range I've ever gotten was 275 miles in the spring, and the worst with the summer with the AC on all day was around 170. I haven't driven it when it was TRULY cold yet, but I've seen it crawl to 105 mi in -5°F in a YT video.
Also with EV drivers, some of us treat 80% like a full battery since it maintains the longevity of the battery, not to mention if we're at a public charging station the charging speed drastically slows down after it hits 80% as well, but there are some of us that don't care, plug it in overnight and charge it to 100% every time.
With everything in mind, that's why it's very hard to get a fixed number from EV drivers on what their range has a 165 mile difference. Let's just say if the range is like a car and we arbitrarily give it a 5-gallon gas tank (I know it's ridiculously small, but I want the MPG or L/100km to be more realistic)... The official specs is 47.6 MPG (4.9 L/100km), but it can be anywhere from 21-55 MPG (4.3-11.2 L/100km), or almost a Ram 1500 HEMI highway to the average of a Prius...
But all factors above for an ICE car probably only varies by probably 5 MPG (78 L/100km) given the worst-case scenario, or 40 miles for a 15-gallon tank. I haven't given this side much thought since so many things are a non-issue with ICE cars, so I may be wrong.
Now, to get back on topic...
eDrive wrote Hopefully the Kidney Grill(s) will be a clean and iconic design.
I'm personally not digging that design... I know that for EV's the grille is just there as an aesthetic of sorts, but it just reminds me of an exaggerated Kia design, which I already think of them as looking like an old hag that only has her front teeth left. Also,
for getting rid of the AE's.
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