What do you guys think of electric cars (like the bolt)?

[hayden55]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

You think buying a portable generator will extend range? (Plugged in while driving)

That would be called a Chevrolet Volt, sir.

[teoman]

I was just thinking of that...

You would need to fool the car or directly charge the battery as i doubt it will let you drive while plugged in.

[ksa8907]

Battery replacement isn't much of a concern if you buy a properly designed car. I only have experience with my volt in relatively cold temps, but I regularly get 31 to 35 miles in 25 to 50F weather and mostly highway on battery. This car has 90k miles on it and probably 30k of which were powered from the battery.

So, no battery degradation to speak of.

Nissan Leaf is quite possibly the exact opposite.

[ksa8907]

"Chevrolet Volt, Bolt EV and Malibu Hybrid

For vehicles sold in the United States, in addition to the Bumper-to-Bumper Coverage described previously, Chevrolet will warrant certain components for Each Chevrolet Volt, and Bolt EV, and Malibu Hybrid for 8 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers), whichever comes first, from the original in-service date of the vehicle, against warrantable repairs to the specific electric propulsion components of the vehicle."

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by ProDigit

The numbers don't compute,
...the car has a reported top speed of 91MPH,
...the battery pack is only providing energy for 60kW, which is equal to 80HP.
...Top speed of the bolt also indicates that the engine is closer to 80HP than to 200HP.
...Also, the more your battery wears out, the less efficient charging it is.
...Most people have their car for longer than 100k miles.
...they will need a battery change after the warranty is over at 100k miles.
...The Bolt has an 8 year warranty, 100k miles, but Chevrolet warns that the battery could lose as much as 40% of battery capacity over this time!

The top speed is software limited, either because it's near the max RPM of the motor, or to prevent people from driving 120 MPH and claiming the car only has a range of 30 miles.

This was addressed above, but you misread 60 kWh as 60 kW. The first is an energy capacity (like the size of a fuel tank), the other is a power output (like horsepower).

Again, top speed is not drag limited, but software limited.

Battery wear should minimally affect charge efficiency. As charge capacity diminishes, the required amount of charging diminishes.

Most people do not keep a car for 100k miles. The accepted annual average is 12,000 miles, and average length of ownership is 6.5 years. That works out to 78,000 miles during lifetime of ownership.

Nearly nobody will consider the car to need a new battery immediately after the warranty runs out. Chevy accepts a 40% loss in capacity over the warranty timeframe to avoid paying warranty claims, not as a benchmark of typical battery wear. Chevy uses active thermal management and owners report much lower rates of wear than the warranty maximums. I would expect 80% remaining capacity at the end of the warranty.

The theme of your post is to consider the economics of owning a new EV. Financially, it never makes sense to own a new vehicle of any type. Used EVs are extremely affordable with the exception of Tesla. It makes the most financial sense in a multi-vehicle family for one of the vehicles to be an EV for local trips. Lack of maintenance expenses is not insignificant both from a financial standpoint, and a time savings standpoint.

Have you driven a Bolt? It's one thing to consider performance characteristics on paper, and another to actually experience it in person.

[oil pan 4]

With 80hp about all you are going to get is 90mph for most vehicles.

[Ecky]

Great post, redpoint5. Covers most of the pertinent points.

I think driving experience is definitely not something to dismiss - EVs are silent and virtually vibration free. They accelerate like rocketships from a stop rather than building power as you rev them like an ICE. Heat is instant in winter. You never need to go by a gas station, just plug in at home. There's virtually no maintenance on them. You can sleep in one with the heat (or A/C) running without dying from exhaust fumes. Plenty of public spaces offer free charging.

I don't need an EV, and they don't make much sense for me. I own a Honda Insight, and one can pick one up for ~$2,000 these days. It's an easy 60-85mpg vehicle, and because gas is so cheap, it ends up being even cheaper per mile than most EVs, even if you leave out initial purchase price. I ride an electric bike around town, and only use my car for long road trips, when the weather is poor, or to pick up something too large or heavy to carry on a bicycle - road tripping in any EV is difficult.

~

Battery degradation is not a problem on properly thermally managed batteries.

https://insideevs.com/chevy-volt-400...y-degradation/

A lone Chevy Volt has hit another mileage milestone of 400,000 miles driven. The owner reports no noticeable battery degradation to date.
Those familiar with this high-mileage Volt will know that it’s a 2012 model and that it’s been driven by General Motors employee Erick Belmer.

Belmer says he’s able to get about 9.2 kWh out of the Volt per charge, which would seem to indicate a slight decline from his earlier results of 9.7 kWh or so, but a lot of variable come into play here, so we won’t go sar far as to call this capacity loss.

[NeilBlanchard]

The Bolt EV has about 200HP and 266 ft/lbs of torque. 0-60MPH is under 6.5s - which is quicker than a Camaro.

The battery is 60kWh, and the motor is 150kW.

[oil pan 4]

It's probably limited to 90mph so the motor doesn't melt.

[ProDigit]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

It's probably limited to 90mph so the motor doesn't melt.

And to meet quota.
From 0 to about 45MPH, a car barely has any wind resistance to overcome.
From 45 to about 80 it goes up,
From about 80 mph there's a lot of wind resistance losses.
It's like on the near vertical incline on a logarithmic scale.