​Ok.  Sure.  Of course we do.  But the long waits we've recently seen at charging stations are not due solely to an insufficient number.  Let's take a deeper look.

First, as EV owners know, the vast majority of us charge at home the vast majority of the time.  For most, we only need public charging stations on long trips.  As an EV-only household for the last four and a half years who does a lot of long trips (3 350-mile trips a month and 4 or 5 1500- mile trips a year), we didn't see the problem - until recently.  

Being retired, we can usually choose when we travel so until this holiday season, we never travelled close to a holiday.  On most of our trips, we rarely saw another EV charging at a high-speed charging station.  But over Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, we needed to do 1500-mile trips  close to peak holiday travel times.  It was a definite wake-up call.  We had to wait.  A lot.

Of the three to four stops we made in each direction on both trips, there was only one where we didn't have to wait.  Fortunately, people were polite and waited their turns.  In one case, where we needed a 5-minute charge to make it to our next stop, a slow charging Kona let us jump ahead.  He admitted that he needed 45 minutes to an hour to charge and could certainly give us 5 minutes (if we weren't trying to fool him).  As it turned out, we disconnected in less than 4 minutes and were on our way, much to his surprise.  

So what was that about?  Take a look at this chart of EVs we encountered on our recent two 1500-mile trips. Although we didn't encounter Teslas, I included their charging times just to show how non-Tesla EVs stand up.   The numbers come from evkx.net, an excellent site for looking at the performance and charging speeds of pretty much every EV on the market.  Since the Bolt and the Leaf are no longer sold, I used numbers from InsideEVs for them.  

Imagine if you will, pulling up to a charging station in Grants Pass, Oregon, only to find that of the 4 chargers, 1 was out of order and the others were occupied by Chevy Bolts.  The max charging speed of the Bolt is 55 kW and that's only during a small window.  This did happen on one of our trips up.  The SOC of the Bolts ranged from 40% to 60% and we were looking at a minimum of 40 minutes before one charger would free up.  Of course, so were the two  Ioniq-5s, the Ioniq-6, and the ID.4 ahead of us.  And, although the Bolt owners were receptive to the fact that there were ChargePoint stations a short distance away, that was for next time, though one said that the Electrify America stations were much cheaper so he'd continue to use them even though he was charging at only 24 kW on a 350 kW station.  

Of course everyone has a right to charge wherever they want.  But for those of us with EVs near the top of the chart, it's pretty frustrating to wait knowing we'd only need 20 or so minutes to charge and could then move on for the next EV.  Clearly, you can't blame the EV owners.  So who should we blame?  How about the manufacturers?

Unfortunately, the manufacturers and many EV buyers look only at max charging speed.  But look at the Teslas.  They can charge at up to 250 kW, but their charging curves are such that they're pretty far down the list in terms of total charging times.  

And if you consider charging past 80%, wow!  For almost all of the EVs in the list, it's a disaster and people waiting may get very frustrated. 

One more anecdote:

On our way back, since a nearby EA station was full, we decided to try one of the new EVgo stations that advertised 350kW rather than wait.  Sure enough there was one charger open of the six on site so we plugged in.  It advertised 100 kW and we figured we'd need to charge 25 minutes instead of 15.  Unfortunately,  we only saw 50 kW.  It turns out that the EVgo stations are shared. So, if there are two cars on a  station, each will only get half the rated kW.  

Nearby, there was a 350 kW station.  A Rivian was plugged into one port and was happily charging at 140 kW.  Next to the Rivian was a Mach-E.  It was charging at 12 kW.  It was at 82% so I asked the driver if he was planning to continue charging.

"I have every right to charge!" he shouted, clearly angry that I'd even asked.  
"Well, you're only charging at 12 kW on a 350 kW charger.  Would you consider trading with us?  We'll be gone in 15 minutes."  
He rolled up his window and ignored me.

Fifteen minutes later he left and fifteen minutes after that, so did we.  

Okay.  Bottom line.  We need more charging stations and they need to be reliable, especially on heavily travelled weekends and holidays.  But, if EVs charged faster - didn't have the major taper we see in most EVs, the throughput at charging stations would be much greater.  You'd be back on the road faster and the station operator would make more money (more kWh sold).

If you have a slower charging EV, do consider letting someone waiting jump ahead and if available nearby, definitely think about using a slower charger if your EV can't charge at the higher rates.  But better yet, complain to your manufacturer.  You don't need faster instantaneous rate; you need faster total charging time.  It'll make your trip faster and will reduce the wait times at charging stations.

The first question I get when people find out we only drive Electric Vehicles is "What's the Range?"  I guess I can kind of understand that newbies might wonder about range.  Many owners of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE cars) are afraid they'll 'run out of gas' in an EV.  So range must be the big issue, right?

After all, most ICE cars can go 400 miles; some might go 500 miles.  And if you can't go that far in an EV, it's just not up to par, right?  

Oddly, it's not just non-EV owners who express this concern.  At every charging station, I invariably get the same question: "How much range do you get?"  And although I still answer, I now follow up with the statement that "Range is not that important!"

Even confirmed EVers look at me sideways until I explain.  

The big issue for EVs is not range.  It's charging speed.  

You can now drive 3 hours or more at highway speed in most modern EVs.  Me, even in my old ICE cars, I needed to stop every two to three hours.  Then it was food and to stretch my legs.  For night drives, it was to stay awake. 

Now that I'm a few years older, it's bio breaks.  I do need to stop every three hours.  Most drivers will admit that they need a break after every two to three hours.  Yeah, when I was much younger, I can remember doing over 400 miles (6 hours) without stopping, but how many of us really do that?  

And how often do we take long trips?  A few times a year?  Most of us have commutes of less than 100 miles roundtrip - well within the range of every modern EV.  

For us, greater range just means we don't have to charge as often - once every week or ten days instead of every four or five days.  And hey, if you own or rent a house, you can just plug in at home.  

No, we really don't need an EV with 400 or 500 miles of range.  But there are some valid concerns about EVs.

Charging Speed
Once again, for a typical commute, charging speed isn't much of an issue.  You can charge at home or at the office and you probably don't need to charge more than once or twice a week, even with a longer commute.

But on a road trip, you really don't want to sit around waiting for your car to charge.  When we took our Chevy Bolt to Oregon for the eclipse several years ago, we had to wait an hour or more at each charging stop, adding at least two hours to our ICE car trip times.

Now, in our Audi etron (we use the Bolt for trips within a hundred miles or so), we can drive three hours then charge for twenty minutes, then repeat.  We compared a recent trip to Oregon in our Audi etron to trips we did in our Audi Allroad, and with a 20-minute stop every three hours for bio breaks and food, the total travel time was identical.  As of today, the etron is the fastest charging EV on the market.  

But Teslas, Porsches, the Ioniq-5, and others charge faster, right?
Actually, no.  EV buyer beware!  Newer EVs claim very fast charging with high kilowatt charging rates - 250 kW?  That must charge faster than an Audi that only charges at 150 kW, right?  

The fact is that like your cellphone, EV charging tends to slow as the battery fills.  Those EVs that charge at 250 kW only do so up to 40 to 60 percent.  Then they taper off dramatically.  

So, if you're looking for fast charging, you need to look at the charging curves which show the rate of charge as the battery fills.  I like to check out charging curves at the Electric Vehical Knowledge Exchange  Click on a particular model and the look at its average charging times and charging curves to see how fast a give EV will charge.   

Are there enough charging stations?
We've been doing long trips in EVs for several years.  Charging infrastructure has dramatically improved, particularly on major highways and recently, secondary routes.  The VW dieselgate settlement has put fast chargers along most of these routes.  

Years ago, we'd charge three or four times on a long trip and would never see another EV charging.  That has changed.  A few days ago (a Sunday) on our way to Oregon, we encountered an Ioniq-5, a Mustang Mach-E, a VW ID-4, and a Volvo XC40 Recharge at a popular Electrify America station.  Like us, the Ioniq-5 was there for about 20 minutes.  We spoke with the drivers of the Mustang and the ID-4, and they had been charging for a while and expected they needed another 30 minutes to continue.  

I note that on our return trip, we were the only EV charging.  So for now, at least on the routes we're travelling, we're not yet seeing congestion at charging stations.  But that will likely change.  

If EVs had faster charging rates, their time charging would be reduced enough to minimize any waiting for other EVs.  So, as you look at purchasing EVs, and as you talk to manufacturers and on message boards, please push the importance of charging speed over range - and not just charging rate - TOTAL CHARGING TIME.  This will not only improve our long distance driving times, it will help avoid congestion at charging stations.  

It's not about range.  It's about total charging time!

Hope you find this helpful.

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As you can see from the previous posts in my EV Category, we have gone all-electric.  We have a Chevy Bolt for every day use and an Audi etron for our regular trips to the snow.  But, we have to admit, the etron has become our vehicle of choice for all longer trips.  It gets much better range on the highway than the Bolt and is a great road car.  

Until this past week, our longest round-trip in the etron was just under 500 miles.  But when Karen's daughter and son-in-law decided to move back to Oregon and asked us if we could transport their plants, we were excited to try the etron out on a much longer trip and to use up some of our Electrify America credits.

​We had done this trip before a few years ago in our Chevy Bolt to see the eclipse and had over 3 hours of charging time each way.  Check out my post on that trip to get an idea of some of the  charging challenges back then (and a little bit about the eclipse).  

I should note that our etron is a Prestige.  We always drive in Efficiency Mode with max regen and with climate set to Eco.  We have 19" wheels, and since this is our 'winter' car, we have Michelin X-Ice snow tires on it.  Surprisingly, on previous Audis, these Michelins provided great mileage, even in summer, and it seems to be the case on the etron as well.

The Trip

We loaded up the car with a few hundred pounds of plants and associated pots, and left Santa Cruz at 5am to avoid the commute traffic.  We wanted to be conservative on this trip, charging to 100% as needed on the way up.  We wanted to stop every two to two and a half hours anyway for bio breaks and to get out and walk for 20-30 minutes, perfect timing while the etron was charging.  

Our first stop was Electrify America in Vacaville, 120 miles from Santa Cruz.  These stations are located in the Vacaville Outlet Mall, which might be interesting after 10am when the stores open.  We got there at 7am. Restrooms were locked.  I plugged into one of the EA chargers and saw 35 kW.  I stopped the session and tried the adjacent cable on the same station.  Sure enough, it started charging at 150 kW, but stopped in 5 minutes with a charging fault.  We had looped back during our walk to check on the charger and were glad we did.  We moved to another station and watched to ensure it would continue working.  After several minutes, we took off for a short walk and returned to a fully charged etron.  Our first leg showed 3.1 miles per kWh and our total actual charging time was 19 minutes.

Since restrooms were closed in Vacaville, we did have to make a stop at a rest area before arriving at our next charging stop at the Safeway in Anderson, California another 152 miles into the trip.  Once again, we had an issue with the EA charging station.  It looked like things were fine so we took a walk only to get a text that our ten-minute grace period had expired.  The MyAudi app didn't notify us that the charging had ended because of a station fault.  We returned to the station and started a new session on the adjacent cable.  At that point, an excited masked person approached us to talk about the etron.  He had just ordered one and had countless questions which we were happy to answer, not noticing that once again, charging had stopped.  At the end of our conversation, we finally saw the problem (again, no alert from the MyAudi app), and changed stations, charging to 100%.  Total charging time was 23 minutes, adding 50 kWh, but we were there for about 45 minutes because of our misplaced confidence in the MyAudi app.  Even at 75-80 mph, we averaged 3 mi/kWh up I-5.

I note that after leaving Vacaville, the amount of smoke in the air increased steadily.  Passing Mt. Shasta, it was impossible to see the peak through the smoke.

Our next two stops were unremarkable.  We stopped in very smoky Yreka, 104 miles from Anderson and 2200' higher, averaging 2.7 mi/kWh (impressive given the altitude gain), and added 38 kWh in 15 minutes - no problems with the EA station at the Walmart.  

Oregon

On previous trips to Oregon (it's been a few years), Oregonians seemed to be pretty rigorous about obeying the speed limits.  I assumed we should limit ourselves to 65 mph, but after being consistently passed like we were standing still, I upped our speed to 72.  Even then, for our entire drive in Oregon, I don't think I passed anything but slow trucks.  

We drove past the fire devastation between Ashland and Medford, Oregon.  In places, the fire had jumped I-5, and had totally destroyed entire housing developments. Other places nearby seemed untouched.  The smoke was significant but began to thin as we made our way past Grants Pass.  Clouds were on the increase along with a bit of a headwind.

Our next stop was the Dairy Queen in Sutherlin, Oregon  (160 miles) where we topped up to be comfortable with the remaining 108 miles to our destination in Corvallis.

Overall, the drive from Santa Cruz to Corvallis (640 miles) including stops, charging to 100% most of the time, and a few missteps took us a bit over 12 hours.  Total charging time was 75 minutes.  We averaged 2.9 mi/kWh for this half of the trip. ​

Corvallis

We spent four nights in Corvallis helping the kids unpack, profiting form the rainy days and enjoying the smoke-free air. We decided to head back on Saturday.  Since we wanted to visit our place in the mountains west of Kirkwood, we originally planned to take the eastern route down I-97, stopping to charge at Klamath Falls, an overnight in Alturas, a quick stop in Reno/Sparks for a charge and then to our place.  Alternatively, since we love the Shasta area - great hikes, fly fishing on the McCloud, and whitewater on the Trinity river, we considered just spending a couple of days there.  But given the smoke we saw on the way up, and the fact that there were no alternative charging stations between Klamath Falls and Reno, we decided to head directly to our place in the Sierra, returning down I-5 through Sacramento, then highways  16, 49, and 88.  Now that we had confidence in the etron's range in a wide variety of road conditions, we decided to be less conservative with our charging, only going to 80% unless we had a particularly long leg.  

After the 10 miles from  Corvallis to I-5, I kept us at about 72 mph for the remaining 178 miles and net  700' of elevation gain to the Walmart in Grant's Pass, our first charging stop.  Through the hill country of southern Oregon, we averaged 2.9 mi/kWh.  Since our next stop was in Yreka and we had to climb to over 4300'  we decided to take advantage of the full 150 kW to 80%, adding 52 kWh in 23 minutes - long enough to pick up something to eat at one of the many nearby restaurants.

The stop at the Walmart in Yreka was again uneventful.  We walked for 24 minutes while the etron charged to 100%.  During that leg with a 1700' altitude gain, we averaged 2.7 mi/kWh.

Final Charge

It was 165 miles from Yreka to our next stop at the Safeway in Willows.  The temperature was 94 degrees when we hit Redding and I kept it between 75 and 80 mph (usually closer to 80) down the rest of I-5.  As you can see, we averaged 3.3 mi/kWh on this stretch (with a net elevation decrease of 2500'). We stopped for 22 minutes, adding 48 kWh, resulting in a 90% charge.  We could have made it with less, but we were going into the mountains with a nearly 4000' altitude gain and 160 miles to go, so the extra 6 minutes of charging seemed like a reasonable thing to do.  

Someone on one of the Facebook etron forums  asked what consumption we saw at 75-80 mph. On the stretch from Willows to Sacramento, which is basically flat, we were seeing 2.8 mi/kWh at close to 80 mph in 94 degree temperatures with climate on Eco.  

Volcano

After dinner we made our way up to our place where we learned that PG&E was planning to shut off power later the next day for at least 24 hours.  Last time they said that, it was three days.  With temperatures forecast to be in the low 90s, we decided that we'd leave the following afternoon to return to Santa Cruz where I'd be able to surf.

We charged overnight and stopped in Volcano to deliver some masks to the restaurant.  Karen (with some limited help from me - see my post How Your Spouse can help you Make Cloth Masks) has been making masks since the beginning of the pandemic.  We've delivered over 2000 masks to hospitals, clinics, assisted living facilities, homeless shelters, and recently to restaurants, encouraging them to use washable cloth masks instead of disposable ones.  Karen has been working with  the Motherlode Mask Makers and the Santa Cruz Mask Makers, as well as a local doctor to distribute these masks.  

Leaving Volcano, we took the scenic Volcano to Sutter Creek road, stopping in Sutter Creek at The Fine Eye to buy ourselves a joint 10-year anniversary present.  Then we faced the heavy Sunday traffic back into the Bay Area.  In spite of reduced speeds, we still averaged 3.4 mi/kWh.
​

Lessons Learned

First and foremost, the Audi etron is the nicest, quietest car we've ever driven.  It's not just a great EV, it's a great car.  The highway range is impressive (around town, not so much), and the charging speed is amazing, charging at 150kW up to 82%, tapering to 80kW about 90%, and only to 50kW at 100%.  

For our return trip, we only needed three stops with total charging time of 69 minutes, and we needed those stops for lunch and bio breaks anyway.  Our average mi/kWh for over 1500 miles, including driving around town in Corvallis, and slow driving in the mountains and traffic jams was 2.9 mi/kWh - 242 miles of range.

Since our trip in the Chevy Bolt three years ago, charging infrastructure has improved to the point that no one with an EV needs to worry about range on I-5.  On the other hand, there are still some glitches with charging stations (we've had them with every provider), so unfortunately, you still need to plan for alternatives in case a station might be down.  Fortunately, today, there are alternatives.  

We honestly believe that ICE vehicles are unnecessary for most of us.  Our Bolt is great for short trips (<200 miles roundtrip), and the etron is a fantastic road car for long distances.  If you're thinking  about taking the etron on a long trip, don't worry about the range.  Use Plugshare or ABetterRoutePlanner to lay out your trip.  You won't be disappointed in the etron.

If you liked this blog, please check out my novels.
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​If you've looked at blog posts in my EV category, you know that Karen and I are big fans of electric vehicles.  We bought our first all-electric car in 2013, and fell in love with the Chevy Bolt that we leased at the end of 2016.  It became our primary car as we learned that EVs are ready for long trips as well as short ones - we regularly drove it on trips over 350 miles in a day, took it to the mountains, and even on a 1200 mile trip to Oregon for the eclipse.  However, the one place we didn't take the Bolt was to the snow.  For that we kept our reliable Audi Allroad.  

As I mentioned in my post on the Paris Auto Show, we started looking for an all-electric small SUV.  The Audi etron looked very promising, but when the EPA came out with a rating of 204 miles, we had doubts we could make the 175-mile trip to the mountains (which includes a 3500' altitude gain) without stopping to charge.  As we discovered after a 4-day test drive, this didn't appear to be a real problem.  It looked like the EPA severely underestimated the range of the Audi etron so we put one back on order.   

Taking our etron home
Our last three weeks in France saw non-stop major named storms with more rain in days than the region normally sees all year.  Our French friends asked us if we could take the rain back to California with us and our friends here in California asked us if we could bring the rain back from France.  We promised to do our best.

True to our word, the rain stopped in France the day after we left and it started in California the day after we returned.  We raced over rainy highway 17 to Steven's Creek Audi where Cassandra Crawford had our Galaxy Blue etron waiting for us.  We had ordered 19-inch wheels to maximize range of the car.  

As papers were signed, we saw the rain increasing, and our first experience in our etron was trying to make it back over sinuous highway 17 in nearly zero visibility rain and wind with tremendous amounts of water on the road.  As we later learned, bombogenesis had turned the first major storm of the season into an epic one with hurricane force winds and rain.  The etron, with its all-season tires got us home safely.

Before heading into the Sierra, we wanted to put snow tires on the etron.  With the Allroad, I had discovered that Michelin X-Ice tires not only handled snow well, but actually gave us better mileage than the tires we used in the summer.  Ultimately, we kept them on all year.  I ordered the Michelins and two days later put them on the Audi.  We drove our Bolt around town that weekend, planning to take our etron on its first trip to the snow on Monday.  

The Scare

The next morning we woke up early and raced up to Kirkwood.  I guess I can say we raced, but with chain controls much of the way, it took us about an hour.  It's 40 miles and we averaged 1.6 mi/kWh, using 30% of the battery charge.  The etron with its new Michelin shoes handled the snow as an Audi should. 

I had purchased a TeslaTap from evseadapters.com.  We plugged into the Tesla charging station (a destination charger, not a Supercharger), and were pleased to see the etron charging at 9.6 kW.  

Three hours later, our 'warm-up-day' skiing done and the etron fully charged, we headed back down to our place.  Amazingly, we only used 3% of the battery for the 40 miles.  

​


350 Miles of range in an etron?

After several days of great skiing and trips up and down the mountain in the etron, we charged fully and headed back to Santa Cruz.  Since we drove back at night, there was little traffic.  The first 30 miles are mostly downhill and the speed limit is 55 MPH.  But the vast majority of the trip was open freeway at 75 MPH.  

The photo above shows the etron with over 350 miles of range (the 38 miles driven to that point and the guess-o-meter showing 313 miles.  Clearly, that's not realistic, but upon arriving in Santa Cruz, after 175 miles, we had 40% of the battery remaining.  And while 30 miles was downhill, it's still pretty impressive that we saw the equivalent of 292 miles of range.  

We made a second trip to the mountains this past week and saw similar results.  I note that we didn't stop to charge and made it to our place with 20% of the battery left.  And now, after driving the etron for over 3 weeks with 1600 miles on it, our average consumption is over 2.8 mi/kWh.  That means that in mixed, mostly highway driving, we're seeing over 234 miles of range, average.  This includes a fair amount of cold weather driving (mornings at Kirkwood were as cold as 13 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)). 

I attribute this to the fact that we are experienced EV drivers who know how to optimize regen.  We drive in efficiency mode with max regen all the time.  I'm sure the 19 inch wheels help too.  

Weirdly, unlike other EVs, we get better range on the highway than around town.  We're generally seeing 2.6 mi/kWh around town but 2.9 mi/kWh on the highway.

What don't we like about the etron?

The etron is an amazing car - not just an amazing EV, it's a truly impressive vehicle of any kind.  It's almost eerily quiet and smooth and has every appointment you can imagine - definitely a luxury vehicle.  So what don't we like about the etron?

Well, it's a bit large for us.  But we'll live with the extra space until we find a smaller AWD EV with similar range and handling.  Our issues are minor.  While the middle of the back seat folds down to allow skis to pass through, there is no sack as there used to be in previous Audis.  We bought one.  The glove box could be a bit larger.  Also, the timed charging is not the best.  With the Bolt, we put in the location, tell it what hours are best for charging, and if we plug it in, it waits until those low-cost times.  It gives us the option to charge as soon as possible (within the ideal window, or as late as possible).  With the Audi, it's more complicated and doesn't include the 'as soon as possible' option.  If weather changes or there's an outage, you can end up with a car that's not fully charged.  And don't forget to explicitly set the timer.  With the Bolt, it knows automatically.  I just plug it in.  Hopefully Audi will figure out how to be competitive with Chevy on that front.

And, the etron has a clever mechanism to give you the speed limit by reading road signs.  Unfortunately, we have truck speed signs nearby limiting their speed to 35 MPH.  I get warnings if I go over 35 MPH.  This occurs often and I find it annoying.  I like the idea of a speed warning when I'm 10 MPH over the limit, but if it can't accurately determine the limit, it becomes a bit of a pain.  Truck and school zones are the worst but it also sometimes misses signs if there's a vehicle between the etron and the sign.  Supposedly it coordinates with the NAV system but I haven't seen that.

The only other thing missing for me is the lack of a heated steering wheel.  This is our winter vehicle and I really miss a heated steering wheel on cold mornings.  Even our Bolt has one.  Yes, you can preheat the car, but when you get out of the ocean after a cold surf session, or finish skiing with freezing hands, wrapping your hands around a warm steering wheel is heaven.  Yeah, I'm a wimp!

So as you can see, we love our new SKI-TRON.  It's a bit more car than we need, but it's hard to complain about an EV that performs like this.  For us it is the ultimate ski vehicle.  Even the mountain gave us a thumbs up on the etron's first day at Kirkwood.

Check out my next blog on the etron: Oregon and Back - 1500 miles in our Audi etron
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Okay.  The title was meant to get your attention.  Clearly the EPA tests showed 204 miles.  However, as an experienced EV driver, I'd like to show you how terribly misleading this number is for the Audi etron.   For most drivers, in most conditions, assuming you care about the range of the etron, you'll do much better than the EPA rating of 204 miles.

In this blog, I'll be doing quite a few comparisons to our Chevy Bolt.  These are not intended to be comparisons of the vehicles themselves, but of the performance and range with respect to their EPA ratings on routes we've traveled literally dozens of times.

Our story begins with my previous post comparing the Audi etron to the Jaguar I-Pace.  After reading it, the GM of Audi Steven's Creek in San Jose, asked Cassandra Crawford, his head of fleet and internet sales, to offer us an etron for a more extensive test drive.  We picked up the etron on Friday afternoon, drove to our place in the Sierra Nevada, put it through its paces in the mountains, and returned the car on Monday afternoon.  

Before I get into range discussion, let me just say that this is the quietest car we've ever driven and is a joy to drive.  

For experienced EV drivers, range is important for the following reasons:

1) We need to do our regular commutes without having to stop to charge.
2) On long trips, we don't want to have to spend hours waiting to charge.

We recognize that for most EVs, highway range is much worse than city range.  For our Bolt, rated at 238 combined miles per the EPA, we see nearly 300 miles of range around town, but only about 210 miles on the highway at 65-75 mph, substantially less with a headwind.  

When we heard about the 204-mile range, we cancelled our order for an etron.  What kind of range would we get on the highway?  And what about our trips to the mountains, our primary motivation for an AWD SUV?  We 'commute' to our place in the mountains a few times a month and at least weekly during ski season.  It's 175 miles with nearly a 4000' altitude gain.  Our Bolt makes it with between 15% and 20% of the battery left and an average miles/kWh of about 3.5: an effective range of 210 miles. 

If the Bolt loses roughly 12 percent of its EPA range on this trip, and the etron lost 12% of it's 204 miles, it would be far too close in the etron, right?
​

Whether in a gas-powered car or an EV, we all drive differently depending on the conditions and our motivation for being on the road.  In a hurry or want to race?  You probably don't care too much about your gas mileage or EV range.  Want to reduce costs and stops? You probably drive more efficiently.

There has been a lot of debate about driving an EV with max regen.  Many drivers argue that the excessive regen braking is not as efficient because you're always having to make up for slowing by accelerating.  Others say that coasting is better.  But the bottom line is that per the Bolt EV forum (and the Bolt has the strongest regen of any EV we've seen with true single pedal driving), at least 90% of Bolt drivers agree that they get their best range in L mode (max regen) - all the time. 

While this may sound counter-intuitive.  The fact is that once you're experienced with max regen, you use your accelerator pedal efficiently.  You can slow the vehicle, let it coast, or accelerate just by applying the right amount of pressure.  It may sound complicated, but it's not.  It becomes second nature after you've driven a bit.  

So, although Audi claims that their 'Automatic' mode will determine the most effective regen by coasting at the right time, I have my doubts.  We didn't get to test that feature and there is a lot of magic in the etron, so it's possible, but I wanted to compare apples to apples, so we drove the etron in Efficiency mode with max regen all the time.  

For those of you concerned about 'Efficiency mode', don't be.  As we've seen with most EVs, there's more than enough power to spare.  EVs accelerate onto the freeway effortlessly and pass on two-lane roads pinning the passengers to the seats - even in 'efficiency' mode.
​

We left the Audi dealer about noon.  Temps were in the mid 80s, upper 80s across the Central Valley and we hit thunderstorms in the mountains.  With the very warm temperatures, air conditioning was a must.

The first thing we noticed, which worried us quite a bit, was that our efficiency on the surface streets getting to the freeway, on the Mission Street connector to 680, and in traffic jams was much lower than we expected, right about 2.2 miles/kWh.  At that rate, with a 4000' altitude gain on this trip, even the 140 miles might be tight.  

The weird thing was that we seemed to get better range on the freeway at 70-75 mph.  We finished the trip of 140 miles with an average of 2.5 mi/kWh, 56 miles on the guessometer, and 32% of the battery left.  This works out to roughly 205 miles of range.  Remember, our Bolt has an effective range on this trip of 210 miles.  Not too bad!

Saturday, Karen took the wheel and we traveled down to Valley Springs (mostly 55 mph speed limit)  for a round of disc golf, and visited Volcano on our way back up.  Karen had a difficult time keeping the etron anywhere near the speed limit and loved the smoothness, silence, and handling.  We covered 86 miles and had 62% of the battery left, effectively 226 miles.

Sunday, we drove up to Kirkwood on highway 88.  It's 39 miles and we have to cross Carson Pass at 7990 feet.  The net altitude gain to Kirkwood is 4500 feet.  Speed limit is 55 and you can comfortably drive 60 except for a couple of miles over Carson Spur.  The etron averaged 1.7 miles/kWh.  I note that the Bolt only averages 2.2 miles/kWh on this stretch.

Returning, the etron only used 3% of the battery for the 39 miles, and averaged 2.8 miles/kWh for the 78 mile round trip with 77% of the battery remaining.  For the Bolt, we average 4.0 mile/kWh on this stretch or 240 miles - very close to the EPA 238.  The etron's range on this trip works out to 234 miles.

We headed home late Monday morning.  The picture of the console at the top of this post was taken as we hit the flats 26 miles into our trip.  Much of that 26 miles was downhill and you can see that the total range - guessomenter + miles driver - was 303 miles.  Of course the next 117 miles, mostly at 70-75 mph reduced that a bit, and we arrived at the dealer after 143 miles (we stayed on 680 to 280) with 116 miles on the guessometer (a 259 mile range).  We averaged 2.8 miles per kWh.  On this same stretch, the Bolt averages 4.2 miles per kWh or about 5% beyond its EPA rating.  So multiplying the 2.8 miles/kWh times the 83.6 kWh available in the etron and reducing it by 5%, we have a range of 222 miles - almost all of it highway.
​

We scratched our heads about how the EPA rating could be so wrong.  With 85-90 degree temperatures, we had climate on (except for the trip to Kirkwood where it was cool).  We drove mostly highway speeds which is generally a worst case scenario for an EV.  And yet, our best guess for the etron highway range is over 220 miles. 

We looked at the Monroney Sticker (the sales sticker) and got one clue.  According to the EPA, the miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) for the highway is 73 and for the city, it's 74 with a combined rating of 74.  Every other EV has a dramatic difference between the City and Highway EPA ratings.  For example, the Bolt has 128 City and only 110 Highway.  

This means that unlike most EVs, the etron gets almost the same range on the highway as around town.  What would you say to an EPA rating of over 200 miles highway?  

We suspect that the highway/city thing is due to the weight of the etron.  At over 5600 pounds, it takes a lot of energy to get it moving (hence the low City figure).  On the other hand, once moving, and especially downhill, the momentum and reasonably low coefficient of drag, improve its Highway numbers.  The weight probably explains the remarkable numbers for our downhill stretch from Kirkwood - a lot of regen!

We also suspect that the EPA tests were done in 'Automatic' mode.  Perhaps our driving in 'Efficiency' mode with max regen made the difference.  

In any case, for our purposes, the Audi etron has a combined (actually highway) range of over 220 miles. It's extremely efficient downhill - probably more so than the Bolt, and doesn't seem to lose much range at 75+ mph. Combine that with the fact that the etron charges faster than any car currently on the market,  and it also makes sense for longer trips.  Plus, as I mentioned, Karen and I find this to be the nicest car we've ever driven. 

Originally, our plan was to replace our Audi Allroad with an EV SUV to get us to the snow in the winter.  Our Bolt is our primary vehicle and the Audi is really just for the snow.  But this car is such a pleasure to drive, we'll probably take it on all road trips.  
​

The etron we drove was a Prestige with 21-inch wheels.  The one we ordered will have 19-inch wheels.  From what I've read, the smaller wheel size should increase the etron's range by  5%-15%.  That would put it within reach of our Bolt - not bad for a true luxury SUV.

If you've been afraid of the etron because of the EPA rating, don't be.  I think you'll be more than impressed with its range in real driving conditions!

Check out my next blog on the etron: Our Remarkable Audi Ski-tron.

And, if you liked this blog, please check out my novels.
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If you've read posts in my EV category, you know that we're big fans of EVs.  Our first EV was a Ford Focus Electric which we leased in 2013.  It was limited but functional for short trips.  In late 2016, we leased a Chevy Bolt and couldn't be happier.  It has become our primary vehicle and we take it on several trips over 350 miles every month as well as 200-mile trips around the Bay Area.  We even did a 1200-mile trip to Oregon for the eclipse.  However, we don't take it to the mountains in the winter, preferring our Audi Allroad with its AWD and sure-footed handling in snow and ice.  But after our Bolt experience, we want to go all-electric.  No more gas for us!

I've been an Audi fan for years and after seeing the etron at the Paris Auto Show and comparing it with the Jaguar I-Pace, and the Mercedes EQC (exterior and interior), we placed an etron on order thinking we'd receive it in January or February.   But with the delays on delivery and the shocking EPA rating of 204 miles, we cancelled our order.  

We joined forums for most of the EVs out there to follow their progress.  Initial deliveries of the I-Pace revealed numerous problems, particularly with the Infotainment/MMI - sometimes causing the car to just stop.  We started to despair that we'd be waiting at least another year for a better electric SUV.  

Before continuing, I should note that I have great admiration for Elon Musk and Tesla and believe that without them, the auto industry wouldn't be moving ahead so aggressively with EVs.  Unfortunately, the cars just don't fit our active outdoor lifestyle (and wouldn't survive some of the places we park).  Carrying bikes, kayaks, surfboards, etc. on a Model S or a Model 3 is somewhat impractical, and quite frankly, I really don't like the looks of the Model X.  On the other hand, the charging network is what makes Tesla the leader - at least until recently.

With the Bolt, we've learned quite a bit about EVs, so we have pretty strong expectations for new EVs, and especially a high-end 'luxury' SUV with all-wheel drive:

- Range: we have a place in the mountains that's 175 miles away at 4000' elevation.  We need to be able to make it there without stopping to charge along the way.

- Sports equipment: as mentioned above, we need room to carry our toys.

- Room for a spare tire:  Driving over Altamont Pass the weekend before our 1200-mile trip to the eclipse, our Bolt narrowly avoided a sharp piece of metal in the road.  Not so for several cars on the side of the road with blown-out tires in 110-degree heat.  We decided that since we are often in remote areas, we didn't want to be without a spare.  Fortunately, the Bolt has space under the back cover where we now carry a slightly deflated full-sized spare, our universal EVSE, extra extension cables, and a few toys.  

- NAV and a good Infotainment/MMI: the Bolt lacks a navigation system and we often have problems with Android Auto, particularly in remote areas (where we often find ourselves).

- Fast charging:  When we do our regular 350+ mile trips in a day, we need to charge.  Because the Bolt and all current EVs have a dramatic taper in their charging rates (e.g. the Bolt charges at a max of 45 kW up to 60% then drops to 34 kW up to 80%, then to 16 kW to 90%, then rapidly down to 6 kW or less as it nears 100%),  a typical charge from 20% to 100% takes over an hour and a half on a 50 kW charging station (though on most long trips, you can stop charging at 80% and stop more often).  Even the Teslas have dramatic taper as state of charge (SOC - percentage of battery charge) increases.  We need better for longer trips.

- Handling: Most newer EVs have excellent handling due to the low center of gravity.  We do a lot of mountain roads and expect a nimble vehicle. 
​
- Comfort and quiet:  If we're going to pay for luxury, we expect luxury.  

- Single-pedal driving:  While not a hard requirement, we love the single-pedal driving of the Bolt.  Put it in max regen (L mode), and you can almost never use the brakes.  It's also an indicator of strong battery regeneration.  On the Bolt, L mode slows the car at negative .3g and with the paddle gets almost negative .4g, strongly recharging the battery as you slow or go downhill. 
  

​As spring arrived so did the first etrons, along with software fixes for the I-Pace.  Suddenly I-Pace owners were raving about their cars.  Audi of Steven's Creek had an etron to test drive so we made an appointment there and with the Jaguar dealer down the street.  ​

The Audi etron

Our first impression of the etron was that it was much larger than what we remembered seeing in Paris - probably more car than we needed.  Eric, the knowledgeable sales assistant took us through all the features of the etron.  We were impressed by the interior room and especially the fact that it had a spare tire.  As in many of my former Audis, skis can pass through the back seat, still leaving room for passengers.  This etron was a loaded Prestige with 21-inch wheels.

Once seated inside, what immediately struck us was the silence.  Noisy Steven's Creek Boulevard could not be heard - at all.  This would prove to be the case on our test drive - the car is eerily quiet on the inside.  No question, the interior is what you'd expect in a luxury car.

Eric took us through the sophisticated Infotainment/MMI system which includes a separate screen where you can hand-write commands.  Overall, it was intuitive and easy to use.  Wanting to test the regen in search of the elusive single-pedal driving, I put the etron in economy mode and set it to max regen.  

Starting on city and neighborhood streets, we quickly discovered that single-pedal driving is not possible.  However, the big surprise was that when touching the brakes, the regen increased substantially.  Eric explained that the brake pedal is similar to the paddles on the Bolt up until it reaches negative .3g at which point the friction brakes kick in.  This is identical regen to the Bolt without using the paddle, so while it's not single pedal, the regen is strong.  

We were also surprised by the handling.  For such a large, heavy vehicle, the etron cornered well and hugged the road on tight fast turns.  Still, consumption was nothing like the Bolt.  While we typically see almost 5 miles/kWh with the Bolt around town, the Audi was averaging a bit over 3 miles/kWh.  

Moving onto the highway, we went 8 miles at a steady 70 mph.  Here's where we got our biggest surprise.  The etron averaged 2.8 miles/kWh.  That would result in over 230 miles of range at 70 mph?  With 21-inch wheels?  This was not even close to the EPA combined rating of 204 miles.  More on that shortly.

As I mentioned before, even at highway speeds on a rough concrete surface, the etron was silent and the ride was smooth.  We were impressed.  Still, it was much more car than we needed.

The Jaguar I-Pace
Thanking Eric, we made our way down the street to the Land Rover/Jaguar dealer excited to drive the I-Pace.  The experienced salesperson explained that the I-Pace was a big seller - they couldn't keep them in stock.  We inspected the exterior and admired its sleek good looks.  Its size was also more in line with what we're looking for - a small SUV. 

When we opened the rear hatch, we discovered a spare tire.  It took up most of the cargo space and the salesperson explained that there was no room for a spare in under the back cover.  As for interior room, the back seat was tight.  With Karen in the driver's seat, I had little legroom in the back.  

Ready for our test drive, we asked to set the I-Pace up for max regen.  Neither I nor the salesperson could figure out how to do it.  Additional personnel couldn't help.  After nearly ten minutes of navigating complex screens that didn't seem to make sense and which seemed to arbitrarily erase previous settings, we finally found it.  And we were off.

On the city/neighborhood streets, we found that the I-Pace handled better than the Audi.  It's smaller, lighter, and more nimble.  As expected from the 234-mile EPA rating, the I-Pace showed nearly 3.5 miles/kWh - more efficient than the Audi.  As for single-pedal driving, it's close.  The I-Pace regen slows the car aggressively until it reaches about 3 or 4 miles per hour.  At that point, you need to apply the friction brakes to fully stop.  I think single-pedal could be possible with some practice, anticipating a bit more coasting run out before stopping.

We moved onto the freeway, taking exactly the same route we did with the etron.  Acceleration down the on ramp was strong, probably better than the etron (per the statistics), but for us a difference of 1 second in a 0-60 acceleration is not terribly important.  What we did notice upon getting up to 70 mph, was the interior noise.  Plus, the ride was rough.  It felt very much like our Bolt.  Even worse for me, and this is largely a personal preference, with such a small rear window and tiny rear side windows, visibility was an issue.  I like being able to see all vehicles around me.  

We exited the freeway and to my surprise, the consumption showed 2.7 miles per kWh - worse than the Audi.  

We left the dealership a bit disappointed with the I-Pace.
​

We raced over Highway 17 in our Bolt in time to beat the commute traffic.  Although from what I've written so far, it may sound like the choice was obvious, for us, the I-Pace was more our size, supposedly had better range, and was clearly more efficient.  The Audi was a lot of car.

With deliveries of etrons accelerating, we followed forums and collected a lot of information.  

Here's where we ended up with our criteria:

- Range: the I-Pace has better range around town but doesn't do as well on the highway.  Our test was short and there wasn't a huge difference, but several comparison tests have shown this to be true.  Also, several drivers in the US and Europe have confirmed that they're seeing much better than the EPA number for the Audi.  Even abetterrouteplanner.com shows that we can make our 175-mile trip with 4000' altitude gain in the etron with 15% of the battery to spare.  And then there's the charging speed - see below.

- Sports equipment: the etron, being much larger, is the clear winner, especially if skiing is the main reason for an AWD SUV.  

- Room for a Spare Tire: the etron has it, the Jaguar does not.  With the amount of time we spend in remote places with no cell service, that spare is a must.

- Nav and Infotainment/MMI:  the etron is the hands-down winner.  I loved the heads-up display, the easy configuration, and the infotainment system.  The I-Pace system was confusing.  I'm sure you could get used to it, but head-to-head, it just doesn't compare.

- Fast Charging: this is where Audi surpasses all other EVs, even Tesla.  Charging at 150 kW, with a taper to 100 kW at 85% SOC and ultimately 50 kW as you approach 100%, the Audi charges faster than anything on the market, even Teslas with the new 250 kW  superchargers (they taper much faster).  With Electrify America installing 350 kW stations, very long distance trips in the Audi can be done almost as fast as in a gas-powered car.   According to some Tesla owners who have been testing the etron, even with substantially less range, on long trips, the etron and a Model X 100D extended will reach their destinations at the same time because of the Audi's faster charging.  With upcoming vehicles like the Porsche Taycan and Cross Turismo, soon, EVs will charge as fast as a gas fill up. ​

- Handling: the I-Pace has it. It's lighter and more nimble and is more in line with what we were hoping for.

- Comfort and quiet: The Audi etron is a true luxury car.  It has plenty of interior room and will comfortably seat our tall son-in-law and his wife in the backseat along with 4 sets of skis and equipment for our trips to the snow.  The I-Pace, not so much.  Worse, the panoramic sunroof in the I-Pace had no option to reduce the amount of sunlight.  Even with climate, the car was hot and at certain angles, too much glare.  We had to go to max climate to get comfortable.  I suspect this would be a significant range killer on the I-Pace.  

- Single-Pedal Driving: the I-Pace comes the closest.  

When we saw the announcement of the Audi Q4, coming in late 2020 or early 2021, we seriously considered waiting.  Ultimately though, after becoming convinced that the etron had sufficient range for our usual ski trips, and would do as well as a high-end Tesla on a long trip, we decided to put in our order for an Audi etron, going all-electric now and planning to trade in the etron for a Q4 or other smaller SUV when they become available.   

I'll be doing more posts on EVs as these emerge, and will keep you up to date on our experiences with the etron once we receive it.  In the meantime, don't hesitate to ask for more details about this decision or about EVs in general.

Also, since this post, we got to put an etron through its paces.  Check out my subsequent blog: Audi etron EPA 204 miles - Debunked!

As most of you know, particularly if you've read any of the posts in my Electric Vehicles (EVs) Category, Karen and I have become true believers.  After a less than wonderful experience with our Ford Focus Electric, we have been completely seduced by the power and practicality of the Chevy Bolt.  It has become our primary car.  Our other car, an Audi Allroad, has been collecting dust since the end of ski season. 

We use the Bolt for all of our non-ski trips; we do several trips over 350 miles each month; and we did a 1200-mile trip to see the eclipse in Oregon.  Even these longer distance trips are no problem for the Bolt. 

In fact, we're so convinced about electric, that we don't want to drive anything else.  We've been waiting for something to replace the Audi.  Sure, there's the Tesla Model X, but aside from the fact that I don't like the looks, and don't see it as matching our outdoorsy lifestyle, I really don't like the price.   

So when Audi announced their upcoming e-Tron Quattro, we were intrigued.  We put in a placeholder deposit, hoping to get our hands on one before fully committing.

Audi generously invited us to their gala announcement in San Francisco, but since we were planning to be in France, we gave the tickets to some friends who are now thinking about electric.

But, being in France, we had the opportunity to go to the Paris Auto Show.  So, in addition to being able to see the Audi e-Tron, we also were able to get a look at many of the new electric models and concept cars from manufacturers around the world. 

​Noticeably absent were GM, VW (and their upcoming ID line of electric vehicles), and Volvo (with their XC40 SUV).  And while Porsche was there, we were very disappointed not to be able to see their Mission E Cross Turismo, complete with drone.  Watch for it in the video!

Our goal was to determine if there was something better than the Audi that might be worth waiting for.

But before getting into practical EVs that we'll see in the next year or two, I have to say the concepts were remarkable.

Concept Cars

By far, the car getting the most attention from the French attendees was the Peugeot E-Legend, pictured above.  It's apparently a throwback to the much-beloved Peugeot 504 built in 1969.  As of the first public day of the show, nearly 20,000 visitors had promised to buy one if Peugeot produced it.  With over 350 miles of range, super fast charging,  ridiculous acceleration, and unique styling, Peugeot thinks that this EV represents the Peugeot philosophy - it's not just a great EV, it's a great car.

Most futuristic at the show was Renault.  While known for their compact Zoe EV, Renault clearly has some interesting ideas:

​Of course there were supercar concepts too:

Of these, as far as I know, only the Audi has actually seen the light of day.  Range is 310 miles, 95kWh battery with 350kW charging capability and 0-60 in just over 2 seconds.

Practical (soon-to-be-available) EVs

Hyundai

Hyundai showed off their new Kona.  It brags over 290 miles of range with fast charging up to 100 kW.  It reminded us of our Bolt in terms of shape and interior, but it does come with a very nice Nav system (which we really miss on the Bolt).

Kia

Kia had several of their new Niro EVs on display.  They apparently share much of Hyundai's technology and while there are differences in styling and the interiors, the capabilities of the cars and their batteries are almost identical.    

Renault Zoe

We also looked at the new Renault Zoe with its 40 kWh battery, a dramatic improvement over the 25 kWh battery sold until recently.  It's the most popular EV in Europe and Renault has sold about 100,000 of them.  Interestingly, several of the models on display had advertisements for driving services in Paris.  One even offered rentals of the Zoe.  We'd looking forward to being able to rent an electric car on future trips to Europe.  Still, the Zoe's 150-mile range doesn't compare to the Bolt, Niro, or Kona.  It's max charging rate is 44 kW and that only occurs in a very narrow window of its SOC (State of Charge) - up to about 45% charge.  After that it quickly drops off to 20 kW.  Still, at about 20,000 euros fully loaded, it's a great first EV.

Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (ED)

Other than the picture below and a quick look at the specs, we didn't spend any time with Mercedes' Smart ForTwo.  With a range of just 58 miles and a price over $25,000, it just doesn't seem worth it.  But they were kind of cute, it comes in a Cabriolet model (the only EV convertible I know of), and I heard a comment that the Smart ForTwo has the best turning radius of any car on the market.  So, it's very easy to park.  We'll pass.

The Jaguar goes from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, the Porsche in 3.5 seconds, and the others in about 5 seconds.   This kind of acceleration is more than we need in an SUV and I have to wonder about all that torque in snowy conditions.  

All of the cars have sophisticated battery management systems which will preserve battery life and which should help with charging rates in low temperatures.  Audi claims theirs is the best, but we'll know more when the cars are actually on the road in the snow.

Mercedes EQC

Karen loved the seats.  She thought they were the most comfortable of any car she'd ever been in.  For me, the cockpit was a bit claustrophobic.  It didn't feel open and spacious and the tech was a bit run-of-the-mill. Its exterior was nothing special.  The EQC also felt big - like a full-sized SUV.  But looking at its actual dimensions, it's not much bigger than its competition.  Unfortunately, as experienced distance travelers in an EV, the lower charge rates are a concern.  Still, it may be worth a test drive to check out the handling.

BMW iX3

I think we were most disappointed by the BMW iX3.  It was set aside from the other BMWs and was not accessible to visitors.  I asked several questions and was told that in two years the car would have the latest - the latest fast charging, the latest battery management, the latest range estimates.  In other words, the salespeople had no idea about the specifications.  I suspect they were focused on the new 3-series models which had a lot of interest, and just weren't prepared to talk about EVs.  It's unlikely we'll look any further at BMW EVs.

Jaguar i-Pace

Jaguar had several i-Paces on display, some in dramatic colors.  The car looks impressive.  The only real negatives were the room in the back seat, and the less than state-of-the-art charging speeds.  Jaguar is offering test drives of the i-Pace in southern France next week, so with luck, we'll get to try one out.  I'll update this blog if we do. 

Porsche Mission E Turismo

I have to say that we're completely intrigued by the Mission E Turismo.  From all reports, there will be a 2019 model and after seeing the video and looking at the specs, it might be worth waiting for.  We spoke with the Porsche rep and he explained that since they showed it at a previous show, they didn't have it in Paris.  He had no updates on availability.  We'll have to wait and see, but this seems to be a dream car, even if it doesn't actually ship with the drone (see the video).

 
Audi e-Tron

The Audi e-Tron was the main reason we detoured to the Paris Auto Show.  It did not disappoint!

The interior was impressive as was the tech.  I loved the Nav and the fact that I could get a full Nav screen with directions right in front of me as the driver.  There's even a supplemental screen where you can hand-write commands with your finger.  The backseat was spacious though since they added a control panel for climate, the seating in the middle is limited.  5 passengers will only fit if the one in the middle is either small, or ready to straddle the console.  Aside from that and the fact that it is unlikely that you can fit a spare tire in the back, the car is amazing.  The European model has cameras instead of side-view mirrors.  Not sure if that will get approved in the States before its launch.  The interior is roomy, but the car feels more sleek than its competitors (except, perhaps, for the elusive Porsche).  It has variable air suspension that adapts based on speed and even has charging ports on both sides of the car (fast charging on the driver side).  Coefficient of drag is second only to the Tesla Model S.  Like many of the earlier Audis, you can drop the middle of the back seat to slip your skis through.  

Cassandra Crawford from Steven's Creek Audi tells us we'll see the e-Tron by April.  In Europe, dealers will be getting theirs in January and first deliveries will start in February.  While we wait, we'll check out the alternatives.  But at this point, unless Porsche announces a 2019 delivery of the Mission E Cross Turismo at a reasonable price or one of the others surprises us, we'll enthusiastically lease the Audi e-Tron.

First, let me state unequivocally that we love our Chevy Bolt.  As I've mentioned in previous posts in my EV Category, the Bolt has become our primary vehicle.  Unlike many EV owners and most Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car owners, we have no concerns about taking our EV on longer trips.  Last summer, we drove from California to Oregon and back for the eclipse (over 1200 miles), and we regularly do trips of 350 or more miles in a day.  But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.  

We chose the Bolt because for us, it was the most practical EV available.  In addition to not wanting to pay nearly 6 figures for a Tesla, we needed a car that could carry bikes, surfboards, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, and more.  I also needed to be able to park it in remote places without fear of someone vandalizing an expensive car.  The Bolt has served us well.  

In fact, we are continually amazed by what we can do in the Bolt and its impressive range in a variety of road conditions.  On our trip to Oregon for the eclipse, driving at 75-80 miles per hour for most of it, we averaged nearly 3.9 miles per kilowatt hour (kWh).  That's 238 miles of range at highway speeds even with the AC set to 70 degrees and hundred-degree temperatures in the Sacramento Valley.  

Those longer trips I mentioned?  At least twice a month, we make a trip to our place in the Sierra Nevada, mostly at 70+ mph,  and amazingly, we average at least 4 mi/kWh.  This is with two adults, a full-sized spare tire, jack, etc., and sports toys.  And again, we run the AC through the heat of the Central Valley.   We see similar results on our trips to the North Bay (100 miles each way).  So what am I complaining about?  

Well, there is one other trip that we do at least once a month.  We drive from Santa Cruz, California to San Luis Obispo, California.  It's about 175 miles each way and we do it in a day, charging a bit over an hour  at an EVgo station in San Luis during our meeting there.  There is a sizable hill (1500 feet) just outside of San Luis, but the net altitude difference between Santa Cruz and San Luis is less than 300 feet (Santa Cruz is at sea level).  

Even in winter, it's a stretch to get near 4 mi/kWh.  We come close, but I attribute the lower range to the road surface which is largely concrete and isn't in the best of shape.  Still, we have no concerns whatsoever making this round trip with just a charge in San Luis.

Our real problem strikes in the late spring and summer.  Getting down to San Luis isn't a problem but the return is sometime touch and go, even though it's mostly downhill.  So what's the problem? 

Wind!

In the late spring and summer, the ocean is cool and the land is warm.  Often it can be in the low 60s in Santa Cruz, and well over 100 just a few miles inland.  This temperature difference creates wind.  Worse for us, the Salinas Valley, through which we have to travel for this trip, has mountains on each side, creating a wind tunnel/venturi effect.  We're often facing 40+ mph headwinds on our return.  

A lot has been written about how speed affects the range of EVs, and gas mileage for ICE cars: the aerodynamic resistance increases by the square of the velocity.  And while the Bolt has a somewhat respectable coefficient of drag (Cd) at about .31, when we try to drive 65 mph against a 40 mph headwind, our efficiency drops to 2 - 2.5 mi/kWh.  With a 60 kWh battery, that means our range drops to between 120 and 150 miles.  

So, while we were confident that with our Bolt purchase (actually a lease), range anxiety was a thing of the past, for this trip, it's back. 

Our return this past Wednesday was rough.  We lucked out after climbing the 1500' Cuesta Grade where we first encountered the wind and saw our efficiency drop to 2.5 mi/kWh (even slightly downhill).  Ahead of us was an mCoach and it was driving 65 mph.  I pulled in behind, and our mi/kWh went up to 4.5!  We followed it for about 40 miles, but the driver got annoyed (sorry about that!) and forced me to pass him by pulling in front of a truck and slowing down, leaving me no room to pull in behind.  I passed and slowed to 60 mph, but we were still down to 2 mi/kWh against a crazy headwind.  

At King City, the half-way point, we decided to stop to charge at the Chargepoint there to provide a comfortable buffer.  But as often seems to happen with Chargepoint level 3 stations, it was down.  I called and they opened a ticket.  

We nervously pulled back onto 101 for the worst of the wind.  Dust storms surrounded us from King City to Salinas.  Again, we lucked out.  I pulled in behind a large semi, and followed at a sedate 55-60 mph.  Ultimately, we made it home in the orange with very little left on the battery, and less than 20 miles on the GOM.  

So, after a year and a half driving the Bolt, I can honestly say that our only real disappointment is its performance against a headwind.  To some degree, I find it hard to believe that it has a Cd of less than .31; a headwind severely impacts range.  

And while I'd certainly like to see a Nav system on the Bolt since we often drive where there is no cell service, if GM is listening, it would be very nice to see an improvement in Cd.  Not only would it help out in situations like ours, I'm sure it would significantly increase the already remarkable range of the Chevy Bolt.   

​Since the Bolt is already strong on tech and has surround cameras in the Premier model, maybe GM could remove the side-view mirrors like Audi is doing in the European version of their eTron Quattro which ships in the fall.  

Two things before you start reading:  1) The photo at left is by Ted Hesser a photographer from the Bay Area who was brilliant in positioning himself for this memorable shot.  Check out his photos at his site.  2) This post is not about the eclipse.  It's about how the Bolt performed on our first truly significant trip (well beyond the 400 miles we often drive in a day).  

If you've read my previous posts on the #BoltEV in my Electric Vehicles category, you know that we regularly take what most people would consider long trips for an electric vehicle (EV).  But a trip from Santa Cruz to Oregon for the eclipse would be well over 1200 miles.  We had confidence in the Bolt, and we'd read Harvey Payne's account of his trip from southern California to Oregon posted in the Facebook Chevy Bolt Owner's Group forum.  That gave us a big leg up.  

However, we wanted to be prepared.  We used Plugshare to lay out the trip and where we would need to charge, along with alternates in case a station was occupied or not working.  We decided that for this trip we'd be conservative and not push the range of the Bolt.  Personally, I was a bit worried about the drive over Siskiyou Summit, especially for the trip back where you climb from Ashland to the summit in about 10 very steep miles.  The charging plan was step one in our preparations.

During one of our regular 175-mile drives to our place in the Sierra, I narrowly avoided hitting a sharp piece of scrap metal on highway 580 going down Altamont Pass.  Unfortunately, several other vehicles were on the side of the road with blown-out tires.  We decided then and there, as we looked at the 110 degree temperature outside, that we didn't want to take a chance on flat in the middle of the desert in eastern Oregon.  So, we bought a full-sized spare for the Bolt.

As you can see from the photos above, it fits nicely (deflated a bit) in the space in the back under the removable cover.  And, it provides a nice place to store our portable EVSE and J1772 extension cable with space left for the lug wrench, jack, compressor, and our disc golf equipment.  

We packed food and emergency supplies and were ready for our Bolt's longest trip. 

Just before leaving,  a contractor contacted us to say he could start work on the decks at our place in the mountains, so we decided to head up there before making our way to Oregon.  As usual, our 175-mile drive in the Bolt was uneventful. Even with the 4000' altitude gain - we averaged over 4 mi/kWh.

As often happens, the contractor didn't show.  We took advantage of his absence to continue up to Kirkwood for some disc golf among the seemingly infinite fields of wild flowers.  
​

The next day we left our place in the Sierra fully charged and found ourselves caught in Sacramento traffic.   We stopped in Corning to get a bit of a bump before continuing the 100 miles to Yaks in Dunsmuir for lunch and a charge.  Next stop Ashland where, based on Harvey Payne's recommendation, we'd spend the night at The Palm Cottages and take advantage of their free charging.  Since I-97 has no fast charging stations, very few J1772 stations,  and with eclipse traffic, we knew that all campgrounds were full (no available connections for our NEMA 14-50 EVSE), we decided to meet Karen's daughter and son-in-law in Eugene (instead of going directly to Bend) where we could plug our EVSE into their dryer outlet overnight before heading over to Bend, an easy 130 miles away. 

The trip from Ashland to Eugene was uneventful and the next morning we drove through the rolling hills/mountains of southern Oregon on our 180-mile final leg to Eugene.  In addition to the charging advantages, this detour gave us a chance to dine at the always amazing Rye on 3rd in Eugene, where we started with the Poutine (a decadent Canadian dish composed of French fries topped with duck confit and cheese), and ended with their house made chocolates paired with whiskies - mine was dark chocolate caramel paired with W.L. Weller special reserve.

But I diverge... 

Karen had the brilliant idea to track our kwH usage between fast charging stations (or their exits if  we didn't stop) and other key landmarks that we passed to help others better plan their trips along I-5 over Siskiyou Summit, and to show us exactly how much, and when, we needed to charge on future trips.  Here are the stats for Sacramento to Eugene and Eugene to Santa Cruz.  
​

The idea is that you can look at distances between charging stations, look at how many kWh remain in your battery, and then decide where you want to stop to charge.  

To put this into perspective, we had two people in the Bolt plus the spare wheel and provisions and toys for our trip.  We drive at roughly 5 mph over the speed limit on highways in California (at the speed limit elsewhere), and pretty much right on the speed limit everywhere in Oregon.

Fair warning, although our trip up to Eugene was completely uneventful, our trip back wasn't (note the detour to Chico).  On the way back after a full charge using the dryer outlet, we spent the night in Ashland again, and anticipated topping up at Yaks in Dunsmuir, thinking we could make it 211 miles (with a lot of downhill) to the EVgo charger in the Vacaville outlet mall, and then home - just 3 stops total for the trip from Eugene to Santa Cruz.  But, as we found out, Yak's charger is powered off when they're closed (we should have paid attention to the station hours).   No problem, right?  We'll just charge at the Olive Pit  in Corning and have lunch there.

No such luck.  While the Olive Pit charger worked on our way up, it was down on our way back.   We called Chargepoint and worked with them for a good half hour to no avail.  James, the Olive Pit owner came out to try to help, but no luck.  He had some serious complaints about Chargepoint service, but then told us he was still planning to add a new, higher kW charger next to the current one.  He's a great guy who's looking at purchasing an EV himself, so stop by the Olive Pit if you're passing to thank him for the charging stations and his support of EVs.

With Corning down, we thought we'd just have to make it the 50 miles to Williams to charge at the Carl's Jr. there, but it wasn't showing up on Plugshare (I had the 'available' filter on).  I called Chargepoint, and they admitted that Williams was down too.  I asked about the one in Redding (thinking we might backtrack), and apparently it was flaky - three charging stations, each over 50 miles apart that were down!  That could give anyone range anxiety.  

But fortunately, Harvey Payne had mentioned the solar-powered, free charging station at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico.  Quite frankly, the detour was worth it because of the superb lunch we had there.  We charged for a bit over an hour, drove to Vacaville, charged for a bit less than an hour and raced home to Santa Cruz using our new (free for EVs) FastPass Express Lane pass to bypass most of the Bay Area commute traffic.

We learned a lot on this trip.  First and foremost, the Bolt continues to surprise us with its range.   Using the numbers we charted, it's clear we can optimize our charge times on future trips.  Next, although we did plot alternative stations, we didn't anticipate 3 successive stations being down by double checking availability.  And, we didn't pay attention to station operating hours.  Had we done that, we'd have left Ashland later, charged at Yaks over lunch, then only at Vacaville to make it home.  And finally, I'm beginning to change the opinion I expressed about whether a Bolt can be your primary vehicle.  The Bolt is our primary vehicle.  Our Audi has been collecting dust since the end of ski season.  Once there's an affordable all-wheel electric with the Bolt's range, we'll trade in the Audi and will go all-electric.

A last story about the eclipse for those of you who didn't go.   

According to our friends and relatives in Oregon, the news had been warning about the Apoceclipse - they said that because of millions of anticipated eclipse visitors, there would be food and gas shortages along with crippling traffic jams.  We did know that all hotels, rentals, and campgrounds were full, so it seemed somewhat plausible.

But on the Friday before the eclipse, we drove over highway 58 from Eugene to Bend where we had rented an AirBnB  (about 130 miles) and there was no traffic at all.  We pulled into Crux, our son-in-law's favorite Bend brewery.  We'd eaten there before and they have a great menu.   Unfortunately, when the menus came, there were only a few items on it.  We asked the server about our missing favorites and she said they would return on Monday.  Because of the forecast Apoceclipse, they, along with most restaurants in Bend, had reduced their menus to the minimum so that they could more quickly prepare food for the predicted crowds.  Unfortunately, those crowds never materialized.  It seemed like a normal summer weekend in Bend.

On the day of the eclipse, we drove up to a place in the desert to the east of Madras where we experienced 2 minutes of totality.  If you want what I think is a good account of a total eclipse, read my first novel The Silicon Lathe.  In it, I describe the awe of a 7-minute total eclipse.  

On our way back to Bend, we detoured a couple of miles to visit stunning Smith Rock (in the picture above) for a short hike.   Upon returning to Bend, we munched appetizers and sipped cool drinks at a table next to the Deschutes river at the River House.  Our drive back to Eugene the next morning was uneventful.

If you get a chance to see a total eclipse, don't miss it.  Don't be afraid of the extra hassle to get into the zone of totality.  The difference between 99.9% and 100% is literally the difference between day and night.  At 100% the stars come out and you can look directly at the sun and all the seemingly miraculous phenomena that come with totality.  Our entire family, who was enthralled by this eclipse, is now making plans to go to Argentina for a 4-minute eclipse in 2019.   Maybe we'll see you there!

A good friend recently called us to ask if she should buy a Chevy Bolt. Of course our initial response was 'ABSOLUTELY!'  We talked about the amazing handling, 100% torque at all times, and its remarkable high-tech features. But as we got into details about charging and range, I realized that there's a lot people don't know about owning an electric vehicle (EV) and that the idea of owning an EV as your primary vehicle is a radical one.  Even (or perhaps it's mostly) non-EV owners have range anxiety.  

If you've read my other posts about EVs, you have a good idea of some of the limitations and concerns we've seen over the years with EVs.  Most of these have been answered by the Bolt, but ultimately, with today's technologies, it turns out that the practical limitations for an EV are less about the car itself and its range, and more about charging. That said, I thought I'd dedicate this post to EV charging and whether today's infrastructure is sufficient to own an EV  - in particular the Bolt - as your sole (or primary) vehicle.   
First, a few facts about the Bolt:  

The Bolt has an official range of 238 miles and an official MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) of 130 miles per gallon.   In terms of actual tested range over the nearly 4 months we've been driving the Bolt, it gets over 300 miles around town, around 210 miles at 70-75 mph, and we average around 260 miles in mixed highway and city driving.  

So what about charging?

The Bolt's battery capacity is 60 kWh: sixty kilowatt hours.  When you start driving an EV, you think in terms of kWH and kW (kilowatts) instead of gas tank volume and gallons of gas needed to fill it.  Still, the idea is the same.  EVs get a certain number of miles per kWh just like a gasoline-powered car gets a number of miles per gallon of gas.  The battery capacity is like the gas tank.

Obviously, just as you get lower gas mileage going uphill in a conventional car, you get fewer miles per kWh going uphill in an EV.  But in an EV, when you go downhill, you recharge the battery.  That's like filling your tank as you drive.  Also, EVs get better range around town than on the highway.  For the ranges I mentioned above, we get over 5 miles/kWh around town, about 3.5 miles/kWh at faster highway speeds, and about 4.25 miles/kWh in mixed highway and city driving.  

The Bolt accepts two types of charging interfaces: the J1772 plug, and the CCS Fast Charging plug.  At 240 volts, the J1772 adapter will charge the Bolt at up to 7.8 kW (kilowatts) and a fully discharged battery will recharge in about 9 hours.  The CCS Fast Charging interface accepts up to 80 kW, which theoretically means that you could fully charge an empty battery in about 45 minutes (60kWh/80kW = .75 hours). Unfortunately the reality here is a bit different.  The battery's charging is not linear.  It charges fastest when empty and slows as it nears full capacity.  Also, as of today, there are no 80+ kW charging stations available for any cars other than Teslas.  The best EV charging stations we've found are 50 kW and it takes about 80 minutes to charge the Bolt from 20% to 100%.  

So what does this mean from a practical point of view?

We have no concerns on trips of 200 miles or so.  We drive to our destination, and if it's on the high end of the range, we recharge partially or fully and drive back.  We do regular trips of 175 miles each way.  During our brief stays at our destinations (usually meetings, sometimes a nice meal), we leave the Bolt at a Fast Charging Station to charge for about 80 minutes, bringing it up to near 100%.  When done with our meetings, we make our return trip,  and end with more than 20% of the battery capacity remaining when we get home.  In all, our 350-mile round trips take about 6 hours including charging time - not much different than in a gas-powered car - a gas car would have sat idle during our meetings anyway.  

The reality is that most of our drives are much shorter - 100 miles each way or less.  For these trips we don't even think about charging the car unless there happens to be an available charging station near our destination.  And although we have a 240 volt charging station at home, we rarely use it.  We get free charging at many places in Santa Cruz and have found that most cities offer free charging in their city parking lots.  If we're near a free charging station and it's available, we plug in while shopping, dining, or seeing a movie.

Not counting the free charging, the cost of charging, using either our home charging station or paying for EVgo Fast Charging, is about 10 cents per kWh.  At 4.25 miles per kWh, it costs us about $2.35 to drive 100 miles.  Since the Bolt is essentially maintenance free (other than tires and washer fluid), it's much less expensive to operate that our Audi.  With free charging factored in, the Bolt is incredibly cheap to drive. 

But what about a really long trip?

Well, that's a bit more difficult.  To be frank, Tesla has real advantages over the Bolt.  But it's not the car.  Sure, the Model S and Model X are nice luxury cars, but they don't meet my practical needs for carrying surfboards and sporting equipment and for parking in areas where a $100,000 car wouldn't last long.  No, it's not about the car.  It's about the charging network.

Tesla has built an extensive network of fast charging stations.  Most of these charge at a whopping 120 kW.  So, for a Telsa, after 3 or 4 hours on the road, you need to recharge for 30-45 minutes before continuing another 3 to 4 hours or so.  Long distances in a Tesla are practical and a Tesla could easily be not only your primary vehicle, but your only car.

For non-Telsa vehicles, there are several private pay-to-charge networks, but none has the capacity of the Tesla network.  Chargepoint has built a network that extends from the Mexican border to Canada with Fast Charging Stations every 50 miles or so.  Unfortunately, almost all of these operate at only 25 kW, so running up Highway 5 at 70-75 mph, getting 3.5 miles per kWh, an hour of charging would get you at most 85 miles.  It's not terribly practical to charge for an hour to drive a bit over an hour.  Of course if you want to make overnight stops, or if you have places you want to visit along the way, you could make this work for medium+ distance trips.

The other network we use is EVgo.  EVgo is expanding their network of 50 kW charging stations but they don't have many on Highway 5.   There are quite a few along Highway 80 and along Highway 101.  Longer trips along these corridors are somewhat more practical, but still not what you're used to in a gas-powered car.  You'd be charging an hour to get 170 miles.   We've planned a trip to Oregon in the Bolt this summer and it looks like, using the 25 kW Chargepoint stations, it will take us about three hours longer than in our Audi.  

So, for now, unless you have a Tesla, a 1000-mile or longer trip in an EV would mean a lot more stops.   

The good news is that charging infrastructure is changing fast.  As part of its settlement for the 'dieselgate scandal', VW is building an extensive network of very fast charging EV stations.   They, along with other auto manufacturers, have already begun rolling out 350 kW stations in Europe.  In the States, they've committed to doing the same beginning this year.  

Locally, EVgo has just installed a 150 kW experimental station in Fremont.  It theoretically has the capacity to go up to 350 kW.  

​So, it looks like over the coming years, the charging infrastructure will improve to the point where you can have a non-Tesla as your only vehicle - 150 kW charging will let you charge your car almost as fast as you could fill up at a gas pump.  350 kW will be just as fast if not faster, once cars have the capacity to accept that rate of charging.

For us, with its great range, Fast Charging, and fun to drive features, the Bolt has become our Primary Vehicle, covering a good 98% of our trips.  But because we periodically do very long trips (over 600 miles), until the charging infrastructure improves, the Bolt won't be our only vehicle.  

Yesterday, we took our #BoltEV on a 350 mile trip.  Our goal: drive from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo in the morning and return by early evening.  We do this trip once a month and thus far have always taken our Audi Allroad.    It's about 170 miles each way.  

With the Bolt's rated range of 238 miles, we should be able to make it to San Luis Obispo, charge during Karen's meeting, then make it back, right?

Having lived with a Ford Focus EV for the past three years, we were more than a bit nervous about driving any electric car beyond its rated range, but particularly when much of the trip would be out in the middle of nowhere - no towns, no charging stations.  Plus, we knew that you don't get anywhere near the rated range at highway speeds, if you have strong headwinds, if you use the climate control, or if you have to climb hills.  Part of the trip to San Luis Obispo involved climbing the 1533' Cuesta Grade, just 8 miles before our destination.  

​We did a bit of planning and discovered that there were Chargepoint 24 DC kw fast charging stations in King City (about 85 miles from Santa Cruz) and in Paso Robles (just 30 miles from our destination).  There were two evGO 50 kw DC fast chargers in San Luis Obispo in the Marigold Center.  We'd found those on a previous trip.  

We went to bed the night before with the biggest storm of the season raging outside.  Heavy rain and winds shook the house.  I don't think it was the weather that caused our somewhat sleepless night, it was the omnipresent range anxiety familiar to most EV owners.

The forecast for the next day was periodic heavy showers.  If the weather looked really bad, we'd fall back on the Audi and would save the Bolt for a future trip.  

But, as fortune would have it, we woke up to a morning of light showers and a few rays of sunshine here and there.  We hopped in the Bolt and headed south.  Traffic was light and we saw that at 70 mph, our consumption was averaging over 3.5 miles per kwH.  With a battery capacity of 60 kwH, that should give us 210 miles.  We felt a bit better.  

Of course, there was a traffic jam on one of our shortcuts requiring a 7 mile detour; it was chilly and the windows fogged up with the rain; and when we caught the storm to the south, we faced pretty strong headwinds.   But the Bolt was a pleasure to drive.  The ride was surprisingly smooth on the concrete highway surface of Highway 101 and with the low center of gravity, it handled well even in gusty winds.  

As we neared Paso Robles, our expected remaining range was under 50 miles and we had a bit over 30 miles to go.  Of course our elevation was about 700 feet and we still had to climb up to 1533 feet.  We decided to play it safe and do a quick charge in Paso Robles at Cool Hand Luke's. The restaurant itself was closed but the charging station was available.  We plugged in, tapped our Chargepoint card, and nothing happened.  The card reader wasn't working.  

​I waited on hold for nearly 15 minutes with Chargepoint.  They activated the station and Karen and I walked the two blocks to grab an early light lunch at the highly recommended Red Scooter Cafe, one of many restaurants surrounding a gorgeous park in the center of the town.  

Returning to the Bolt, we saw that we'd added a bit over 50 miles to the expected range and we made our way to San Luis Obispo.  As we reached the top of the Grade, we saw that we had used about 30 of the expected miles.  We could have made it without stopping at Paso Robles.

​We still had 45 minutes before Karen's meeting, so we plugged in at the evGO station and toured Marigold center looking for possible future lunch spots - there are several.  Normally though,  we have lunch at Novo downtown - great food and atmosphere on the deck above the creek on days with nicer weather.  

The DC Fast Charging Surprise

I dropped Karen at her appointment and made my way back to the evGo station to fully charge the Bolt.  15 minutes later, the Bolt was charged to 80%.  I had read that after 80% EV batteries charged slower, but I didn't realize how much slower.   You do the straight line math, and with a 50 kw charger, you'd think you could fully charge the 60 kwH battery in an hour and 12 minutes, right?  Not a chance.  After 80%, the charge rate dropped to 17 kw, then at 90% capacity, it dropped to 10 kw, and at 98% to 6 kw.  It took an over hour to get the Bolt charged from 80% to 100%.

The Return

I picked Karen up and we started home.  Eight miles later at the top of Cuesta Grade, we'd used 8% of the battery.  It was time for a bit of range anxiety again.  But there was always King City if we needed it.  As it turned out, in spite of some strong winds on the return, we didn't need to stop. It wasn't even close.  We got back to Santa Cruz, 170 miles from our start, with 25% of the battery and an estimated 50+ miles remaining.  ​

Conclusions and a few Notes

We love this car (see We Love our New #ChevyBolt).  The more we drive it, the more we find to like.  I'm sure Chevrolet wouldn't want to hear this, but we can't believe it's a Chevy!  It handles like a European car - it's tight.  

It is unlikely that we will experience range anxiety again.  We understand the car and now we know about Fast Charging.  80% is a magic number.  Our longer trips will need a bit more planning.  

Last and not least, I note that we drove in LOW mode for the entire trip.  I've become addicted to single pedal driving.  Still, I'm not sure that I'm getting the max Regen when going downhill in LOW since I have to keep my foot on the accelerator pedal.  Next month when we make our trip to San Luis, we'll give DRIVE mode a shot to see if it makes any difference on the downhills. Between now and then, we'll be doing 200 mile trips with no worries about range.  

Bottom line, if you have any doubts about the Bolt, forget them.  It's an amazing car.  Buy one if you can!

Update 3/9/2017

We've now done several trips to San Luis Obispo and back.  We leave Santa Cruz fully charged, drive 70 -75 mph most of the way (except in King City), charge once in San Luis at the 50kw EVgo station, and drive home, arriving with 25% of the battery left (~50 miles).  We've had the car two and a half months and drive all over the Bay Area without even thinking about charging stations. We've verified that LOW mode is the most efficient and now we only drive in LOW mode.  I don't see any disadvantages in performance.  And, I can still say that the more we drive it, the more we love this car!  My next blog post on the Bolt will likely be this summer after we do a trip to Oregon and back.

Actually, I did another post on the Bolt and Charging stations:

Can a #BoltEV be your Primary Vehicle?​

Thursday morning, December 29th, 2016 my phone rang.  It was Kevin Rodriguez of Capitol Chevrolet calling to let me know that our new Chevy Bolt EV was in.  They needed a couple of hours to finalize the prep, but we could pick it up that afternoon.  However, with only 50 miles of charge, Kevin suggested that we might consider letting them charge it overnight so we wouldn't start our Bolt experience with range anxiety as we drove back to Santa Cruz over Highway 17.  

Friday morning after avoiding the commute traffic, we arrived at the dealership for our 10 am appointment and found our fully loaded (DC Fast Charging, Infotainment, Driver Confidence II packages) Premier Bolt parked in front of the dealership, ready to go.  

Kevin, and Phil Benavidez, the finance manager, made the paper(less) work for our lease easy, and after a thorough training session which included pairing of our phones, Karen took the wheel.  We noted that the average range estimate showed 239 miles.  As she took off in the Bolt, I followed behind in our Audi Allroad.  Twelve miles later at the summit of Highway 17, some 1800 vertical feet higher, we switched cars.  The average range estimate showed 196 miles.  I put the Bolt in Drive mode and headed down the hill.  Once in the city, I switched to Low mode and tried the single pedal driving.  It only took a few stoplights to get used to it once I realized that the car continued to regen even with my foot lightly on the accelerator.

We arrived in downtown Santa Cruz after a trip distance of 23 miles and the range estimate showed 216 miles - exactly 23 miles less than when we'd started!

That afternoon, my son-in-law and I made the trip into Felton to play a round at Black Mouse Disc Golf course and we travelled the windy Highway 9 to get a sense of the Bolt's handling. Yesterday morning, I made my first Bolt surf trip up the coast, and later we did a few errands around town.   Upon returning, I spent some time going through every feature of the Bolt.  We're planning a trip to San Luis Obispo (170 miles each way) next week and I'll do another post on our experiences with the Bolt on a longer range trip, but here's what we've learned so far:

Driving and Handling

​Whether it's the smooth curves of Highway 17, the tight winding Highway 9, or the open road of Highway 1, the Bolt is a pleasure to drive.  The steering is tight and reminds me of our Audi.  The low center of gravity gives the car a solid road-holding feel and when you step on the accelerator in a tight curve, the Bolt sits down and grips the road.  

There's no slipping on starting up (as there was with our Ford Focus EV), and the acceleration is again, comparable to our Audi - very impressive!  As with other EVs, the instant 100% torque availability makes passing a breeze.  The turning radius is excellent - much better than the Focus EV where we often were forced into 3-point turns.  

What we perceived as excessive road noise when we test drove a Bolt a few weeks ago isn't there in our production model.  The car is quiet and the ride is smooth.  Visibility is great with large windows and clever fold-down headrests.

I also now love the single pedal driving.  I haven't used the brakes in quite a while and will likely only use them in critical situations.  I don't see any reason  to drive in anything but Low mode.  

​Not as Cool as I Hoped

Rear View Mirror Camera - the rear view mirror operates in two modes - a standard mirror with auto dimming, and a camera.  I was really looking forward (or backwards) to this.  I'd seen them in car rental shuttles where the back was blocked and thought it would be very useful.  However, on the Bolt, it has a couple of problems.  1) The image is smaller than reality so you can't judge distances very well - cars are MUCH closer than they appear.  2) It's a video.  Surprisingly, looking at your side view mirror, then up to the rear view plays tricks on your eyes.  The reflections are not created equal.   However it will be useful when the back is fully loaded and the rear view mirror is blocked.  It could also be useful in parking or backing up as it gives you a bit of a surround view - almost into your blind spots.  

Seats - While comfortable and roomy, it seems a bit unusual that the seats are manually adjusted.  In a Premier model, I would expect electronically adjustable seats with memory.  Perhaps it was a space/weight issue.  

Other Features

Infotainment - Great Bose sound system and intuitive radio controls as you'd expect in most modern vehicles.  I like the sound level adjustments on the back side of the steering wheel. It also includes a WiFi hotspot.

Lane Keep and Following Distance Indicator - The Lane Keep will ensure you stay in your lane. There are display icons to indicate your lane position and following distance.  

Phone Pairing - Easy to set up and use for multiple phones.  Voice commands work well.  Android Auto does the trick for navigation, phone, text messaging, and other phone apps.  

​MyChevrolet App (and MyChevrolet.com) - Allows you to monitor your car's location, battery level, range, energy usage, and to perform remote start/stop (e.g. to warm up the interior before you leave while still plugged in, saving energy).

There are many other features including scheduled charging, scheduled start and stop (for warming/cooling above), top off - leaving the battery partially uncharged to take advantage of regen charging on a descent after starting.  Many of these we'll probably never use.

I've heard some people complain about the shifter.  I'm not sure what they're complaining about. It makes sense to me.  Of course I haven't had to put it in neutral for a car wash yet.  Per the owner's manual, that looks more complicated than it needs to be.  

The Bolt comes with 2 free maintenance visits and free roadside assistance, 5 years of Basic Onstar service with 3 months of free full service, a 3 month SiriusXM satellite radio subscription, a 3 year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, a 5 year/60,000 powertrain warranty,  and an 8 year/100,000 mile electric propulsion warranty.  

A Few Negatives

No Battery Level Indicator - Maybe it exists, but I couldn't find a battery level indicator.  Sure, the Bolt provides great range estimation, and several customizable reports on energy usage and efficiency, but I really like to know how much battery is left (as a numerical percentage of the capacity).  While this is available through the MyChevrolet App, it really should be in the car itself.

No Navigation - Okay.  We do use Google Maps for most of our navigation and it works fine through Android Auto.  However, on the coast and in the mountains, we're often in areas where there is no cell service.  It would be nice to have Nav for these areas.  
 
KeyPass - I spent far too much time trying to figure this out.  Theoretically, you pair your phone to allow it to control the car through the MyChevrolet App.  There's a set up screen in the Settings section.  You can follow the instructions in the Owner's Manual but they don't work.  At this point, I think the feature is no longer supported.  I suspect the MyChevrolet App does all it can without KeyPass.  I'll let you know if I find out more.

Owner Registration - Apparently MyChevrolet (App and Website) only allows one owner account.  Thus, my wife has to use my log in to get information about the car and to manage it remotely.  

Conclusions

We LOVE this car.  Amazing handling, fun to drive, and very practical for our sports-intensive activities.  Having driven a Ford Focus EV for the past 3 years, there's no question that the Bolt is a quantum leap ahead.  We're expecting the Bolt will meet 98% of our driving needs.  We won't be taking it to the snow.  We're hoping we can take it on longer trips using Fast Charging.  It looks like this is getting easier as ChargePoint, EVgo, and others have teamed up to share infrastructure - it appears that we can use our ChargePoint cards on EVgo stations (and vice versa).  This is part of the ROEV initiative where the charging network providers share resources much like using different banks' ATMs.  

For those who have been following Bolt production, ours was ordered 10/10/16 with a targeted production week of 11/28/16.  To my understanding we were number 11 on the wait list.  15 Bolts came in on 12/29 and apparently a few of the people lower down on the list did not receive theirs yet.  We're grateful to Kevin Rodriguez, Phil Benavidez, and Scott Jobe of Capitol Chevrolet for making our Bolt acquistion an enjoyable process.  But especially to Kevin who kept me regularly up to date after our first conversation in June of last year.  

Click here to read about our 350 mile trip from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo and back.

A Few Updates (1/15/2017)

It just keeps getting better.  With our Focus Electric, we were always concerned about whether we had charged it or not.  Sometimes after a run up the coast, if I'd forgotten to plug in, we were limited in additional miles and had to wait for a recharge.  Not so with the Bolt.  As strange as it may sound, we just don't worry about charging anymore.  We can drive pretty much anywhere we want and there's so much range left, that we don't need to plug in.  Even better, we don't hesitate to use the climate control.  Obviously, with the bigger battery, its impact is proportionally less, but it also seems to be more efficient - it doesn't reduce our projected range by anywhere near as much.  And, it appears that for our short and around-town trips, we're getting over 300 miles of range.  In other words, all of a sudden, our electric car is like a combustion engine car. Range anxiety is gone (though we do have to think a bit about longer trips).  But for 98% of our driving, we can't tell the difference.  The handling is phenomenal and is more like a European car, the ride is solid, and with the range, comfort, and storage space, I can't imagine a better car.  Given a choice between a Tesla and a Bolt, I'll take the Bolt.  

Just received a message on starting the Bolt that Keypass is ready to be activated.  It appears a software update was done transparently and this feature now works.  Haven't tried it yet, but I'm pleased to see that Chevy is on top of automatic software updates.

And here's a post about what we've discovered about charging:

Can a #BoltEV be your Primary Vehicle?

Last week, Chevy delivered Bolt EVs to its first three customers in Fremont, California, home of Tesla.  The rest of the Bolts pictured at left were not destined for customers; they went to local Bay Area dealers as test drive vehicles. Scott Jobe, GM of Capital Chevrolet left the announcement event and drove a fully loaded orange Premier Bolt (complete with Infotainment Package, Driver Confidence II Package, and Fast Charging) to his dealership in San Jose.  Within minutes of his arrival, Kevin Rodriguez, our incredibly responsive sales rep, called us to offer a test drive.  Yesterday we took the Bolt out for 30+ minutes of varied driving.  

I'll be posting at least two more blogs about the Bolt after we receive ours (hopefully this coming week), but here are our first impressions including very preliminary pros and cons.  For more information on the Bolt, check out ​We Ordered a Chevy Bolt.  Pricing, Features, and Availability, my previous post about the Bolt.  

Also, you should know that we are no strangers to EVs.  We have owned a Ford Focus EV for the past three years and have learned quite a bit about the advantages and disadvantages of driving an EV.  For more on our Ford Focus EV, see Our #EV (Electric Vehicle), Pros and Cons.

The Test Drive

Karen manually adjusted the driver's seat and declared it quite comfortable.  I rode shotgun.  

Anxious to get driving, we only took a few minutes to explore the 8" driver information panel and the 10 inch center console display, but at first glance, they seemed intuitive.  It was easy to navigate between phone, entertainment, camera, and other features on the console.   While the console, phone and infotainment systems are far superior to the Focus, I must admit to prefering the analog speedometer of the Focus.  

We were very curious about the surround vision feature.  I'd read that it gives you a virtual bird's-eye view of the car from above but I didn't see how that was possible.  But in fact, looking at the image, it does indeed appear that there's a camera placed 30 feet above the car.  You see the car and everything around it.  It operates while backing up and while going forward at low speeds - 8mph or less according to Kevin.  It will certainly be useful when parking or maneuvering in tight spaces where you might not see objects to the front or side.  

Of course, there isn't really a camera 30' above the car - no personal drone yet.  Instead, the Bolt has cameras on the front, sides, and rear of the car which it combines to create a virtual image. The giveaway was that the car in the image appeared white while ours was that beautiful orange color (not my favorite).

Another feature we were excited to see was the rear view mirror camera.  While the Bolt does have a back-up camera, the Premier edition's rear view mirror itself optionally displays what's behind you via the rear camera while you are driving.  This could be useful when the car is loaded and you can't see out the back, and perhaps during daytime driving since it shows more than the standard mirror can. Karen felt that it needed to be positioned correctly to avoid reflections from the back seat and glare.  For me, it was a bit disconcerting, but I think I could get used to it.

Before leaving the dealership, I noted that the driver information display indicated 192 miles of range, 150 miles on the odometer, and an average energy consumption of 3kWH per mile.  That seemed a bit low (238 mile range on a 60kWH battery should yield closer to 4kWh per mile).  But we didn't know how the car had been driven and didn't spend any time on this.  

Karen pulled out of the dealership and we were pleased to discover that unlike the Focus, whose front wheels spin easily because of omni-present 100% torque and placement of the battery (under and behind the rear seats), the Bolt started smoothly.  We headed towards the freeway and Karen tried to get used to the regen braking in Low mode as we stopped at lights.  The Focus didn't give the driver any control over regen.  If you were coasting, it regened.  I suspect that although the Bolt is less intuitive in this regard, this is how they get such great range on a 60kWH battery.

Reaching the onramp, the Bolt accelerated smoothly, merging into traffic as easily as our Audi Allroad - the 0-60 acceleration times are comparable.  The ride on the highway was smooth and the car handled well.  Our only concern was that the wind noise was louder than we expected.  

Karen left the highway after a few miles, parked in a shopping center, and we switched places. The rear camera gives you optional parking assist lines and warnings as people and vehicles pass behind you.  Maneuvering around the busy parking lot was quick and responsive as we avoided holiday shoppers who weren't paying attention.  

Out on the surface streets, it was my turn to try to get used to the single-pedal driving.  I'm sure we'll get there with more practice.  I found the Bolt to handle extremely well around corners - much better than the Focus, and was very pleased with its turning radius (we often had to do three-point turns in the Focus).  

We headed back to the dealership and upon arriving, while we had probably driven 7 or 8 miles, I noted that the range still indicated 192 miles.  

​We asked Kevin about Navigation, and he said that Chevy had told him the Bolt would not have Nav in the future.  People prefer to use their phones (which connect to the console through Android Auto or Apple Car Play).  And while it's true that we often use Google Maps instead of our Nav systems.  When we're out of cell range (which happens often for us), we rely on our cars' Nav systems.  I admit to being disappointed that the Bolt would not add Nav as a software upgrade in the future.

People were waiting to test drive the Bolt so we didn't get to spend any time with the console and information display.  I would have liked to see what the configuration options were like for energy consumption tracking.    

Here are a few very preliminary pros and cons compared to the Ford Focus EV based solely on our test drive experience:

Pros
Smooth start - the torque does not cause spinning wheels.
Comfortable ride.
Very good handling - tight, solid, but comfortable.
Excellent turning radius.
Intuitive controls and displays.
Cool surround vision.
Great visibility.
Clever headrest adjustments.
Extremely roomy for passengers and cargo, excellent legroom and leg width, excellent headroom, front and back.
Convenient place for purse  under the dash, in front of the shifter.  

Cons
Not quite as luxurious as you might expect for a Premier model.
A bit louder than expected on the highway.
No Navigation system (must use Android Auto, Apple Car Play, or Onstar)
Rear view mirror camera will take some getting used to.

We haven't said anything about range, charging, etc., because we really didn't get  to test these aspects of the Bolt.  That will wait until we get our own Bolt.  According to Kevin, the dealership is expecting 55 Bolts in the next week or so and we're number 11 on the list.  I'll do a post on our full impressions after we get ours and will follow it with another post about our experiences on our first 'long range' trip which we're planning for January.  

We loved our Focus.  For us, in spite of its range limitations and handling issues, it was a great first step into the world of EVs.  We saved a lot of money on gas, only filling the Audi when we had longer trips to take.

Three years later, we're excited that the Bolt has leaped into the next generation of affordable EVs.  We hope we're well on our way to a zero emissions future and elimination of our dependence on gasoline.  

Update - here are blogs about our new Chevy Bolt:

We Love our Chevy Bolt!
Our Bolt EV's First Longer Trip and Fast Charging Surprises​
​Can a #BoltEV be your Primary Vehicle?
BoltEV from California to Oregon for the eclipse with mi/kWh between I-5 charging stations

When Karen's beloved Subaru died three years ago, we knew we needed a new car.  Since my Audi could handle long distance and snow trips, we decided to go with an electric car.  It's primary use would be to take me up the coast to surf so a Tesla was out of the question: there was no way I was going to leave a Tesla on the side of Highway 1.  

​Aside from the Tesla,  the Ford Focus Electric was the best looking Electric Vehicle (EV) and had the best range.  Knowing technology would improve dramatically, we decided to do a three year lease.  For more on our initial impressions and experiences with driving an electric vehicle, see my post Our #EV (Electric Vehicle) Pros and Cons.  

​Three years have passed and we've loved our Focus.  Yes, there have been times where range anxiety took its toll, but after understanding its limitations, we realized that even with that limited range, we could do 80-90% of our driving in the Focus.   We were looking forward to a Focus with better range once our lease expired.

Unfortunately, as of early 2016 Ford had done little to improve the Focus's range.  So, knowing our lease was expiring in November, we were excited to hear that the Chevy Bolt, with a 238 mile range, would be available by the end of the year.  

I read the reviews and looked at videos of the first test drives by the various car publications and it looked like there were some great enhancements to the EV drive train.  Even better, it appeared that the official 238 mile range is a conservative estimate.  Several of the test drivers went much further, even with mostly highway driving (note that EVs get better range in the city than on higways).  

I looked at Chevy dealers in the immediate Bay Area and it appeared that Capitol Chevrolet had the best reviews and seemed to have the most inventory.  I contacted them in the spring, and Kevin Rodriguez told me that the dealers didn't know much about the Bolt but that he would keep me informed.  In August, he let me know that they would be able to take orders in November with some limited deliveries in December.  He said he could also now put me on a wait list for a Bolt.

In September, he reached out to inform me that they could take orders sometime in October - things were moving more quickly than expected.  Then, on Friday, I got the good news:  we could place an order on Monday.  And sure enough, he and his GM, Scott Jobe, made ordering the newest electric car a smooth, painless process.  

Since I haven't seen pricing for the Bolt and its options anywhere on the web, I thought I'd include them in this post.

The base model, the LT, at $37,495, comes with what you'd expect in a modern vehicle.  It includes a rear vision camera, a 10.2 inch touch console for car systems, entertainment, and EV information, keyless open and start, climate control, etc.  Its phone interface allows you to run music, apps, and Google Maps from your phone on the console.

The  Premier model, at $41,780, adds a rear mirror camera, surround vision where images from 4 cameras show the front, sides and rear of the car, roof rails, leather seats and steering wheel, front and rear heated seats and steering wheel, lane change alert, parking assist, rear traffic alert, and more.  

Options include a Fast charging port ($750), the infotainment system ($485) with premium quality audio, wireless device charging, 4G LTE hotspot, and additional USB ports, and the driver confidence package.  The driver confidence package ($495) includes front collision alert, optional automatic braking, lane assist, and Intellibeam headlights.  

GM has officially confirmed our order order and has promised regular updates as our car moves through the build process.  Scott told us to expect delivery in January but said he had hopes that we'd see our car before the end of the year - so far GM is beating expectation on their dates.  As soon as we get it, I'll post again to give you our first impressions of the new Bolt.   

Update - blogs about our new Chevy Bolt:

Chevy Bolt vs Ford Focus EV - First Impressions
We Love our new Chevy Bolt!
Our Bolt EV's First Longer Trip and Fast Charging Surprises
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