A Week Only Using Public Charging In The Cheapest New EV: Much Harder Than I Expected
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2023
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#chevrolet #electric #charging - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
This reminds me of trying to use a phone with just borrowing friends' phone chargers...
Been there never want to go back to those days
it's so dumb. what a gimmick
Love my Bolt, but I did my research and knew what I was getting into... an insanely affordable EV that wasn't good for road tripping and required at-home charging to be usable. I'm up to 125k-miles and have saved so much on fuel and maintenance costs.
It would be my choice for a small runaround car. Slow charge it at home, and only rely on public chargers for emergency charging.
I wouldn't have a choice anyways, there are no chargers near me, only a few L2 chargers within 100 mi.
I bought my Bolt EV in November 2018, and have 52K miles on it. Total cost of maintenance, excluding tire rotation, is literally zero. I love not having to deal with rip-off auto repair shops, so good to hear you are up to 125K miles. I charge at home.
@@volvo09
No EV owner should exclusively rely on public fast charging. I saw a video not too long ago of a taxi driver who charged his Tesla only with fast charging and the battery pack died at only 140K miles. Fast charging should only be for road tripping, or emergency situations. If you don't have consistent access to an L2 charger, I'd say just buy a gas car.
Also, one of the great benefits of an EV is you can drive 300 miles on $10 worth of electricity, but that's only when you're charging from home. If you use nothing but public charging, while it's still way cheaper than buying gas, you're no longer getting the insane price benefit.
This. I RARELY road trip (like, once every other year do I go more than 100 miles from the house). The vast majority of the ppl I know don't roadtrip (although all will quote the slow charging for roadtrips as to why they can't buy a bolt). If you roadtrip a lot, this is not the ev for you. But, face it, most ppl don't. Or they own more than 1 car, and this is the best commuter car on the market
@@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403 True. But a Tesla can charge at up to 6x as fast as a Bolt despite being only ~20% larger (at most). So "fast" charging a Bolt is orders of magnitude less damage. And you usually set a limit below 100% (ie 80%) as a ceiling also.
22:05 While you were waiting for another charger, it might have been worth it to contact EA to see whether they can remotely reboot that charger. I've actually had them reboot a charger remotely in less time than you waited for the next charger to open up.
Another trick I've learned with EA is that, sometimes, when a charger appears down, it's actually only the display screen that's down and the charger itself is actually working fine. Not saying that was necessarily the case here, but there would have been absolutely nothing to lose by at least attempting to plug in the car, activate the charger through the app, and see what happens.
@@ab-tf5fl Yes, I think that one would need to be rebooted. The credit card reader was also down, which means it might have had a different problem. My understanding is, they can reboot the charger remotely as long as the screen isn't displaying the plugs as "Unavailable."
Always love your comments on other sites Eric . It is a educated view
He complains about charge rate but you have been all over with your bolt as has Steve and others . When it is cold the ionic doesn’t charge fast either. Example zac and Jordan in the race to Vegas or Jordan with amad from Chicago to texas
@@markfitzpatrick6692 This is a good point. Not entirely fair to compare an observed rate, in the cold, after being annoyed by an infrastructure issue (and assuming simple ignorance on the ideas here)... to the best hypothetical case for some other situation. Still likely to be faster but not the order(s) of magnitude implied.
I'm figuring out that you essentially need to treat charging EV cars much like charging your cell phone. Most of the charging is done at home overnight, but sometimes when you're using it a lot and not home for longer than normal, you have to rely on travel chargers, a friend's charger, etc.
This style of vlog should absolutely be tried with an EV6/IONIQ 5 to see just how different the experience is when the car can charge at a better rate.
That said, I think TFL needs to educate people (especially new EV owners) on how to use the EV charging infrastructure properly, how to install a level 2 charger at home inexpensively, for example. There should be a heavy push on these themes for the foreseeable future.
Wild how much more useable an ev is with home charging. Even a level 1 outlet
Not everywhere, I don't charge at home and only use public charging and have no problems, but I drive a Tesla. I charge about once a week.
I would only go electric with a level 2 solution. Overnight full charge is a must for me to consider it. I do have a dryer outlet in my garage that I could split / switch easy enough.
I’ve been using lvl 1 charging for a year and a half with my Model 3 and only fast charge on road trips that can’t be done on more than a single charge
How would the 50A outlet for my rv at home work?
@@garysarratt1 you you just have to get an adapter to plug a level 2 charger into it
Driving an average of 70 miles a day is a lot for most people. I agree it’s not great for road trips, but the inner city possibilities seem amazing.
The complaints seems exaggerated. Who needs more than 400 miles a day usually? Even on far roadtrips you can’t take a 45 min lunch to top up?
Very interesting video. I've been driving an EV since 2017 and live in an apartment complex with charging (which is amazing). However, there was about 2 months where chargers were down. My life looked very similar to this. Luckily I live in Cleveland where charging is decent, and I drive a Polestar that goes from 10-80% in about 30 mins. I would stop at sheetz by my work for lunch a couple times a week, by the time I ordered and ate food, I'd be at about 80%. I used plugshare to find grocery stores that had charging, so I could knock out 2 birds with one stone. Same with the gym. Those first couple weeks I was ready to trade my car in for a plug-in hybrid or something, but eventually got in a rhythm. Very thankful the chargers at my complex are back online because it makes it thankless, but now I'm a lot less panicked if/when they go down.
It would be cool to see you do this experiment with something like a Hyundai Ioniq, or VW id.4. Something still affordable, but that charges quicker.
I’m happy for you Tommy! It feels like I’ve watched you grow up over the last decade.
standard wall outlets are all you need to damage you main line and cause a fire sure🤨
I've had an electric car for 3 years and still hadn't really unlocked the power of level 1 and level 2 Charging in my daily life. These videos have been a game-changer. It's allowed me to have the luxury of a fully 100% topped off car every morning even though I live in apartment complex that doesn't have access to level 1 and level 2 charging. In fact I found out that there are two charting locations less than half a mile away from my home.
This is what I’m wondering. I want an EV but I live in an apartment. I am in an inner city area though and there seems to be plenty of chargers available on Chevy’s EV charger finder map
@@TheLazyPinecone They have a bunch of technology on the horizon for people without access to home charging. Like portable batteries
@@kylemccourt663 that’s lit. Thank you for this information
@@kylemccourt663 I hope they will have something for the Chevy Equinox EV that’s what I’m waiting for
As a condo dweller, I'm only have public charging for my Bolt EUV. It's really no problem if you take the time that it takes to charge and do something useful, like grab lunch, answer a nature call, take a nap 😴, read a book (or write one) or read the owners manual, do a crossword puzzle, make out with your partner (be discreet) or be creative with the time to multitask. Slower charge rates actually force you to slow yourself down, relax, smell the roses 🌹. Make it work to an advantage.
Take a nap, read a book. Says a lot about public chargers miles from my condo. I'll stick to gas.
@@christopherderasmo5041 To be fair, the bolt charges really slow. Something like a Hyundai Ioniq 5 will charge up to 7x as fast. I'm talking 11min 30% -> 80% charge. It's a little longer than gassing up but it's really not so bad.
Great video Tommy. You got an automatic thumbs up from me when Blaze showed up. I think lots of people would have abused the free L2 at the dog park if they were in your situation, since it's close to your work. Good job limiting your use of that and explaining how the posts share their capacity.
I like the format of this video, of how from time to time there was snippets from other TFL videos that were recorded around same time as your week of testing. I think that a small portion of people that don't have access to charging at home would be willing to go through the extra thinking,/planning that it takes to have enough of juice. The infrastructure needs to get better for sure. Congrats on the girlfriend!
Watching this got me thinking with chargers typically being located near retail locations, how much money one might spend that they wouldn't normally because you need to wait to get the juice? I know it's hard to determine but it is food for thought
Usually 7 to 10 bucks. A Coffee or a snack.
Same as they do at gas stations
@@KalleSWBeck not really, unless I'm on a long trip I rarely go inside a gas station. Lots of people just fill up and go.
If everyone was forced to sit there for 30 minutes they'd spend a lot more out of boredom.
I think the most efficient way to go for this is charging at grocery shopping retail locations and get your groceries done during charging, that way it’s money you’d spend anyways
I only plug in for as long as needed to complete my errands , appointments or gym visit. Everything else is done that home.
20:20 It's just a quick clip from your video, but it looks like the red emergency stop has been pulled on that charger, which means someone might have purposely turned it off (and you could power it back up). Also, for those BTC Power L3R units, I've encountered a few that have completely dead screens but otherwise work. It's sometimes worth plugging in to see from the car's side (the manual Start and Stop buttons and RFID reader can all still work without the screen on).
Mom with a carload of screamers is not going to know any of this.
@@geraldkoth654 Are you just copy/pasting this comment? Again, this is why it's important for EV journalists to discuss these topics.
Insightful video. The bolt would be a decent vehicle for someone who can charge at home but I don't think it would be too much fun always having to consider where and when to charge. If you start with a full battery every day, it wouldn't be bad at all. Thanks Tommy for another great video. She's a cutie
I would hate to have to rely on public charging. Broken chargers, and full charging bays on Fridays and weekends, you know that would happen at the most inconvenient time, 😆
@@volvo09 I agree. I have never understood why the chargers are always down and so finicky
@@dalejones4322 I don't get it either, THAT would give me extreme anxiety, not the range of the car. These chargers (all of them, not just EA) look overcomplicated. They always have a computer related fault like the computer running it has a software issue. Then you have to hope it takes your payment and turns on!
@@volvo09 I've noticed the same things and it's never made sense to me.
@Dale Jones it's the ccs chargers that are unreliable, I have been driving a Bolt for 3 years now, and 90%of the time I charge at home. I've had a 2017 and 2021 Bolt ev, and now I own a 2023 Bolt euv, which here in Southern California, I am averaging 4.4 kw/mile, which is very efficient. I also own a tesla model y performance and a model 3 long range. The tesla supercharger network is by leap years better than the others, and that's why elon is opening up his charging network to the rest. This should put some peace of mind to you ccs owners. In 2 years of driving a tesla of driving around 4 western states, never once did I go to a tesla charger, and it wasn't working. ID4 owners, don't abuse our superchargers like you are doing now, because you will pay hefty fees.
This has been the best example I've seen so far of real world charging (bonus points for the sweet rap skills). You have advanced knowledge so I think the average person might have a more difficult time finding chargers (especially free ones like the Dog Park or Bagel Shop) in public though. Almost every other video they gloss over the inconveniences/cons by just saying "just plug it in at home and forget it. Easy". This doesn't apply to everyone. 6hr VS 4min to "fuel" for the week says all I need to know for now.
Congrats on the girlfriend.
P.S. The Cheesecake Factory is a magical place
Seems like a way to further complicate everyday life, but I guess it all depends on individual circumstances. Since time is money for me, plug-in hybrid is still a great option for now at least. Cheesecake Factory is legit!
Yeah, there's no way I'd buy an EV without consistent L2 access at home. With it, it's great, because you never have to visit a gas station and you wake up to a fully charged car every morning. Without it, and especially if you don't drive a Tesla and are forced to use the unreliable EV/EVGo/Etc. network and ESPECIALLY if you drive a car like the Bolt, which charges very slowly, you'll eventually find yourself charging your car while sleeping in it. Not ideal.
Very thoughtful & considerate video, Thanks Tommy. (Can't really say I was surprised, tho.)
'Free' charging is unsustainable, and will be a thing of the past Very soon.
Great video and lives up to the TFL promise of "real world reviews".
Definitely compared to their latest vehicle purchase, a Ford Aptor R. Basically unobtainable for anyone making less than $200K a year.
I’m in a similar situation with a Tesla Model 3 in Madison, WI. The local power company has placed a number of level 2 chargers around the county, which are pretty reliable and cost a dollar an hour if you sign up for their data sharing plan, and there are a few other locations. There are also 4-5 banks of superchargers in the county. It’s worked fairly well for me.
In a rural environment you'd have a house, most probably even L1 is going to be more than enough. The problems are if you live in an apartment.
But you are right about public charging, it's a complicated issue. No wonder why most people who want an EV and can't slow charge overnight choose a fast charging capable car, even if it costs a little more. Even the Kona EV has 100KW (not saying this would be the best), but there are some more choices out there. Also must be mentioned, Model 3 RWD, peak charging at 170kw. Plus the network is so dependable.
I think the Bolt is a decent car for the price, but it only works for people who can charge at home and are mostly driving in town.
I think that's the big thing to realize with this video. He's using his car in a more rural area with longer daily and weekly trips. If you live in more densely populated area and don't commute more than a dozen miles or so a day through EV-friendly city streets, public charging is more than enough. You'll probably get more than enough by level 1 charging at the parking garage and at a level 2 charger once a week or so.
I can't remember the last time I had to drive around town to find an operable gas pump. That issue really needs to be addressed now. More and more EVs on the road means a larger, more robust charge network is needed, not just convenient, especially as the push to eliminate ICE engines keeps trudging onward.
38:41 The interesting factor to consider, though, is that rural EV owners are less likely to live in multi-unit dwellings and are more likely to have access to dedicated, off-street parking with access to power. So public charging matters to them far less than it does to an EV owner living in an apartment building in the city.
A Bolt and no daily access to a home or work charger is probably the worst case scenario for ease of charging.
I have a rental home and I installed level 2 charger in the garage for my tenants. They pay for their own electricity anyway so why would I care. Now, it’s a huge feature of my rental that most don’t have. I am not a “crappy landlord” lol
Might want to make sure your insurance covers that.
When we got our 2020 Bolt LT, we were living in an apartment. And no charging at home. So we used public chargers for almost a year. The one I used the most was an EA, at the nearby mall. Since I have 2 bad knees I am having to walk. So early morning 3 times a week I would go to the mall plug in for 30 to 45 minutes while I did the mall walk. It actually worked out very well. Also sometimes at work no chargers but nearby in a park there was free charging. So I would drive there 2 minutes max, plug in and 45 minutes to eat lunch and go through emails etc. I actually enjoyed it. Now we have a house and every other day we plug in. As we have 2 EVs we swap days. It's really good.
Just bought a used 2018 Bolt, and looking forward to how far I can get with not just public charging, but FREE public charging. Two of the three colleges where I'm an adjunct have free Level 2 charging. The one that doesn't is a technology school - go figure. My public library, also with free Level 2 charging, is only a few blocks away. I live in Upstate NY
8:50 I stop here in the shopping plaza where there's a really good bagel shop I go to
11:50 okay let's go to Panera now
lol
I had a 2020 Bolt, I did really like driving it but the charge time can really make owning one frustrating when you really want to charge and go but have to wait 55 minutes to get to 80 percent.
I would love to see this format for a model 3 on superchargers. I live in an apartment without charging access and am considering getting a used model 3 since the prices have dropped. Curious to see if it's a viable option.
That was a great video. You pointing out the slow fast charging of the Bolt in this video and previous helped me in deciding to pass on the Bolt EV. I could have made it work since I live in a house and the majority of the driving is grocery getting however we have family far away on long drives.
If I had a place to charge the Bolt is absolutely a good choice for in town charging. Long trips would be arduous though.
I just don’t understand why DC fast charging is at 50 Amps, and Chevy hasn’t bothered to upgrade it.
@@petesjk next year is supposed to be the platform refresh from my understanding. I wish I could wait
@@petesjk
It's 50 kW, not 50 amps. It's a big difference, as 50 amps would be much, much slower.
@@ab-tf5fl 50kW would charge the battery to ~75% in 1 hour. This doesn’t seem to be the case in the video.
I use my 2022 Bolt EUV for in town trips to work and errands, and I love the ability to charge L2 at home. It would also be nice to have public charging in restaurants and shopping g centers to keep you moving, but I find for what I need it, it's great and saves me so much money.
We're getting there, one charge at a time 😇
Tommy, this was an excellent video. I would appreciate if you did a similar video comparing different makes now that you have a baseline with the bolt. I would like to see a similar video with an id 4 or ev6/ionic 5 or 6, and others. Thisbwas very insightful.
Those cars are junk, so know one wants to see that
Have my EUV for 5 days and just using the 120v plug at home for now. Overnight is good enough for 40 miles, which is more than I need. Will have to see how public charging works on weekends for longer trips.
At-home charging or *reliable* at-work charging (there's one free charger at mine but both sides are broken and Clipper Creek won't supply parts, just complete new units) is a must. Public charging is for road trips.
Really shows the benefit of even having a level 1 charger at home to give that little top up each night.
Very good video very practical and makes so much sense love it this car is not for road trips it’s short trips like 80-100 miles and back. Where you can come back and charge at home or free charger.
Thank you so much for all YOUR time experimenting, and for sharing all the data. Costs you time and money. Your Info is valuable to us.
You are fortunate to live in a place with relatively good EV charging infrastructure. If I had an EV and had to rely on public charging I would be spending a lot of time sitting at charging stations since there are no fast chargers here (the closest is about 55 miles away). On top of that I don't know if the public level two chargers around here are even operating in the winter. There are exactly three level 2 plugs in my town (1 -8kW) and the next town (2 - 7kW), which is seven miles away. One of those charge points is only open M-F 8-5. The other two charging points were buried in a snow bank the last time I saw them, so I don't know if they are turned on during the winter. Assuming the two 7 kilowatt charge points are on in the winter and I was driving your Bolt at 3.6 m/kWh, just driving to and from the charger would require about 35 minutes of charging at the full 7 kW, just to replace the power used going to and from the charger. The problem here is that I live in an area that has a huge summer tourist economy, but almost all of that economy shuts down in the off season. Most of the EV charging infrastructure is associated with seasonal hotels and restricted to hotel guests. Much of what is left is associated with businesses and open only when they are which means that public charging is largely a day time activity.
Lets consider a typical scenario. Today I have a doctor's appointment which is a 40 mile round trip drive to the local hospital. It appears there are two public level 2 EV charge plugs in the town where the hospital is. Again assuming I was driving a Bolt at 3.6 miles/kWh, the 40 mile round trip drive would take 40/3.6 = 11.1 kWh or an hour and thirty five minutes at one of the level two, 7 kW, charging plugs in the town I am heading to just to get me home with the same amount of charge I would have when I left home. That would require parking at the charger and walking about 12 block round trip to my appointment and then sitting at the charger for 30-40 minutes after my appointment. The town is a tourist town and in the winter there is essentially nothing open so I would be sitting in the car. The point is that, as you mentioned at the end of the video, in more rural locations relying on public charging infrastructure just isn't viable.
This sounds more like an argument why there needs to be more public charging in rural areas. Even if there’s a modest fee involved, charging at public parking seems to be a solution. Though if I lived in a rural area, I’m guessing I would have at least a modest Level 2 charger at home.
@@petesjk the premise of the video was that you couldn't charge at home. The issue here is the seasonal nature of the economy. It doesn't make economic sense to install lots of public infrastructure since it would be largely unused for at least half the year. That is why in the major city in the area there are only four public charge points (not charging stations - four actual cables) and you have to pay $4 per hour to park and charge at those 7-8 kW level 2 chargers. There are quite a few more that are located at seasonal businesses, but are limited to their customers and are closed in the off season.
@@todddunn945 Sure, but he lives in an urban area with lots of infrastructure and development. I think in general more self-reliance or independence is required of those who live in rural areas, but just a few reliable public chargers would make a big difference. As I mentioned, Level 3 DC or even Level 2 charging with a fee might be feasible.
@@petesjk locally level 3 charging doesn't make sense because it would sit unused for 6 months every year. Also there are very few apartments here. Something like 99% of the homes are single family so people would charge at home. However, we have high electric rates ($0.28/kWh) so for many vehicles electric is break even or more expensive than gas.
@@todddunn945 Though traffic is greatly reduced in off-peak tourist periods, there are still people traveling through, and having a public station available for them seems to make sense, even with the high electricity fees. Hopefully EVs remain reliable enough for locals to save on maintenance and repairs.
Used both the Tesla Supercharger and EA chargers on a round trip from California to Missouri. The EA network was always a hassle but if I could get 200kw at EA versus 150kw at Tesla SC, I would always choose the EA, unless it was busy with other EV models, then I used the Tesla SC since I had the option. Found the CCS cables very cumbersome, especially in the cold.
Amazing content right here Tommy! Great stuff! This is real world challenges living with an EV being an Apartment dweller. 486 miles of driving would be about 2 gas ups during the week. Approximately 50-80 bucks for fuel. Time spent at the pumps would be about 10-15 minutes depending on whether or not you go in and pay and how much of a wait to access the pumps. But 1 thing you don't ordinarily get is a downed pump. And even if you get 1 out of 10 pumps or even 2 out of 10 pumps, your wait time would be again, no more than about 5-10 minutes for another pump to be available. Or go across the intersection to 1 of 3 other choice stations. So, I have said it before, EV's have their place, but not in your lifestyle living in an Apartment. it is way too much of a balance and inconvenience. Time wasted. Savings acquired, stress induced. Now living in your current residence with a charger, easy peasy. BTW, your GF, fantastic! Obviously she consented to being on camera and a big shout out to her for putting up with you. Haha. JK Tommy. You both are very fortunate to have one another. 🙂
agreed
7:05 While some people adhere to the ABCs (Always Be Charging) of EV ownership, when I went a month without charging at home or work, I never once used L1 or L2 AC. There's simply not enough to be gained from the hassle because I'm never in one public location for that long. Even spending an hour at the dog park, you'd probably barely gain back the energy that you used to drive there.
Watching this video made me feel good about my decision to order a '23 Prius Prime instead of a full EV. I can charge at home, but venturing into New Mex, Wyoming, etc seems like its still a huge gamble on the infrastructure
Tommy is super competent with electric cars and even he gets frustrated with just a couple days of public charging. Imagine having to do what he did for 5+ years is unimaginable to me.
Most EVs charge faster than the Bolt (50kW). Mine charges at a max rate of 250kW. And Tesla Superchargers are more reliable and plentiful. But as long as you can charge at home the Bolt is a great little car.
I have a Kia EV6 - normally take around 25 to 35 min from 10% to 100% in the super charger from electrify america. I mean you have to plan ahead a lot.
Nice video. You are experiencing what most are - range anxiety and charging stations not working. Making sure you have the time and patience is the key when owning an EV. Also owning a Level 2 charger at home and limiting your long distance travels is also required. Weather (hot or cold) and planning your trip is required at all times. The reason I was told that the Bolt can not charge faster is the cable and wiring into the car to keep costs down.
Great video ! Love the real world charging .
Another thing to consider with this video format -- is just how much activity you've stacked on top of each day. A typical consumer is not going to have day after day, week after week - driving that much. And if they do, they aren't in the market for an EV (at least not until higher ranges are accessible). As someone who drives leisurely and works remotely - I can do a couple weeks without charging lol
Great content! Keep it up!!
I'm in Mississippi and there are few charging stations.
Fellow boulderite with a dog here, also seriously considering making the switch to a Bolt this year. Would be cool to see your review of the bolt in terms of fitting and transporting the dog in the bolt and doing typical CO road trips through the state and up into the mountain areas.
I could sense the extra chipper in Tommy....now I know why....way to go buddy she's a beauty!!! Great video of real life day to day with the car.
In July, I bought a 2022 bolt. I live in an apartment and don’t have a way to charge my vehicle at home. I have been surviving off of charging at work and an electrify America station nearby. At some point the inconsistency of the charging got to be too much, so I traded it for an old model S. The bolt was a fantastic car and I’d buy it again in a heartbeat, but Teslas charging network is just too hard to beat rn.
This is so cool. I love the idea of being able to leave an EV in a standard Level 1 charger as you travel for days as they can take days to charge. Only issue is you are hogging up spots for others. The solution obviously would be to have hundreds of these spots and even pay a small extra fee to park in designated EV charge area.
Thanks for this video. Real life experience on a public charging infrastructure.
We have those same level 1 chargers at my airport too. Sooooo slow, but can't beat free!
I learned so much from this video! Thanks for such clear content!
Bought an Ioniq 5 01/23/23. I live near Phoenix, AZ. I would have NEVER bought an EV if I couldn't charge @ home. The level 2 charger I bought (24 amp) will charge the 5 from 20 to 100% in about 12 hours.
Seems like to much hassle for those who cannot charge at home. Of course, I’ve become accustomed to my way of life and I’m too old to want to change. I agree with most of your conclusions, but waiting at chargers or being concerned as to whether I can make it to next charger is just not what I want to do. Besides that, I’m not convinced that the hype over climate change is really going to be that greatly impacted by everyone driving an EV. We are also forgetting about the damage to the planet/environment from mining and processing battery materials. I have recently watch another video on what is really the best approach to reducing gasoline consumption and hybrid alternatives seem to make a lot sense. There are some major concerns over the availability of raw materials to support and sustain total EV vehicles. Plus, they electrical grid needs updating just from the standpoint of replacing transmission lines that are meeting their end of life reliability. It is really difficult to get approval to replace existing transmission lines and more difficult to add transmission lines (which are going to be required if everyone is driving a full EV vehicle). I think EV’s are a great technology but most are overpriced and battery technology, charging infrastructure, and longer range EV’s need to be improved.
This is my situation now. I rent an apartment and don't have access to home charging so I have to use the public chargers, 2 fast chargers and 5 regular ones, and it becomes quite costly. Especially here in Norway in the winter.
Great video, while I like the idea of owning an electric car for "cost savings" on fuel. The charging experience is just too much of a hassle for the range. My Diesel Passat gets 500-600 miles of range on a full tank. To refuel, like you said it only takes about 5 minutes.
Your car saved you 6 hours and 6 minutes and an extra 100 miles of range compared to this video. EV'S No thanks.
Thanks for the video!!!very informative❤
I have owned my Bolt EV 2017 for 2 years. It has been charged 99% of its time at my job for free on a level 2. I always leave my job with a full charge. My apartment doesn't have any official chargers, however we have a rigged setup on a rented garage that has a Level 1 split off of the Garage Door Opener. Since we are paying $100 a month, we consider the electricity part of it. This keeps my roommate's Volt 2018 always full with minimal gas usage in a given year.
My only complaint about the Bolt EV is it's slow DCFC setup. Other than that it is a very good car. It would be awesome if these earlier EVs could have their Electrical Systems upgraded to support 150kW or greater charging. I think with a 150+ kW charging could be viable for those without home charging. But EVs were really designed to be used with slower home charging, Vs treating them like gas cars that only are refueled when nearing empty.
I think cars that can completely recharge in 15 Minutes are the key to converting would be Gas car buyers.
Because of this video I am a believer. This is the best car channel on TH-cam. I’m in the market for a car and I want to go EV but I live in a condo with no way of charging at home
I'm in canada, no charging available at home or work.
But I do have multiple free 6.5kw L2 chargers available a short distance from work (35 min walk, 5 min bus ride, or a 15 min bike/e-scooter ride) and a few 50kw DCFC even closer (but they are $20CAD / hour )
I make it work mostly with the free L2 chargers. I average about 8-10 hours of charge a week depending on my driving using L2 chargers.
I'm curious to see your experiences here. When I got my Chevy Bolt EV over six years ago, I lived in an apartment without access to charging. I did have charging at work, which was great, but for about a month, they took the chargers down while expanding the parking lot. I was only driving 600 to 700 miles a week at that time, but it was much easier to do than I thought it would be while using only the public charging infrastructure.
I average (on a busy week) 40 miles with work, church, groceries, and chauffeur, my mom and aunt, to their appointments. A Bolt would fit in my life perfectly. I only wish they weren't hatch backs.
@@FrankD71864 Yes, it's worth considering whether you're getting the right tool for the job. Tommy is a high-milage driver like I am, and the Bolt EV is perfect for that if you have charging at home or work. If not, it would have to be worked into a routine.
I was lucky enough to have DCFC at my local grocery store and at several convenient stops along my route (that tends to happen with a 150+ mile a day drive). Tommy's needs are a little bit different, but from what I saw in this video, he wasn't willing to make any compromises or adjustments to his set routine (e.g., instead of grabbing takeout, I would have charged near a fast-food restaurant).
Any Bolt owners reading this should subscribe to Eric's channel. @NewsCoulomb is a great resource that helped me when buying my EUV.
Cute couple!! Good to see how much this would take time wise…I am lucky i never have to use level 3 charging but love my 2019 Bolt EV Premier!!!
Great video. Thx for doing this 'public only challenge' and showing it. This is one reason why I am not currently looking at an electric only vehicle. Hybrids, sure if the price is right for what I want, but electric only, not for me. However as others have mentioned with a fast charger at your residence electric only becomes viable.
Even a slow 120 V outlet to charge at home makes a huge difference.
I struggle with this a bit as any informed buyer without at home charging would likely avoid the Bolt. Those in a situation like this would be SURE to have a portable charger with them at all times so they could charge while visiting friends. Even if at a slow rate.
But, really… The Bolt is the wrong example to be using as a real world test because it isn’t in line with the rest of the EV world.
I’m feeling like the same test, in a Model 3, would have been far less frustrating.
Something to keep in mind is that when something takes 8 hours to charge, you normally aren't doing anything during those times. Just charging it every night before bed will get you close to the 100% you need. Something he wasn't doing in this video.
Great video format!
We rent these a lot in Colorado Springs and the most common complaint is just finding a charger. I have a plug in hybrid that generally takes about 2 hours to charge from 0%.
I usually just bring a book or turn on a movie and sit in my car and charge. And if you can find a free public charger- USE IT. Your experience is exactly how other people experience it.
I’ve debated on renting an EV just to get a general idea of how it works and how I can better serve customers who have to rent them.
Thank you for this. Even months later STILL super relevant and important. It’s helpful the closer to Denver you are. We’re pretty well bone dry out here except if you want to charge at the dealership.
This seems to be in-line w/ the research I've done into EV vehicles. If you're able to charge at your house and never need to drive far enough away that you need to use public chargers, they're great. But once you venture out into the world, you need to worry about availability of chargers (where to find them/not as common as gas stations by any measure, are they being used, and are they working), time spent, and public charging can have a cost.
It seems in Boulder there's more availability of free chargers (I'm in Wyoming), which I'd expect, as well as with any other main population center, as well as cheaper chargers when you are using a paid one. Chargers I've seen around here charge you now only per kW but also time spent in the space, which can get close to fueling up a car with gasoline, only you spend much more time.
I think strategizing one's time, as you did, will definitely improve the convenience of charging. Being able to charge your vehicle while you're at the park, on travel, or taking lunch would definitely help with the time spent waiting element. Also, getting a car that can utilize faster charging speeds, however the big conflict I see with this is when using the fast DC chargers, eventually that has a toll on the life of the battery, which makes that $13k or so battery replacement that much sooner.
I saw a video that it's good to own an EV as long as you have another traditional ICE car, and I'd probably agree with that. Especially for road trips, I'd be paranoid about finding EV charging stations in the middle of nowhere that you've never been before, especially because EV stations just aren't broadcasted as much as gas stations. It's easy to drive into a town and find a gas station, but finding an EV station requires a bit of luck and perhaps help with a phone app... but you're not always going to have service on a cell phone!
I think there's still lingering questions and improvements that need to be addressed before EV vehicles become widespread, but under the right circumstances I can totally see them as a practical alternative means of transportation.
Great video. Missed opportunity…you should have reminded people to prioritize picking the best charging station for their vehicle. EG don’t plug into a super fast station if a more appropriate station is available. It blocks a vehicle that can use faster charging.
You have many more DC chargers than I do. I live in south Texas so far I’ve found 2 DC (non Tesla)chargers and a hand full of Tesla L2 chargers (Using the adapter)for a Chevy bolt that I drive.
So far I’m very happy with my ride.
I've spent $300 Canadian charging over 60,000 miles. I only home charge at 8 amps 120 volt when the temperature gets below 0F. The rest is 5.5 to 6.2 occasionally 7.2 kW level 2 charging and up to.50 kW DCFC. I usually street park until street parking bans go into place.
To me, it seemed like putting just enough gas in the car to make it to the next gas station. You should be doing it the other way around. Start with a full charge and then when a charger is handy, top it off. Also allowing more time at the fast chargers pays off. Bring something to do while you are there. I have an old 2011 Volt with a bad battery. Even so I only used 9 gallons of gas in 4 months. I agree though it would be a struggle not having a charger at home to charge over night. Thanks for the video. 😊
There's an airport in San Jose that did this with standard NEMA 5-15 sockets, but on every parking spot, and no signage that specified EV parking. IMO this would be awesome for Airport Long-Term parking, even for a small fee
This was such a real world use and anxiety of affordable electric car. Very good video. Tommy, video was one of the best EV reporting. What I want to know is once we are fully dependent on Electric car for transportation , how much price gouging will the Electric companies will do. Also it will not be about car it will be about cooling and heating your home that will get affected to. Just a thought.
Tommy, I wonder if the way to approach this predicament is to plan the week around charging. You certainly could also use apps that tell you whether or not a charge point is working. For the timing being, don’t buy an EV if you can’t charge it mostly at home.
Wow, I was getting Range Anxiety just watching this. You live in an EV Friendly area too. A Bolt is Not ready for Prime Time for me in Georgia, I'll be sticking with ICE or maybe a Hybrid for the immediate future. Thanks for the info, great video.
I really liked the video Tommy, y'all are like friends to me. I bought a 2012 Volt last year in part based on your recommendation. I'm really happy with it and at less than $7000 feel like I got a lot of value compared to an equally priced Prius, Leaf, C-max, etc. (BTW, starting to see older Tesla S's for sale under $20k!!)
For the next video, it would be nice for you to include stealth 110V charging where you can find external outlets. For example, I think most employers would allow their (house-less) staff to plug their vehicles into 110V outlets on the exterior of the building or on lampposts. Heck, you may be able to survey the viewers to see if they could realistically charge at their employers. The cost is relatively low guessing about $1-2/day, and certain employers may like they are helping reduce gas driven-CO2 emissions.
Other outlets may be find-able, but it's a little on the sketchy side to just plug in without the owner/leaser's knowledge or permission. My gym lets me plug in to a standard outlet while I'm parked there. It can add a few miles, enough on those cold days to avoided the dreaded ICE running in the last couple miles. Church goers may be able to also plug in for a couple hours here and there during the week and simply put an extra dollar in the offering plate. Also, some apartment/condo complexes may also allow residents to use external outlets if it's not too costly or dangerous (trip hazard from cord).
Lastly, I am curious to know what GM says about DC fast charging.. How complex would it be to incorporated say 100 kW into the next model year? Or add it as an option? And (maybe a silly question) could it be increased slightly by an OTA update?
Keep up the good work! Ciao! 😎
Hi Tommy do you use The Regen feature?? The handle on the left side of your steering wheel??? It helps the batteries. We have a used Bolt EV 2L T it Great Feature
12 charging spots and they are all taken by people for days? Tommy always makes great videos and to be honest it would be hard to find someone that wanted a EV less than me and I enjoyed Tommy’s work! Morgan is a Babe for sure what a beautiful young lady and y’all make a great couple!!!
Nicely done!
I really enjoyed this video.
As a car enthusiast, but a skeptic of electric (but interested) it was informative. It didn’t seem convenient….and I wonder if it’s actually better for the environment since the electricity was probably from coal, and another concern is if the battery 🔋 production (lithium) was perhaps from child and or space labor in Africa. But again, I enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing.
Nice summation. I doubt GM will offer an upgrade on the DCFC from 50 to 100/150 to existing Bolt owners, and the aftermarket upgrade would null and void any warranties. So bottomline is for people with the Bolt unless they have access to level 2 charging at home and can plan their road trips to include 40-50 mins charging at DCFC's along the route it would not be a good experience. Basically if you are a buy a Bolt, then you have to have a different relationship to TIME.
One of the best combos with an EV is an e-scooter. Keep it in the trunk of the car. Then when you plug your car into a L2 charger, you can ride back home or go shopping with the scooter.
Used to do this when I lived in NYC and had to park where ever parking was available
Great video, I think tests like this give non-ev owners the wrong idea about how much time you have to spend charging. You should do the 60-second equivalent using your home charging. Fully charged every day almost no time spent by you.
Great insightful video!!! Since most of us can't afford a new EV. What about the same type of video but with Nathan's Nissan leaf.
I don't know if it's because I live in NYC; I charge my car at work in different parking lots and on the weekend at the park. I think it works better for a city car.
California (Civil Code section 1947.6) requires landlords to approve tenant requests to install EV charging stations in their dedicated parking spaces so long as the tenant is willing to pay for the charging station and associated costs, including installation and utility costs.May 2, 2023
Don't know if this has happened yet but I would like to see an EV (any model car/truck/suv-cuv) driving up and down from either Pikes Peak State Park or Rocky Mountain National Park, especially as someone looking into an EV for road trips and these are my traditional spots every summer I visit Colorado. Of course this would be during the late spring or in the summer time based on road conditions are pretty bad in winter.
As a Bolt EUV future customer (on order) I found this video very informative. Decided to cancel my Bolt EUV order and get a Tesla. My piece of mind and safety on trips is worth financing the extra $12k. Thanks.
I get in my Bolt cost wise about 950 mpg. Or as a Friend calls MPGC (C for cost).
Anyone know what brand those Level 1 stations were at the airport?
Honestly this experience looked perfectly fine. If you checked online whether certain chargers were working before moving you could've saved some trouble, and yeah the slow charging speed sucks but bring a Switch or some money to eat out and sitting around for a bit doesn't seem like a bad deal for having a vehicle this quality at under 20k.
I just bought a KIA EV6 GT Line a month ago - I put already 1,300 miles (+/-) I don't have a home charger. I live in Detroit - I charge at work and public charger. No problem at the moment. Kia gives you 1000KW charge in electrify America included when you buy the car. But I have use Jule and EVGO and charging from 10 to 100 - cost me arount 20 bucks same price in electrify america (the phone thing was not working so I had to pay) all my charges take aroun 25 minutes or less. I have done couple of roadtrips of 200 to 300 miles and was not hard to find chargers. I will do a long drive next month Detroit - Montreal will see what happens.
As I'm curious why you're not using an app to find the status of the chargers or whether they're in use before heading there?
Well presented and interesting video. How much energy did you get at the dog park?