[EVGeek]

I have been a member only a short time, but am impressed with this forum. Looked for data on this topic, but did not find any so I thought I would post.

I could really use some help or feedback on my November Swap EUV delivering strange range. When I picked up the car, it had 3 miles on it and range was 235 at 100% that day at 64° F. I felt that was pretty nominal. Then the GOM started to get to know me and my range steadily climbed due to my "senior citizen" driving style.

Today I was so surprised by the 301 range on the GOM in the morning that I took a picture to show the service manager. Although I was getting in the 270 area, it had never been that high. And I thought it must need a patch or something.

Anyway, I had to travel from home to a destination and back with my wife and it was sunny and 57°F (75 miles x 2 ). So I started, with what I thought was silly range on the GOM, due to my around town use. The trip was on 2 lane secondary highways, through the hills of Northwest CT and MA. My Bolt EUV was a joy to drive. Tires started at 37 psi and rose to 40 during the drive. Starting elevation was 445 ft. We arrived at the destination, exactly 75 miles away from home, showing 239 miles on the GOM at elevation 705 ft. I was very skeptical of that 239 range. Then, the return trip was 75 miles backtracking the same route. I arrived at home and the GOM showed 172 miles range with 56% remaining. Again, I was skeptical. (172/.56=307.14 implied range when full.)

The trip computer / energy detail screen in the head unit showed 150 miles travelled and 4.89 miles/kWh since last full charge (right before I did the trip, I charged it to 100%).

I was like, this is impossible. I had been driving my 2019 Bolt EV for years and never could get more than a temporary 3.8 miles/kWh even at 25 mph around town. This EUV shows 4.9 or 5.0 daily. Anyway, I plugged the car in and it went from 56% at 172 range to 100% at 308 (as the math above showed it should) miles range in exactly 4 hours and 1 minute on my 32 amp L2 Webasto charger. This is a roughly 30.7 kWh fillup. That ties out with 4.89 miles / kWh efficiency the computer in the head unit displayed (4.89 x 30.7=150.12 miles). So I was flummoxed. The car just averaged in another trip with 55mph speeds through hills and the efficiency metrics increased again.

The efficiency/range went to 308 miles based on metrics from this trip. It must be wrong. Or maybe something deeper is going on...

The last thing I want to happen is to rely on this data if it is wrong and run out of power with my wife in the car, in the dark, in the hills. I am sure this seems obvious. But I was white knuckling it today on this drive because this vehicle is not supposed to have range anywhere near what it is delivering to me. Therefore I had close to zero confidence in the GOM while driving today, which is why I verified the charge when I got home to substantiate the GOM and trip computer numbers. They tie out. While I am happy it is so efficient, the numbers are still stretching believability at this point.

Or, are some of the November EUV swaps a batch that is actually energy dense Ultium?

Are they pulling data and some of November swaps are a test group without knowing it?

How can 308 miles be correct...verified by the math...in a 65kWh (usable) battery?

What am I missing? How is the range/efficiency of this VIN 25% above spec?

Sorry for the long post. Any help, or data from the group would be helpful.

 

[RacerX00]

When my wife drives during rush hour, her speed rarely exceeds 50mph, while I'm usually driving when the roads are clear so I'm doing clost to 65 (highway speed limits are 55 here). The upshot is she'll come home with ~5.2 mi/kWh and my car will routinely have ~4.2 mi/kWh. The only thing that's changed there is time of day and sustained speed yet she can get over 300 miles and I get closer to the EPA ~260.

It's also worth noting that it may say 301 miles but if you all of the sudden hop on a highway with a 75mph speed limit and cruise control at 80mph, that's not what you're going to achieve. It's taking past results and projecting forward still and it has little to do with you and your style. A 10mph headwind for 3 days straight can turnaround and make that GOM 250 because in practice your previous 65mph is now 75mph.

The reason it's a "guess -o- meter" is because it's always going to be a guess until systems like Tesla's where the nav is linked to the car and knows things like elevation change, weather and speed limits along your route become ubiquitous and better and even then it will need to be predictive and can only be somewhat accurate for the trip you put into the nav.

Also worth noting that these same factors hold true for gas and people just don't pay attention.

 

[EVGeek]

Thanks, RacerX00. I guess what I am feeling is:

I am the same person. I drive the same way. To the same places. I had a 2019 EV Premier where efficiency equalled "X" across all ∆ for use...and this 2022 EUV Premiere efficiency = X × 1.25 for said use.

I was expecting more range (empirically due to more kWh) in the 2022. What I was not expecting was a 25% jump in base efficiency. That is why I thought the GOM was nuts. But the trend lines reflect it too...

Said differently, it would be like your wife and you getting 6.5 and 5.25 miles/kWh respectively based on your examples simply by using my 2022 EUV. Your driving habits and routes remain the same, the efficiency changes. That is what I am experiencing.

 

[RacerX00]

If it holds up I would guess it was a problem with the 2019, not being able to get over 3.8 while driving "senior citizen style" around town doesn't sound like my personal Bolt experience and your EUV readings are more typical to my actual realized mileage. Also the EUV should be LESS efficient because it's bigger/heavier and reflects that on the EPA ratings.

 

[The Other Tom]

Slower speeds ("senior citizen driving") and warmer temperatures are your friend. When I joined this forum ~3 years ago people were "bragging" they were able to join the 300-mile club. (Search for 300 mile club and you'll see some of the posts). I was able to do that as well during the spring of one year. And that's with the "old" battery.
I doubt you have an Ultium battery since it would require a different BMS that the current Bolt/EUV have.

 

[steve2150]

On my 2020 Premier I use it around town and drive easily, I get 5 miles/kwh. On the highway goes way down at 70 mph. Charging to 100% get over 300 on the gom with easy driving. When I had my 2017 new and my 2020 new they said no problem charging to 100% about damaging battery. Now all EV's recommend only charging to 80% unless 100% needed for battery health.

 

[BillG49]

"Or maybe something deeper is going on..."

I think you should start another repurchase request. Obviously, something is wrong with your car, and you should get rid of it before it sucks you in, and and then lets you down when you least expect it.

 

[jmcbrew]

If it holds up I would guess it was a problem with the 2019, not being able to get over 3.8 while driving "senior citizen style" around town doesn't sound like my personal Bolt experience…

I agree. I drove my ‘17 Bolt a little over 100 miles yesterday. It was between 55 and 70 degrees out. At speed, I was usually sticking to 65 MPH, but there was a lot of driving around 50 MPH on slower roads and some traffic. For about 35 miles, I was towing a small trailer to the landfill with a light load. A little heater use in the morning, and AC use once the sun heated up the interior. I ended the day right at 4.0 miles/kWh.

Your EUV sounds right… your EV was getting poor mileage.

 

[Voldar]

I have been a member only a short time, but am impressed with this forum. Looked for data on this topic, but did not find any so I thought I would post.

I could really use some help or feedback on my November Swap EUV delivering strange range. When I picked up the car, it had 3 miles on it and range was 235 at 100% that day at 64° F. I felt that was pretty nominal. Then the GOM started to get to know me and my range steadily climbed due to my "senior citizen" driving style.

View attachment 41290

Today I was so surprised by the 301 range on the GOM in the morning that I took a picture to show the service manager. Although I was getting in the 270 area, it had never been that high. And I thought it must need a patch or something.

Anyway, I had to travel from home to a destination and back with my wife and it was sunny and 57°F (75 miles x 2 ). So I started, with what I thought was silly range on the GOM, due to my around town use. The trip was on 2 lane secondary highways, through the hills of Northwest CT and MA. My Bolt EUV was a joy to drive. Tires started at 37 psi and rose to 40 during the drive. Starting elevation was 445 ft. We arrived at the destination, exactly 75 miles away from home, showing 239 miles on the GOM at elevation 705 ft. I was very skeptical of that 239 range. Then, the return trip was 75 miles backtracking the same route. I arrived at home and the GOM showed 172 miles range with 56% remaining. Again, I was skeptical. (172/.56=307.14 implied range when full.)

The trip computer / energy detail screen in the head unit showed 150 miles travelled and 4.89 miles/kWh since last full charge (right before I did the trip, I charged it to 100%).

I was like, this is impossible. I had been driving my 2019 Bolt EV for years and never could get more than a temporary 3.8 miles/kWh even at 25 mph around town. This EUV shows 4.9 or 5.0 daily. Anyway, I plugged the car in and it went from 56% at 172 range to 100% at 308 (as the math above showed it should) miles range in exactly 4 hours and 1 minute on my 32 amp L2 Webasto charger. This is a roughly 30.7 kWh fillup. That ties out with 4.89 miles / kWh efficiency the computer in the head unit displayed (4.89 x 30.7=150.12 miles). So I was flummoxed. The car just averaged in another trip with 55mph speeds through hills and the efficiency metrics increased again.

View attachment 41291

The efficiency/range went to 308 miles based on metrics from this trip. It must be wrong. Or maybe something deeper is going on...

The last thing I want to happen is to rely on this data if it is wrong and run out of power with my wife in the car, in the dark, in the hills. I am sure this seems obvious. But I was white knuckling it today on this drive because this vehicle is not supposed to have range anywhere near what it is delivering to me. Therefore I had close to zero confidence in the GOM while driving today, which is why I verified the charge when I got home to substantiate the GOM and trip computer numbers. They tie out. While I am happy it is so efficient, the numbers are still stretching believability at this point.

Or, are some of the November EUV swaps a batch that is actually energy dense Ultium?

Are they pulling data and some of November swaps are a test group without knowing it?

How can 308 miles be correct...verified by the math...in a 65kWh (usable) battery?

What am I missing? How is the range/efficiency of this VIN 25% above spec?

Sorry for the long post. Any help, or data from the group would be helpful.

Don’t worry, it is normal ! I see you only have the car driven for about 690 miles. I would suggest you to reset the "Average" after every full charge and you’ll see the GOM being pretty much on par with what you expect from the car, given the type of driving you seem to do. Also, if you don’t need the 100%, don’t charge the car to 100% or never let it sit at 100% too much time. Use the delayed charge and finish the charge 30 mins before you leave home next day.
And although the belief is the "GOM is useless" around here, in fact it’s the most accurate out of all out there in the "wild". As long as you understood that its numbers are based on your recent style of driving, road and temperature conditions, it will never let you down.

 

[atc98092]

I made a decent trip around town last week, and the weather was just warm enough I could get away with the HVAC off. I drove about 30 miles. It was all town, but I live on a really steep hill, which always wipes my economy down. But I pulled into my garage showing 5.0 miles/kWh, something I've never seen before. I have seen mover 4 miles back when I first got it, when it was actually still summertime. And since mine is still using the original battery, I can't say they made any changes.

I've found the miles/kWh usually settles into what should be fairly accurate numbers after 15-20 miles of driving. That might simply be because of the terrain I drive in, as it takes a big hit when I leave the house and go up the hill. Over the winter I've been in the 2.5-3 miles/kWh range, but as I said last summer when it was warm I was usually around 4. So I don't think 5 is unreasonable, depending on the conditions at the time.

 

[Duke Woolworth]

I have been a member only a short time, but am impressed with this forum. Looked for data on this topic, but did not find any so I thought I would post.

I could really use some help or feedback on my November Swap EUV delivering strange range. When I picked up the car, it had 3 miles on it and range was 235 at 100% that day at 64° F. I felt that was pretty nominal. Then the GOM started to get to know me and my range steadily climbed due to my "senior citizen" driving style.

View attachment 41290

Today I was so surprised by the 301 range on the GOM in the morning that I took a picture to show the service manager. Although I was getting in the 270 area, it had never been that high. And I thought it must need a patch or something.

Anyway, I had to travel from home to a destination and back with my wife and it was sunny and 57°F (75 miles x 2 ). So I started, with what I thought was silly range on the GOM, due to my around town use. The trip was on 2 lane secondary highways, through the hills of Northwest CT and MA. My Bolt EUV was a joy to drive. Tires started at 37 psi and rose to 40 during the drive. Starting elevation was 445 ft. We arrived at the destination, exactly 75 miles away from home, showing 239 miles on the GOM at elevation 705 ft. I was very skeptical of that 239 range. Then, the return trip was 75 miles backtracking the same route. I arrived at home and the GOM showed 172 miles range with 56% remaining. Again, I was skeptical. (172/.56=307.14 implied range when full.)

The trip computer / energy detail screen in the head unit showed 150 miles travelled and 4.89 miles/kWh since last full charge (right before I did the trip, I charged it to 100%).

I was like, this is impossible. I had been driving my 2019 Bolt EV for years and never could get more than a temporary 3.8 miles/kWh even at 25 mph around town. This EUV shows 4.9 or 5.0 daily. Anyway, I plugged the car in and it went from 56% at 172 range to 100% at 308 (as the math above showed it should) miles range in exactly 4 hours and 1 minute on my 32 amp L2 Webasto charger. This is a roughly 30.7 kWh fillup. That ties out with 4.89 miles / kWh efficiency the computer in the head unit displayed (4.89 x 30.7=150.12 miles). So I was flummoxed. The car just averaged in another trip with 55mph speeds through hills and the efficiency metrics increased again.

View attachment 41291

The efficiency/range went to 308 miles based on metrics from this trip. It must be wrong. Or maybe something deeper is going on...

The last thing I want to happen is to rely on this data if it is wrong and run out of power with my wife in the car, in the dark, in the hills. I am sure this seems obvious. But I was white knuckling it today on this drive because this vehicle is not supposed to have range anywhere near what it is delivering to me. Therefore I had close to zero confidence in the GOM while driving today, which is why I verified the charge when I got home to substantiate the GOM and trip computer numbers. They tie out. While I am happy it is so efficient, the numbers are still stretching believability at this point.

Or, are some of the November EUV swaps a batch that is actually energy dense Ultium?

Are they pulling data and some of November swaps are a test group without knowing it?

How can 308 miles be correct...verified by the math...in a 65kWh (usable) battery?

What am I missing? How is the range/efficiency of this VIN 25% above spec?

Sorry for the long post. Any help, or data from the group would be helpful.

 

[RacerX00]

My personal experiences are 4.8-5.0 is high in the Bolt and 5.0-5.2 is high in the Kona. Both are just as good as any Tesla which is something most other non-Tesla BEVs can't claim.

If the Bolt (or Kona, really) had a heat pump, I'd be a hardcore evangelist about it being the best "efficient" EV on the market. I think Consumer Reports agrees as it's the only material difference I can peg between their thoughts on the Bolt/Kona/Niro yet the Niro rates highest. For me the Niro edges slightly too expensive for me to feel that way about it.

 

[Winstonscifi]

You're listening to the Grateful Dead - are you sure you're not tripping just a little?

 

[Duke Woolworth]

It isn't unusual for us to see range of 290-340 miles on our '19 Bolts with original batteries in nice weather, all suburban driving, high 5's yield. We've been doing hypermiling ICE/EV for years, keeping to a little over the 25-35MPH speed limits, lots of coasting, and gentle treatment. Tire pressure normal. Keep it up, and enjoy.

 

[atc98092]

As I had the Niro PHEV, I agree it's a really good car. But I think CR is downgrading the Bolt because of the battery issue. I don't know why else the predicted reliability is marked down. That seems to be the only category that might explain the low overall score.

 

[EVGeek]

Thanks, everyone. This explains a lot.
All of your data points a bad BMS / battery pack situation on my 2019.
There must have been some real problems with it.

 

[Voldar]

Thanks, everyone. This explains a lot.
All of your data points a bad BMS / battery pack situation on my 2019.
There must have been some real problems with it.

Or it might be a difference between the BMS/battery you had in the 2019 and the new one in the 2022.
I have the new battery pack and I did see a slightly better mi/kWh (well, in my case, kWh/100 km number) than before the change, at the same time of the year and temp/road conditions.

 

[Voldar]

For exemple : 252 km today at 78% SOC => 323 km (200 miles) at 100% for temps of yesterday : 36 F in average. I love spring !!

 

[RacerX00]

As I had the Niro PHEV, I agree it's a really good car. But I think CR is downgrading the Bolt because of the battery issue. I don't know why else the predicted reliability is marked down. That seems to be the only category that might explain the low overall score.

It's hard to peg whether or not that's factored into that score. Based on their comments and videos in Sept-December '21 I think that score is based on what they rate it when it will go back on sale without the defect, so yeah probably factored in. Maybe part of why it gets a bad reliability score:

- Bolt

- Niro (no battery recall)

- Kona (also full battery recall in case someone else following isn't aware, know you know atc)

Would certainly seem it's factored.

Especially cause I'd say the difference between the Niro and the Kona is the same between the Bolt and Bolt EUV. Obviously you have some over-arching automaker differences but it drives almost exactly the same with the same infotainment system and is generally the same size with just a bit more trunk space.

What are your thoughts on the Niro compared to the Bolt? My overall take with the Kona is I can't understand why people don't cross shop the Bolt and Kona more. I obviously think it fairs well in comparison but we should see far more interest than we do. I even thought maybe the Ioniq 5/EV6 would spur more Kona/Niro sales but they both appear to be the "unknown" and "undersold" (so subjective) EVs today.

 

[Voldar]

What are your thoughts on the Niro compared to the Bolt? My overall take with the Kona is I can't understand why people don't cross shop the Bolt and Kona more. I obviously think it fairs well in comparison but we should see far more interest than we do. I even thought maybe the Ioniq 5/EV6 would spur more Kona/Niro sales but they both appear to be the "unknown" and "undersold" (so subjective) EVs today.

I know the question isn't for me, but when I checked the Kona at the time, it was too tight in the back vs the Bolt EV. That's a big no-no for me.