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For any all-electric vehicle, range means how many miles the car can go when it’s charged to 100%. However, the achievable range may vary with external factors, much as with a gas powered car. The EPA gives electric vehicles a standard "rated range" for each make, model, year, and trim, but there are both short and long term changes to this number. Short term changes are due to external factors such as driving style, terrain, or temperature, while permanent range effects are due to battery degradation and age.
Seasonal changes and driving behaviors affect an EV's achievable range on any given drive. Generally, EV batteries perform better when the temperature is in the 70-80's, terrain is flat or downhill, and traffic is slow moving or stop-and-go. These factors affect all lithium ion batteries, but the amount of on-board variability you’ll see in a car depends on battery chemistry and how the car manufacturer programs the battery management system. A Chevy Bolt will show reduced range on its dashboard when the climate deviates from around room temperature. The Bolt's on-board systems are very sensitive to driving style and terrain and you can expect to see your estimated range fluctuate.
Read more about how temperature affects range.
From what we've seen so far, most Chevy Bolts hold on to their original range very well over their lifetime. While used Bolt ranges at 100% charge fall mostly between 133 and 325 miles, vehicles have been observed with ranges from 101-363 miles. There is such wide variability for Bolts because the on-board range estimate varies a lot depending the external driving conditions. Recent extreme temperatures or hilly roads impact the estimate. Additionally, many Bolts have been observed to exceed their EPA range estimate under ideal conditions. This data comes from over 1400 Chevy Bolts on US roads today.
We all have our strengths and Recurrent’s strength is understanding EV batteries! Our research shows the beginning of our battery degradation monitoring for the Bolt electric vehicles in our community. This data is live from Recurrent’s battery tracking research, and as such, represents real vehicles. We know that in new EVs, there is an initial drop off in range. This is expected in all lithium ion batteries and means that the battery chemistry is settling into its long-term state. After this initial drop, range estimates (and battery health) tend to fall into a steady but slow decline.
The main ways to measure vehicle efficiency, or energy use per distance traveled, are MPGe and miles/kWh. You may see these values on new car stickers or on dealer listings. The Chevy Bolt gets between 118-120 MPGe depending on year and 3.45-3.57 mi/kWh. This falls to the mid to high range of efficiency.
Our community of Chevy Bolt drivers give the car a Charging Score of 3.69/5, meaning that most drivers are moderately satisfied with their charging experience. Importantly, both the LT and Premier trim levels can accommodate a DC fast charger but this optional add-on costs about $750. It allows you to charge to 90 miles in about half an hour before reverting back to a level-two charge. Of course, you still have the standard AC charging options: a 120V plug that will give you about 4 miles of range an hour, making it only a last-ditch choice, and a 240V plug that will give you around 25 miles an hour. To charge completely from empty will take around 10 hours on a level-two plug. Since the charging network for the Chevy Bolt may be sparse in some areas and a full charge does take so long, it is recommended that drivers have access to home or work charging.
Chevy Bolts use lithium ion batteries - a power power dense, high voltage technology that works well for storing enough energy to make a car run. Much like the lithium ion battery in your phone or your laptop, the batteries in your car will also start to lose power and capacity with age and use. Battery degradation is the inevitable decline in battery performance based on two things:
a) the age of the battery (also known as 'calendar' aging)
b) how the battery is used, charged, and stored
Calendar aging is inevitable - it starts the moment a battery is made. However, there are things that can cause a battery to degrade faster than expected. Common storage and charging practices do impact the rate of battery degradation, and there are thing an EV owners can do to slow the process. This discussion is covered in a research article on battery degradation.
The battery size, or battery capacity, for a Bolt is measured in kWh, and ranges from 60 - 66 kWh depending on model year. A 60 kWh battery is fairly standard for a contemporary EV, but it was considered pretty large in 2017 when the Bolt debuted. The newer Bolt EUV has a 65 kWh battery. All Bolt EVs with Chevrolet-replaced batteries are being given the 66 kWh as an upgrade.
Despite recent news about the Chevy Bolt recall, the lithium ion batteries used in the Bolt should last for at least the life of the car. The battery issues addressed by the recall should affect very few Bolts.
Chevy GM offers an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty - whichever comes first. The warranty terms mention that battery capacity degradation over the term of the warranty may be between 10-40%, with technicians make final determination on battery replacements. Bolts that receive battery replacements under the 2021 recall will have their warranties reset at the time of replacement.
This page shares Chevy Bolt data collected from over 1200 cars across the United States. Each of the 5.5 million miles driven helps to draw a picture of the Bolt experience. We polled our community to find out what they love and what they could leave with their vehicles.
Most liked features:
"It's fun to drive and very comfortable. It's been quite a while since I've chosen to drive my car somewhere just to drive it, but I do it with my Bolt, so it's brought the joy of driving back for me."
"Range is great. It's pretty peppy and highway or city traffic is no problem. Fit and finish in general is pretty good. Infotainment system is good, along with Bose sound system. Overall, it's a great car in my opinion."
"Everything is simple - the Bolt seems well designed for minimum maintenance and practicality. Just get in and drive, nothing else to worry about.
Room to improve:
"Not so great for long (>150 miles) trips. The charging network is still spotty (here in VA.), and the length of time it takes to charge while at public EVSEs makes long distance travel problematic."
"The seats aren't great and the heated seats don't get very hot."
"Not “connected” enough. Chevrolet app is pretty disappointing and there’s no support for 3rd party data connections."
The Green Score for the Bolt is great. It is an all-electric car with no tailpipe emissions. If driving electric isn't enough for you, you can lower your environmental impact by buying a used Bolt - every used car purchased means one fewer new car to be produced and shipped. Finally, you can really up your green game by powering your EV with renewable energy for the ultimate clean machine.
Despite conventional wisdom that the ongoing recall should lower prices, if anything, more shoppers see the opportunity to buy a used-priced vehicle and get a like-new battery replacement with a brand new warranty. Bolts with new batteries from warranty replacements can be expected to cost more.
Recurrent uses data from the AFDC to determine the range of annual charging costs for a Bolt. Assuming and average driving pattern of 34 miles a day, 5 days a week, 49 weeks a year with 25% highway driving, plus a few additional highway road trips, you can estimate your annual charging costs to be between $368 - $1,178. More detailed and personalized values can be calculated at the link above. For our calculations, the highest electricity price is found in Hawaii and the lowest in Louisiana.
