Featured CNET RoadShow: Race Around the (SF) Bay: Bolt vs. Ioniq EV

First thoughts:

1. Use "Plugshare" instead of one vendor:
   1. Any vendor EVSE, even private ones, are available.
   2. User comments are more timely
2. Their understanding of charge vs range could be better.
3. Not all L2-chargers are the same: 16A, 22A, 31A and 40A (I can't test)

A much simpler answer, a plug-in hybrid. So this evening, I ran our Prius Prime battery down and the car switched over to hybrid mode ... no problem. I then ran a benchmark to confirm the amount of gas burned in CHARGE mode. I need to run a highway test but not right away.

Late Thought

The poor skills suggest there may have been a pro-gas, anti-EV goal. Put two teams with an experienced owner/operator, at least 5,000 miles, and the results would have been a more accurate. Real EV owner/operators figure out these problems pretty quickly but these two teams struck me as EV novices. I was not impressed or entertained by their 'rookie' mistakes.

Because we own two, different plug-in hybrids, I've learned to plan EV operation by SOC, mi/kWh, and charger rates: L1, L2 (various), and CCS. I also use plugshare exclusively and carry ChargePoint and Blink cards. But then I also make my own power vs mph charts.

I have done a limited amount of out-of-town, EV testing. No, I'm not expecting to do anything significant but should the BMW i3-REx suffer and ICE failure, it is nice to know how to 'limp home.'

Bob Wilson

 

i'd take the bolt, if i had to drive that far very frequently. charging is too much hassle. but if it were less frequent, the ironic is a better choice, all else being equal, which i don't think it is.

 

Speaking from my recent EV experiments, CCS is not an option but a requirement. Apparently the Bolt can be ordered w/o CCS? Volt too? Like dynamic cruise control and collision avoidance, another expensive option?

The Prime gets a pass only because the gas engine is so dang efficient the smaller battery, it really doesn't matter that much. But the BMW i3-REx, when I get back into town, I get a 30 minute charge before heading home because I'm cheap but also, I don't want to get up the next morning and only have a partial charge.

Bob Wilson

 

Too many things wrong with that "race" to take it seriously or even waste time commenting on it... many telling comments posted several days ago on the GM-Volt forum:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?294737-Chevrolet-Bolt-vs.-Hyundai-Ioniq-in-a-race-around-the-Bay-Area-Part-1

IMO the best comment was "I only hope none of those four reproduce...."

 

true, people still run out of gas.

 

- Your assignment for work the next day is to drive an electric vehicle and you don't pre-plan the day before?... heck... you don't even bring your ChargePoint access card with you for the "race"?
- You design the "race" course... and you personally get lost... twice?

If that's "somewhat reflective of real life" humans as a species are doomed to extinction due to stupidity.

 

Yes, CCS is an option on the Bolt. It isn't available on the Volt for the same reasons the North American Prime doesn't have CHAdeMO; cost and low price for gas.

 

I don't have the $750 CCS option on my Bolt Premier... don't need it and didn't want to pay for something I'd probably never use.

We are a four car family, for long trips outside the Bolt's 240mi range we take the 2015 Honda Pilot which is a very comfy road trip vehicle. My (using the Bolt) daily work commute is 25mi each way with a L2 Chargepoint station at work and a L2 JuiceBox at home... so no need for CCS there either.

 

Me too yesterday and just after telling my wife we didn't need the GPS, I knew the turns. Got involved listening to a legal discussion on sat radio and realized I should have turned off 100 yards too late.

 

The 'contest' . . . . can i equate this to a beauty contest between two 65 year-old's? Nothing wrong w/ 65 year olds ... and we'll all get there eventually if not already ... and if these are the only 2 choices, ok ... then no point in saying, 'why didn't they put a Model 3 in the mix' ... and maybe we all know the answer already (that'd be like the 3rd entry being a 21 year old) BUT ....

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I think this race shows how regular people react when they have an EV for the first time.
There is also another "race" from Toronto to Ottawa and back between the Ioniq EV and the Ioniq Hybrid (with just one tank of gas).

 

Or they couldn't get a Model 3 to test.
Was there a Supercharger on the course?

 

most of the early deliveries were in fact near the bay. Took a plugshare app screen shot of bay area Superchargers & CHAdeMO's (tesla sells an adapter)

... and it almost looks like overkill. maybe they just weren't invited

.

 

Don't forget lead time for getting this 'event' together.
Which are Superchargers on that map. Great if the Model 3 has the optional CHAdeMO adapter, but it won't charge the car any faster than the CCS on the Ioniq. Once you bring in options, why not have the CCS on the Bolt then.

I confess to not watching the videos. If I end up with an Ioniq Electric or a Bolt, it will be my daily driver, and the Ioniq's range is already over twice my commute distance. We have a second car for long trips. The Supercharger network makes Tesla to only choice for long road trips. Where CHAdeMO and CCS is available, it is a slower rated charger. I still have to convince the wife that stopping for charges aren't that big a deal, and might be beneficial to her fibromyalgia and back. Even then I suspect a Model 3 might be too small for us, a dog, and two cats.

 

orange ones

actually, because all traction packs that are charging above 3KW, will experience throttling as they approach full (prevents heat, the enemy of capacity lingevity) - it especially behooves 'racers' to not charge above 80-85% as that'd waste track time. Having a pack with 300+ mile range, means a larger amount of capacity will keep charging at full blast longer - & - thus, needn't make near as many refueling pitstops, besides assuring continuing max charge speed above the full speed capacity of smaller packs' charge delivery .

This has been brought to you by large-capacity traction pack fun facts.

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I agree. The point of making these videos, other than entertainment, is to give an idea of what it's like to drive an electric car over longer distances for the 99% of us who don't have one. While an experienced electric driver would probably have done better, the drive they showed represented a plausible result from someone starting to drive an EV.

 

Well, if you going to include the $50k trim, I'll take the Ioniq and an Elantra. Guess which I'll use for this 'race'.