Winter storm Elliott vs. Bolt EV 

This giant winter storm has definitely been a good torture test for EVs, the charging network and the electrical grid.

Fascinating. I'd always wondered if running the heat on a level 3 charger slowed the charging. Thanks for clearing that up.

As a fellow Minnesotan currently looking at a Bolt, I found this very informative! Thanks.

Great video showing real world winter highway range in northern US. The first true range test I could find on the bolt. Thanks!

Nice video! Driving a Bolt long distances in bitter cold is really living on the edge. The charging stations really need to improve reliability.

Somehow, there always seems to be a Walmart... ⚡ Really interesting trip report from a region we don't typically see much EV coverage. Thanks and Happy New Year.

Well done Alex! I had the opportunity to drive one of these vehicles the other week and loved it! Sport mode is good fun 😃

Thank you for sharing this. This is a real world EV road test.

Very cool and a coincidence that I have family in Austin as well. Wish you good luck on your Bolt adventures.

Thanks for the video. Slower charging EVs and extremely cold weather don't seem to mix. Hopefully this gets better before they EVs are mandated. I hope for longer range, faster charging, and better availability of reliable chargers.

that was unreal to watch, just crazy how different this road trip was compared to my model y. I have hit full charging speed at those temps, but have a 30% hit on range if i had the heat up. really enjoyed this video, living life on the edge with the bolt🔌

Thanks for doing this. I think it gives people realistic expectations in regards to what to expect from a Bolt in cold weather. Certainly, the newer BEV’s are doing better with faster DC fast charging and energy efficient heat pumps. Still have a ways to go to match the convenience for gas, but BEV’s have really come a long way in a very short amount of time.

That was quite educational, neighbor! Thank you! Usually, I don't take my Bolt out for long winter trips here in Canada. I do most of my driving in the city and most of my charging at home (with a Level 2 charger installed in my garage). But, it's interesting to watch people do stuff that I don't. :)

It is good that you documented this and informed people that it is okay to run the heater when the charging rate is below capacity. It is also good that you didn't have any mishaps. The arctic blast brought the temperatures down to about the same level where I am at but we didn't have any snow. It makes me glad that I have a PHEV and could rely upon the gasoline engine when the cold was hindering battery efficiency and power outages/public charging station issues were sometimes making the electrons be unavailable.

We're in ohio with our 2023 bolt EUV and honestly, on the recent days that were -35 with windchill, we didn't have to go out at all. For the people who say EVs aren't ready, I think it's entirely dependent on your use. I'm sure it would make holiday travels longer and more planning...but we don't travel for the holidays so I'm not bothered by it. If and when we travel it's the summer.

Oh man ! So cold 🥶 I gotta do a review of the bolt - great lil car

Its interesting about how the heating works. (re: having extra power for heater but the charger is only using a finite amount) . Thanks for the video

Great video Alex. I also live in Rochester and have had 3 electric vehicles now. Its good to see Minnesota's charging network growing. Be it at a snails pace. I had a 2017 Fiat 500E and even in the coldest of temps I could easily do my 40 mile round trip commute. My 2019 VW E Golf made that even better and could even take trips to the parents or in laws in the cities. The 2022 Kia E Niro with heat pump was a game changer. I could do 98% of my normal driving without worry about finding a charger. Due to life circumstances changing I don't currently have any of them. I moved this last September so I still need to get a level 2 charger installed at my new house. I am hoping within the next year to get either a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Audi Q4 Etron.

Good video mate

Good on you to explain how cold temperatures effect battery charging. Many newer and higher performing BEV, like Tesla, Hyundia GEMP, Porsche/Audi etc, have very powerful battery heaters that will pre-heat (condition) the battery BEFORE a charging session so when you pull up to the DC Fast charger, the battery is already warmed up enough to take the full rate. That is assume there is enough extra energy to use for heating the battery

Brrrrr. So cold. Nice vid!

Great video. Very interesting. My greatest concern is getting to a planned charger and it not working. That concerns me much more than range anxiety. We have a ways to go regarding infrastructure

Thank you for the video and android auto charging lession. My '23 Lt euv is scheduled to be built mid-January, and am learning everything I can about my first EV. It seldom gets colder than -10C (14F) where I live on the west coast of Canada. I always have snowflake-on-mountain winter tires on dedicated wheels, and on the Bolt I want to run 205/60x16 or 205/65x15 winters on cruze or sonic wheels; bizzak ws90s are amazing (they're like claws), but I use michelin x-ice now as they roll a little easier. I chose the Bolt because of price and efficiency (using less electricity is plainly less expensive); I'll charge at home most of the time, so the charging speed doesn't bother me.

Good video. In Arkansas I try to let the seat and wheel keep me warm on my 84 mile trip to Tulsa. Lots of clothes too!

Great video sharing the experience of a ev in winter. Plug share is a good app but I think there are some chargers that are not on the app.

Liked the video and appreciate your positive attitude. The Bolt ev (ampera) here in Germany is a great car but the charging speed is something that kind of kills the whole package. If at least the battery could be pre conditioned that would be great. My Ioniq 28 can charge mich faster but I think in those weather conditions I would not be much faster than you were do to the smaller battery and more frequent charging stops. You got yourself a new subscriber 👍

If you don't mind saying, I'd appreciate knowing what tyres you were using in that weather. Thanks very much for taking the time to make this video. We had a cold snap that almost got as bad as yours, with temps in the single digits F. My range was about the same as your GOM was showing. That was the worst I've seen, after 25K reliable miles. In the warm weather here, it's not unusual for the centre figure of the GOM to show 300 miles or better.

I own a Bolt and I have to say you sir have brass balls. Range goes down dramatically of course and many chargers don't work. I love my car for local driving but would never road trip in the dead of a MN winter.

Same trip in a Tesla Model 3, no stopping to Marshall and the heat at 72 degrees, and with the Tesla Supercharger network you know in advance if there are any stalls down if you needed them. In this same storm in Colorado several E.A. stalls would NOT work because it was TOO COLD, nice planning on that one E.A. Can you pre-heat the cabin before departure. With the added return trip only one stop in Worthington @ 30 minutes and that was the ONLY Supercharging on the whole run.

Nice to see some cold weather videos from a fellow midwesterner!

EVs have come a long way in such a short time. I like to see what’s it gonna be like in 10 yrs. time. This video was a great eye opener. I liked it & learned some. My next vehicle is definitely an EV but to do it right, looks like I gotta get a Phd in it first … lots of research. Thx.

I'm kinda curious how actually being buried and frozen in deep snow will affect chargers. Plows can only get so close so you'll either be waiting for the snow to melt or digging it out.

Nice vid. 🔥✨👌

There is so much data to absorb! Hope these EV'S can get a little simpler over time.

Nicely done video. I wonder if GM or other manufacturers will offer cold weather packages to better warm batteries in the future.

I’m in Michigan and drive a 2020 Chevy Bolt. I’m retired so when it’s bitter cold out, like a week ago, I just avoid going out unless I have to. Even then for short trips to the store, doctor, family. I have been charging to 90% pending battery replacement due to the battery recall. In cold weather, my range is about 160 miles. In optimum warm weather it’s 250+. It handles well enough on ice and snow, I just don’t like going out in it. I did get stuck in a snow drift leaving my sister’s house on Christmas night but, with help of some shoveling and pushing by my nephew, I got out fairly quickly. Two gasoline powered vehicles got stuck there as well. ( It’s 50+ degrees now and the snow has melted).

Excellent video. This confirms that a Chevy Bolt is an urban, daily commuter vehicle and not for long-distance trips. To be mainstream, EVs MUST be able to keep the passengers warm (i.e. comfortable) in frigid temperatures and be able to be charged quickly without needing an technical expert to operate the charging equipment. If this means sold-state batteries with their ability to charge quickly and have a very high charge density then so be it. I want EVs to succeed. We need improvements, however.

I love the amzoil beanie in what is basically a a human torture test dealing with ev and winter :)

several EVs have options for battery heating in order to deal with cold weather issues. Canada spec in particular usually has this as standard For longer trips I'd look at retrofitting a Webasto somehow - several people have fitted chinese diesel heaters into the trunk space for this issue

Great video. Kyle Conner in Colorado could not get the newest EA chargers to work during the Elliot storm.

That's a good argument for why even the slower dc fast charging cars should have battery preconditioning. Huge difference between waiting 1 hour and 2 hours to charge when it's warm vs cold.

Does the guess-o-meter change based on previous drive efficiency? I'm asking because I was in a Bolt recently and the guess-o-meter showed a high range of 405 miles. Yours seemed extremely low with a full charge but I'm thinking it's based on -5 F temps.

I feel like I've had similar adventures! That cold weather "fast" charging is a test of patience. Thanks for the video! I'm curious - do you work on wind turbines? In your trip you mentioned traveling to wind farms. I'm a big fan of green energy. Wind power is huge here in Iowa, as I know it is in Minnesota as well.

Unfortunately the bolt has different heat/coolant loops for cabin vs battery. They are 2 separate systems. GM really needs to add a battery preconditioning button to preheat the battery on route to the dcfc. Yes it will Rob energy but if the battery can get up to 70f it should pull 54KW.

We loved our BOLT, made two WASHINGTON TO MASSACHUSETTS trips towing a MYPOD camper. We had from EVs are a gimmick to you're adventurous towing with an EV...great vid man

I always wondered about chargers at dealerships. Are they available for the public, just that brand, or like the rest of the lot is it blocked off and closed at night?

At -17 I got 2 miles per kwh so fully charged at 80% I get about 127 miles per charge. I have to add, I have crossclimate 2 tires which eats some of the range as well. works for me I only need 70 miles per day and I have a level 2 charger at home to charge at night. I wouldn't do a long trip in the winter but in the summer I will be ok. I don't drive long distances anyway I fly.

How would you like to fill up with 7000 miles (Ethanol) or 10,000 miles (gasoline) and do it in the Fall and again in Spring. The fuel is solar made for 3 cents/kwh and you get 120 MPGe or 3.56 mi/kwh HWY and 8.9 mi/kwh in city.

Alex, look at getting a Tesla to J1772 adapter, useful to have in the trunk for when you run into Tesla destination chargers like you did at 06:47.

Different coolant for battery heating/cooling than for cabin. Battery heat level is about 2.5 kw (max) and cabin heat is about 7.5 kw (max). It would be nice to use cabin heater as a charge prep warmer for the battery on cold travel days, but that’s for later cars/battery tech.

You can get an adapter (at various outlets, including Amazon) that lets you use a Tesla destination charger with any J-1772 vehicle for Level 2 charging. It's about $160 and worth it when only Tesla chargers are available. It does NOT work on a "SuperCharger" but Tesla in Europe is already modifying it's chargers with additional CCS cords/plugs so we will be able to use Tesla Super Chargers in a year or so here.

after watching a lot of these videos about charging in the cold, the one thing i feel would be of some help is a heater of some sort on the tips of these chargers. maybe im wrong but maybe a small heating element on the tips of the cable to keep ice etc from messing up the connection.

To be honest for a single person or grow couple okay without rushing u go far away but if u driving far with children i think is a bad option be in a charger waiting 1 or 2 hours to get same battery charger but thanks for taking u time sharing this video 👍👍👍

so glad i got a volt and dont have to really think about all this cold weather stuff but still save basically 90% on gas

Does your car not have a heating grid in the battery housing to warm up the battery in cold weather? I thought all EV's have this? Also, how did the energy cost work out; if you had been driving a hybrid like a Toyota Prius, which gets about 45~50mpg (depending on terrain and individual driving habits), how would your total cost for gasoline have compared to the cost of using these EV fast chargers? All of the public Level 2 chargers that I've used for my Prius PHEV are free, so I've never paid for a charge except at home, where my residential service is 11¢/kw-hour. Most of the Level 3 fast chargers that I've heard about in my city (Sacramento, CA) cost between 35~45¢/kw-hour. People with Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf cars here, report a yearly average of 4.5 miles/kw-hour. The closest Electrify America station to me is at a Wal-Mart, and they charge 43¢/kw-hr for either L2 or L3 charging. So if you can get 4.5 miles for 43¢, that's 9.5¢/mile. On in-town trips at 35mph (lower speeds extend range), the Bolt should be capable of 6 miles/kw-hr if you aren't using the heater or a/c. This is 7.16¢/mile. In my Prius PHEV, in Hybrid mode (burning gasoline on a long road trip), I get 55 miles for $3.50 worth of gasoline - that's 6.36¢/mile. In Minnesota in winter, driving a Hybrid, you would be heating the cabin with waste heat from the gas engine, and not having to burn electricity that you paid 43¢/kw-hour for. So it really comes down to where you live, and where you can charge an EV in your town, as to whether an EV saves money in the long term compared to the most efficient Hybrids and PHEV's. If you live somewhere with winter weather that never gets much below 40°F, and you can charge at home most of the time for 10¢/kw-hr (usually midnight to 06:00am with EV incentive discounts from some power companies), then a small EV (Bolt or Leaf) will be cheaper to run than most gasoline vehicles, and if gas rises back to $5.00/gallon, as it was for several months earlier this year, then an EV is definitely cheaper to run than a gas car, even a Hybrid like the Prius is going to cost more to run. But if you mostly have to charge at places like Electrify America, that are charging 4 to 5 times more than what residential electricity costs to charge an EV at home, and you live somewhere with extremely cold winters or extremely hot summers (forcing you to run the a/c several months of the year), then I don't see that a Bolt or a Leaf is clearly less expensive to operate than a Prius. As long as gasoline stays below $3.50/gallon anyway. This was a great Real-World performance evaluation, thanks!

Such a bummer these cars were limited to 55kW at best. Glad they're "fixing" it with the next generation. These are still great cars; I went with the Volt in the end.

In the future I do think there will be indoor chargers in these northern areas (I’m in Michigan.) There’s no reason you can’t pull in and charge indoors (no exhaust problems) and I do think people would pay a premium for the convenience. They could install a lounge with vending machines (even selling things like AirPods, I’ve seen videos of that very thing in Europe at charging locations.) The charging area wouldn’t even have to be warm, just not freezing. It’s all going to be very different, but better IMHO. My Bolt is on order, put the deposit down in October so I’m hoping I’ll have it by March.

Great video.. documenting your experience.. If they manufactures would just add a button to allow you to select battery preconditioning.. the charging rate would be much better.. even some of the new cars don't' offer this. Tesla does it automatically when navigating to the superchargers. And they scavenge heat from motors and cabin to condition the battery. I could probably make this entire trip on one tank of gas in my Prius.. and it would cost me $40 in gas. And I would not worry about being cold, or running the heat. I absolutely LOVE the Chevy Bolt.. its a fantastic car for local driving.. Rideshare...etc. But If I got one, I would keep my older gas car for road trips I think.. Or get a Tesla that can do both.. But lots more money for the car. Just depends on how your going to use the car... and your time restrictions during road trips.

Hi, I do have a question. I've never driven EV during the winter. In 2:16 it is showing that max 138 miles. As far as I know chevy should ve 200 miles in 80%. Is ıt showing because fo the weather or year by year the capacity went down?

The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. ... It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed with wet batteries it was great for warm climate and the city , GM had a electric car in 1912 as well then

What kind of tires are you using for winter driving? Nice video thanks for posting.

How much range do you get if you use the cabin heat - like at 75 degrees? I read an article yesterday saying the Bolt EV looses up to 40% range if the heat is on. Said this is true for all EVs that don’t use a heat pump system to heat the cabin.

Awesome video. I just put a deposit on a 2023 Bolt on Monday. I'm really excited about it. I'm not much of a road tripper so charging speeds isn't a big deal for me. Almost a hundred percent of the time I'll be charging from home. Because the Bolt does have slower charging speeds I assume the battery degradation will be a lot less than on cars with much faster charging speeds. So I guess the car will last much longer. Does that make sense? 🚙 🇺🇸

I just bought a used Tesla Model S (traded in my Volt) and it preheats the battery before you supercharge. So does the Bolt not precondition the battery? I know its got battery thermal management like the Tesla why doesn't it keep the battery warmer for charging. I knew it only charged max 50 but I thought it managed the battery temp better than that.

I am thinking about buying a Bolt. At 20 degrees does the heat work as well as an ICE CAR? I will never drive it more than 100 miles. Looking at a 2020 used with 35K on it.

crazy your car isn't turning on the battery heater. my 23 bolt euv turns it on everytime i highway drive and the battery is cold. even after it being plugged in and prewarmed for 20 minutes even. i wish i could control when it cycled, since it doesn't need to come on when highway driving. the draw itself should warm it. and the battery heater is a separate circuit from the cabin heater. they use the same a/c system though. i'm not sure what temp low is, but the setting above is the lowest i'd go in winter. mine says 17c. i drive with winter tires which i keep at 40 to minimize range drop from them. but i got the size for 16" rims for winter, to minimize loss again. think they are 1 size skinnier, but 2 aspect ratio sizes taller. or 205/60/16 i think to match the 215/50/17 height.

When you can make it from Anchorage to Fairbanks in January I'll be impressed.

Were you being stingy on the cabin heat to save time on your trip or to extend the range to reach a charging station?

Kinda surprised that you had to charge on the way. I tought it would get to minneapolis and you could just charge there. Even my 3 years old Kona would do that in -4.

Thanks for this video. These cars are super cool for around town but this driving more than 100 miles is too much of a pain in the assets for what it is.

I’m surprised how little battery conditioning the Bolt does in cold weather. It doesn’t even seem to do very much, if any, heating while actively charging. Adding some more aggressive battery heating could improve charge times significantly. 20 kW is just painful.

Might have missed this but what kind of tires were on the Bolt?

I was charging at that same EA charger at Worthington 2 weeks ago. With my Bolt 2022 and the temperature around 14⁰F I was charging at 44 kwh. To put some real world numbers to EV driving in winter vs non-winter. We have a 2022 Chevy Bolt. In the non-winter months I am getting: With 85% city and 15% highway 4.3-4.7 miles / kwh (6.9 - 7.6 km/kwh) and range ~300 miles (480 km) Highway at 60 mph (97 kph) 3.9 miles / kwh and range ~250 miles (400 km) Highway at 75 mph (120 kph) 3.1 miles / kwh and range ~200 miles (320 km) In December I am getting: With 85% city 15% highway 2.7 miles / kwh and range ~175 miles (281km) The Bolt reports ~ 35% of the energy used is for the climate control. The Bolt does not have a heat pump and uses resistant heating. Most of these are short trips 1 to 15 miles. On the 256 mile trip from Minneapolis to Sioux Falls averaging ~55 mph (88 kph) with a 15 to 20 mph (24 to 32 kph) headwind and temperatures starting at 15F (-9C) and ending at 5F (-15C) I averaged 2.7 m/kw with a range of 175 miles. We were driving in snow and the roads were not great which explains my slower speeds. Interestingly only 12% of the energy used was for the climate control. Much less than our daily driving. Which shows the initial heating of the cabin takes more energy than keeping it warm. Time I spent charging 55 minutes in Mankato (while eating a nice dinner at the restaurant across the street) and 44 minutes at Worthington, we would have only needed to charge for 30 minutes but as I was about ready to head back to the car I got into a 15 minute discussion about EV with the employees of Casey's. Keep in mind the Bolt is about the slowest charging EV you can buy. But it is also the cheapest. Most EV have 150 to 350 kw chargers, the Bolt only had a 55 kwh charger. But for the couple times a year I go on longer trips I can wait. My daily driving it chargers in my garage and I spend far less time charging it that it takes to fill up my ICE car with gas. Because you plug it in and let it charge overnight as you sleep.

This video should be titled, "Yes, that was another setback from a time perspective..."

Very interesting and informative video. Short and succinct. I don’t understand why one would want to drive and EV and have to worry about getting to their destination in such cold weather?? Of course, I’m retired and set in my ways. I really don’t care to sit at a charging station for such long periods, especially in such cold weather. I live just north of Minneapolis so I know the conditions you are talking about. I’ve seen much worst temperature conditions in my life. The 1970’s had several extremely cold winters (temperature below zero for around 2 weeks). There are vehicles with better charging characteristics, but they cost much more than your Bolt, but perhaps worth it for these cold winters. The biggest issues that I see beyond the range capability are “price of an EV compared to ICE”, “length of time to charge (even up to 80%), and “lack of charging infrastructure at present”. Hopefully, battery technology will improve allowing faster charging times and longer ranges. Infrastructure growth will take time. Thanks again.

there must be some sort of battery temp hack. i watched a guy in Florida charge for 320 mi range. the temperature thing seems like a real downer for winter use

If you aren't maxing out amps there's no reason to not max out heat while waiting to charge in the cold. And ya, if that coolant heats the battery all the better.

I’ve enjoyed your video. I own two Volts here in California. One for almost 7 years and they have served me well. I noticed you had one in your garage. That said, with this kind of business travel your doing I’m curious why you didn’t opt to buy a Tesla? Seems it would have served you much better. I assume it was the purchase price that swayed you to buy the Volt?

Its crazy pay money for this experience

This is why I own a PHEV. My daily commute is all electric and around town. Long trips I can go 500 miles. I never gave to sacrifice heat, adjust my driving style.

I don't see myself road tripping any time soon

Was the charging free at hotel? I haven't seen that style of charger before?

Do you not have heated seats and steering wheel?

So if you forget your phone, you can't charge your car?

This xar is very power hungry in the cold.. I have a model 3 with a heatpump and the range change is no more than 20 % in these Temps

What kind of tires do you use in this condition? 🤔

This is one of the big weak points of the Bolt's fast charging performance. To begin with it's pretty slow, but the fact it doesn't have battery pre-conditioning hurts it even more. Some people will thrash the battery before charging during cold weather (Heavy accel and regen) to warm it up. I'm not sure how much that helps since I haven't tested it myself.

Can you watch a movie or play games while you wait on your volt to charge?

I think the model 3 is the best small EV on the market bought mine 2 years ago and whole heartedly recommend it over a bolt EV or any other

Do you have Precondition?

Does the Bolt have a heat pump?

Why don’t they put a protective canopy over the charging station like at the gas stations. They look so ratchet with out it.

Every video I see of road trips convinces me that EVs aren't ready to be an only car. That being said, will still be buying a Bolt in March but still keeping my truck for road trips, cold/bad weather, hauling, camping, off-roading, etc.

You are a patient guy! Was that a Volt in the garage? (opening shot)

You gotta get a Tesla to J1772 charging adapter so you can charge at the Tesla destination chargers.

WoW. may cause a fight plugging that bolt into a 350kw charger ..... that makes people freak out !!!

Alex! Fascinating! Do you think that 2022 E vehicles would be any better in the cold? These extreme conditions make electric cars chancey.and I 90 is a nightmare! Say hi to your parents and Merry Christmas.

You would think they have a level 2 charger at a windfarm.

Im not against EVs but 45 minutes out of my day is a long time ! I work 12 to 14 hours a day can fuel once a week and it only takes 10 minutes with pay at the pump and im back on the road.

Great video, but I have to admit, I just cannot see why anyone would want an EV with all of the inconveniences - sitting for hours to recharge, driving without heat so you can make it to your destination, more frequent stops than you’d have with a fuel vehicle, etc. Maybe it’s just me, but I never have an extra 3-4 hours in a day to sit around and wait on charging. I do think it is a great technology, very cool, but if you have to regularly make long trips, or live in cold climates like you do, it just doesn’t seem to make practical sense.