NYT: L.A. to Vegas and Back by Electric Car: 8 Hours Driving; 5 More Plugged In - I smell BS

[TheLight75]

This article in the New York Times says it took 13 hours to get from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in a Bolt.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/22/business/energy-environment/electric-cars-charging.html

This smells really fishy to me... ABRP says the journey should take 4 hours of driving + 1 hour of total charging @ 2 stops in a Bolt. My own experiences with ABRP have shown if anything, it is more conservative than real-world times (I own a Kona).

Has anyone made this journey in a Bolt that can share real-world times for it?

 

[rgmichel]

While the article is unduly pessimistic, for a 540 mile journey the charging time and driving times are about right. I have done journeys including 450 miles in one day in my Chevy Bolt EV, and it really is a long day because of the time to charge. However, I see the glass as half full, while the author sees it as half empty. I actually like stopping in unusual places, and enjoying nice restaurants, bookshops, and shopping on the way. Now, if you do such long journeys routinely, rather than just on summer vacation or the odd visit to relatives and friends, then right now the technology is not for you. Its going to take time for batteries to be quicker to charge, and the infrastructure to be in all the right places, meanwhile the fully electric car is eminently feasible for a good number of people, and certainly more people than own one of the presently available vehicles.