Chevy Bolt Efficiency Compared to Lucid

[DJL]

A little more fuel for the fire...Bolt just got Electrek's Car of the Year. Read about it HERE

 

[stevelitchfieldpark]

Bobby,
I believe you missed the whole point I was trying to make. I respectfully suggest you go back and carefully reread it. However, in an attempt to be even more clear, let me try it again. 1) I love my Lucid. 2) The Chevy Bolt EUV is cheap but is appears to be a very good entry EV. 3) It gets very good mi/kWh and it appears it maintained closed to that efficiency over a fairly wide set of driving conditions since it average 4.0 mi/kWh from Ohio to Las Vegas. 4) I have only achieve 4.1 mi/kWh once and am lucky to get in the mid 3s under normal driving conditions. 5) My guess is that the car gets such good mileage efficiency because it is less than half the weight of the car.
Since I have my Lucid, and just love it, I know there is a big difference between the two cars on so many factors. To quote someone famous: "Duh!". I am just surprised the very cheap Chevy gets and then maintains, a better mileage efficiency than the Lucid and I can not get to the high mileage efficiency that Lucid is rated at. In fact, after being in this forum for most of this year, I believe that very few Lucid owners have achieved and maintain it often. Some do achieve it but that looks to be the exception, not the rule. Sheesh!

I don't know about you but I definitely won't go on a road trip driving 65mph or less; more like 75-85 so I don't expect to ever achieve 4 mi/kwh

 

[digiboxer]

Exactly. While I have never attained the EPA 3.9 m/Kwh efficiency rating in our Air Dream Performance, we are still able to drive 4 hours nonstop at 80mph on interstate trips in a car that will blow away almost everything else we see on the road with a mere tap of the throttle, all in roomy, quiet comfort. There really is nothing else like it on the road today.

Yup....

 

[Steveinarizona]

These _____ of the year tests are ridiculous. They regularly compare apples and oranges and treat them as if they are the same.

The Bolt is a great little economy BEV. The Lucid Air is a luxury performance vehicle. You can't compare them and someone who will be buying the Bolt won't be looking at the Lucid and the reverse.

My goal was to get a luxury, performance vehicle with some real buttons and switches. I was on the waiting list for a Lucid Air Pure but when the GV60 Performance popped up at my local Genesis dealer (only 3.8 miles away) and I still couldn't even see specifications on the Pure I gave up and got the Genesis (which I love).

There are very few performance BEVs. The Taycan and its family and the associated Audis. The BMW I4 and IX. The Mercedes EQS and EQE. And, of course, the Lucid Air.

My Genesis falls into a subcategory: a small "SUV" that is a luxury and performance vehicle. Only 177.4 inches long but with 429 HP (483 with boost), Electronic LSD, nappa leather, Ultrasuede headliner, easy entry/exit, etc. The only current competitor is the Volvo C40 and that doesn't really compare. The forthcoming Porsche Macan Electric will likely be a competitor. But, as in the case of the Lucid Air, the Bolt is not a competitor.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I don't know about you but I definitely won't go on a road trip driving 65mph or less; more like 75-85 so I don't expect to ever achieve 4 mi/kwh

Do 65 on the I-10 and you are a traffic hazard.

 

[DJL]

I don't know about you but I definitely won't go on a road trip driving 65mph or less; more like 75-85 so I don't expect to ever achieve 4 mi/kwh

I am the same way. It is very difficult, almost impossible to drive the speed limit with my Lucid. It just wants to go. And it is such a quite and solid car that driving at 70 seems to be 55.

 

[MoniputerLM]

I have achieved 4.1 but more like 2.7-2.8 lately. I would be happy if Lucid changed the estimated miles left to match recent driving history.

 

[Volund]

Lucid plays in a very limited space: a luxury performance electric vehicle. There are not many in that space. If it limited its power draw, it would just be another BEV.

As someone else mentioned above, there's many factors, and you have to choose what you want.
Lucid is a car that can do it all.

So limiting power draw should just be another button called 'power saver' and those who want to maximize efficiency can click that button.

 

[chipcaldwell]

Bobby,
I believe you missed the whole point I was trying to make. I respectfully suggest you go back and carefully reread it. However, in an attempt to be even more clear, let me try it again. 1) I love my Lucid. 2) The Chevy Bolt EUV is cheap but is appears to be a very good entry EV. 3) It gets very good mi/kWh and it appears it maintained closed to that efficiency over a fairly wide set of driving conditions since it average 4.0 mi/kWh from Ohio to Las Vegas. 4) I have only achieve 4.1 mi/kWh once and am lucky to get in the mid 3s under normal driving conditions. 5) My guess is that the car gets such good mileage efficiency because it is less than half the weight of the car.
Since I have my Lucid, and just love it, I know there is a big difference between the two cars on so many factors. To quote someone famous: "Duh!". I am just surprised the very cheap Chevy gets and then maintains, a better mileage efficiency than the Lucid and I can not get to the high mileage efficiency that Lucid is rated at. In fact, after being in this forum for most of this year, I believe that very few Lucid owners have achieved and maintain it often. Some do achieve it but that looks to be the exception, not the rule. Sheesh!

After 5062 miles, I'm averaging 3.1 and live in Florida and drive "old man mode". But then again, mine has been on the West Palm shop for a month with battery and failure to hold a charge.

 

[LowOnCash]

After getting my Lucid, which I simply love, I am now helping my eldest daughter in selecting the EV which best fits her needs. The Chevy Bolt EUV has caught her eye and it is something that she can afford. She is a single mom with two adopted little ones. I must say, the more I research this car, the more impressed I am. Chevy has created an entry level car that is very remarkable for those who wish to get in the EV side of cars and needs a car for local driving. At under $30,000 for the base EUV model, Chevy should capture this side of the market. What really impresses me is the mi/kWh effeciency it actually gets. While my Lucid is rated at 4.6 mi/kWh, I have never achieved anything close to that. After 6000 miles, the best I have been able to get in a measured 90 mile drive is 4.1. My typical mileage efficiency before the cold weather has set in was between 3.3 to 3.7. I tend to drive about 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit.
However, I just watched a YouTube video ( to see it, just click HERE) of a older fellow who drove his Bolt over 2000 miles from Ohio to Las Vegas getting 4.6 mi/kWh on a number of his legs. He achieved an average of 4.0 over the complete trip. He did keep his speed to just 65 mph. He noted that headwinds were a killer on his mileage efficiency, which I what I also have noted...along with low temperatues, driving fast and going up elevations. I guess he can get his efficiency because the Bolt is less than half the weight of my Lucid and he kept his speed down.
Besides just being a basic, entry car, its main shortcoming is that it fast charges at only 55 kW so it takes a long time to charge, making it not an ideal vehicle for long trips. Nevertheles, this fellow did in!

Almost impossible to compare the two cars - it would be like comparing a BMW I-3 which is carbon fiber to a full size BMW I-4. While you might occasion see high 3's or 4, the car is going to deliver around 3.5 on an average if you baby it. There's no magic in the Lucid it's just like a Benz or BMW only heavier. There is just too much mass and weight to compare the Lucid to a small EV. Regards - Mike

 

[Steveinarizona]

How is that a smaller area compared to the Lucid? If anything it's much higher and probably has much higher drag coefficient due to the nature of the car shape.
Also what's Cd?


Very impressive from Chevy, I do agree on the weight though, it's probably weight and honestly if a manufacturer wanted to really improve efficiency, they could limit the power draw (maybe lucid should implement a power saving mode) where they control the torque and max speed on highways for full efficiency and make you understand the risks or responsibilities (slower pickup, etc..)
and I bet we would get a lot more than we do now.

Being in a luxury car, that's also 2nd as a super car when it comes to performance, a lot of us are anxious to get off the line and just get moving, and that's where most of our efficiency goes out the window I think.
I hit 4.3 on my way to SLC Utah from Denver Colorado over like 150 miles

I think that is called "Eco mode".

 

[DJL]

Almost impossible to compare the two cars - it would be like comparing a BMW I-3 which is carbon fiber to a full size BMW I-4. While you might occasion see high 3's or 4, the car is going to deliver around 3.5 on an average if you baby it. There's no magic in the Lucid it's just like a Benz or BMW only heavier. There is just too much mass and weight to compare the Lucid to a small EV. Regards - Mike


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From a driving and comfort experience, I would agree. From software experience, sorry, the cheap, little Chevy Bolt is much, much better and more reliable.

 

[Lucken]

Almost impossible to compare the two cars - it would be like comparing a BMW I-3 which is carbon fiber to a full size BMW I-4. While you might occasion see high 3's or 4, the car is going to deliver around 3.5 on an average if you baby it. There's no magic in the Lucid it's just like a Benz or BMW only heavier. There is just too much mass and weight to compare the Lucid to a small EV. Regards - Mike


View attachment 9643

My lifetime average on my BMW i4 RWD on 19” wheels is 3.9. It had been 4.0 prior to the winter. I don’t baby it, I just drive normally.

 

[hmp10]

From software experience, sorry, the cheap, little Chevy Bolt is much, much better and more reliable.

A friend took delivery of a Bolt EUV two weeks ago. It really is a very nice car, especially for the price, in terms of performance, comfort, utility, and even range. (And he had trouble getting his hands on one. They're selling like hotcakes, with most sold before they arrive at the dealer.)

While it's true that he hasn't encountered any software problems, you have to recognize that the Bolt attempts to deliver far fewer software features than a Lucid.

Lucid is trying to play in the Tesla arena in terms of software features, and one has to maintain perspective on what that game is like. We've owned Teslas since 2015, and our 2021 Model Plaid is still not free of software malfunctions, especially recurring problems with unlocking and starting the car. Also, Tesla offers fewer parking assist features than our Lucid Air, including front camera displays, distance displays, and a birds-eye view.

There are days I want to tear my hair out with Lucid's software, especially with the new bugs that have accompanied recent updates. But then I get into the Tesla and am reminded just how complicated and potholed the landscape of controlling a many-featured car through software can be.

 

[tmilone103]

Lets also not forget the Lucid Air weighs almost 2000lbs more than the Volt.

 

[Bobby]

Just because two cars are powered by electricity does not mean that they are comparable to each other. A Honda Civic is a much more efficient car than a Mercedes S Class. But it would be silly to compare the two. The Bolt is an excellent car, but comparing it to the Lucid is similarly silly.

 

[LowOnCash]

My lifetime average on my BMW i4 RWD on 19” wheels is 3.9. It had been 4.0 prior to the winter. I don’t baby it, I just drive normally.

Thanks for the reply - Curious what your I-4 displays for range for winter and then for summer? Thanks

 

[Lucken]

Thanks for the reply - Curious what your I-4 displays for range for winter and then for summer? Thanks

The GOM is very pessimistic. In the winter, extrapolating from my typical 80% charge, I'd say about 220-230 miles on a full charge. Of course that's based on recent around town driving in clod weather with the heater on, so if I were to take a trip, I'm certain it would be significantly greater than that. On Thanksgiving day, with temps around 50 if I recall, my 102 or so mile drive only took off 25% of the battery! That would have yielded a 400 mile total range. That was actually the longest trip we've taken with the i4, so as I've said before, it greatly exceeds the EPA numbers.

In the summer, my GOM will typically show about 300 miles on a full charge (again extrapolating from my typical 80% charge). Needless to say I've been both very pleased and pleasantly surprised by the excellent range.

 

[LowOnCash]

Thanks so much for the most part BMW shows a conservative range! LOL Of course that 400 miles you calculated is not going to happen with normal driving - I've seem mine do the same exact thing, all of a sudden 40- 50 miles of range instantly disappears then the range reads somewwhat normal again.

Thanks Mike

 

[Steveinarizona]

The GOM is very pessimistic. In the winter, extrapolating from my typical 80% charge, I'd say about 220-230 miles on a full charge. Of course that's based on recent around town driving in clod weather with the heater on, so if I were to take a trip, I'm certain it would be significantly greater than that. On Thanksgiving day, with temps around 50 if I recall, my 102 or so mile drive only took off 25% of the battery! That would have yielded a 400 mile total range. That was actually the longest trip we've taken with the i4, so as I've said before, it greatly exceeds the EPA numbers.

In the summer, my GOM will typically show about 300 miles on a full charge (again extrapolating from my typical 80% charge). Needless to say I've been both very pleased and pleasantly surprised by the excellent range.

As it does with HP, BMW is probably sandbagging the range figures. BMW always want to overproduce.