Chevy Bolt Efficiency Compared to Lucid

[DJL]

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!

 

[DeaneG]

Also, the Bolt's frontal area is much smaller than the Air. This multiplied by Cd is the primary driver of energy consumption at highway speeds.

 

[Volund]

Also, the Bolt's frontal area is much smaller than the Air. This multiplied by Cd is the primary driver of energy consumption at highway speeds.

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

 

[DeaneG]

Cd = Coefficient of Drag.

Bolt Frontal area:
25.8 ft^2
Drag coefficient:
0.308

Air Frontal Area:
Unknown
Drag coefficient:
0.200 Approximately

 

[HariK]

Look at Hyundai Ioniq (Not ioniq 5). Smaller car, smaller battery seems to have better miles per KWh than larger car with a lower Drag coefficient. I think it comes down to 2 factors. 1 power to weight ratio, 2 slower acceleration.

 

[DeaneG]

Look at Hyundai Ioniq (Not ioniq 5). Smaller car, smaller battery seems to have better miles per KWh than larger car with a lower Drag coefficient. I think it comes down to 2 factors. 1 power to weight ratio, 2 slower acceleration.

For highway travel, I'd expect aero drag (Frontal area * Cd * Velocity squared) to dominate, not tire frictional losses from added weight, which are just proportional to velocity.

 

[HariK]

For highway travel, I'd expect aero drag (Frontal area * Cd * Velocity squared) to dominate, not tire frictional losses from added weight, which are just proportional to velocity.

Yes. I think so too at highway speeds but overall efficiency including city driving of ioniq is better perhaps because drag is not a factor in the city driving. Weight is.

 

[hmp10]

There are quite a few EVs that have higher efficiency than the Lucid Air, such as the Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Renault Zoe, VW e-Golf, etc.

However, all of these cars are in a smaller size and weight class. A car's EV efficiency should be compared to other cars in the same size and weight class.

 

[joec]

There are quite a few EVs that have higher efficiency than the Lucid Air, such as the Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Renault Zoe, VW e-Golf, etc.

However, all of these cars are in a smaller size and weight class. A car's EV efficiency should be compared to other cars in the same size and weight class.

Yes. No one compares gas milage between a Honda Civic and a Hummer and expects them to be equal.

 

[DeaneG]

Two extremely powerful spinning PM motors will also generally be less efficient than one small motor.

 

[HariK]

There are quite a few EVs that have higher efficiency than the Lucid Air, such as the Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Renault Zoe, VW e-Golf, etc.

However, all of these cars are in a smaller size and weight class. A car's EV efficiency should be compared to other cars in the same size and weight class.

Agreed. Compare Lucid Air with Tesla Model S and Mercedes EQS.

 

[Bobby]

Agreed. Compare Lucid Air with Tesla Model S and Mercedes EQS.

Yes, I always find it weird when people compare EVs to each other based solely on the fact they are EVs. Of course the lighter and smaller Bolt gets better efficiency than a Lucid! Duh! These two cars couldn’t be more different. That would be like saying my Lamborghini gets worse gas mileage than a Civic, therefore the Civic is the better car! Sheesh!

 

[HariK]

Yes, I always find it weird when people compare EVs to each other based solely on the fact they are EVs. Of course the lighter and smaller Bolt gets better efficiency than a Lucid! Duh! These two cars couldn’t be more different. That would be like saying my Lamborghini gets worse gas mileage than a Civic, therefore the Civic is the better car! Sheesh!

If cost per mile and cost of ownership is the only criteria to compare I guess one could say Honda Civic, Hyundai elantra, Toyota Corolla are the best cars on the word!

 

[DJL]

Yes, I always find it weird when people compare EVs to each other based solely on the fact they are EVs. Of course the lighter and smaller Bolt gets better efficiency than a Lucid! Duh! These two cars couldn’t be more different. That would be like saying my Lamborghini gets worse gas mileage than a Civic, therefore the Civic is the better car! Sheesh!

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!

 

[Lucken]

I’ll add that my lifetime average with my BMW i4 is 4.0mi/kWh on 19” wheels. It had been 4.1 until just recently as the temperatures have dropped with the seasonal change. On Thanksgiving day, with temperatures ranging from the upper 30s in the morning to upper 40s-50 mid-day, our 200 mile round trip clocked in at 4.2ni/kWh.

 

[Bobby]

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!

My comment was addressed to “people” who compare EVs based solely on their efficiency. Apparently, you do not.

 

[Lucken]

Here’s a shot from my i4’s display:

 

[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

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.

 

[Ampere]

Agreed, comparing Bolt to Lucid is apples and oranges. However, the biggest difference between the Bolt and Lucid is not performance. You can walk into a Chevy dealer today and buy a Bolt. You even can choose your color.
On the second topic, including an "extended range" (read: econo) mode on the Lucid Pure would not make it any less attractive to me. Limiting acceleration to 0-60 in 6 seconds rather than 3.5 would not reduce the pleasure of driving a Lucid. I'm not buying a Lucid strictly for performance, I'm buying it for the complete experience of owning this very special car.

 

[hmp10]

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.

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.