Chevy Bolt EV electric range: can 238 miles stretch to 300 miles?Chevy Bolt EV electric range: can 238 miles stretch to 300 miles?

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has an official EPA-rated range of 238 miles per charge on the combined test cycle.
That gives it the longest range of any electric car currently on sale in the U.S. that isn’t a Tesla, at a base price around half that of the least-expensive model from the Silicon Valley automaker.
It’s enough for the Bolt EV to be considered a groundbreaking electric-car game changer—but could the Chevy do even better than that?
DON’T MISS: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV first drive: 240 miles in an electric car (Sep 2016)
Yes: in the hands of one owner, a Bolt EV did much better than its rated 238 miles of range.
Bolt EV driver Glenn Williams says he covered 300 miles on a single charge, something he documented in three videos posted to YouTube.
Proof of the achievement was displayed in the form of a dashboard readout showing 300 miles covered, and 58.6 kilowatt-hours of energy used from the Bolt EV’s 60-kwh battery pack.
Chevrolet Bolt EV drives 300 miles [Screenshot from video by owner Glenn Williams]
Having completed the drive and parked at an EVgo DC fast-charging station, Williams noted that the Bolt EV had just switched to a lower-power operating mode as its battery drained.
The instrument cluster no longer displayed a range estimate, instead just flashing to indicate how little charge was left in the battery pack. (We had the same experience during our Bolt EV test drive in September.)
Williams said he covered about 100 miles of highway driving, and 200 miles of stop-and-go city driving, all in the Los Angeles area.
ALSO SEE: 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV: video review of 238-mile electric car (Oct 2016)
The average temperature was around 60 degrees, and no special settings were used for the climate control, Williams noted.
Given that range anxiety remains a significant issue for consumers, it’s important to see that an electric car has the capacity to exceed its EPA-rated range so dramatically.
Granted, getting the maximum out of an electric car—or indeed any car—requires an efficiency-focused driving style.
2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV
If you drive a Bolt EV and rely on the range estimates generated by the car’s software, it may also require a sense of humor.
After recharging, the display in Williams’ Bolt EV showed a predicted range of 318 miles, with a maximum possible range of 375 miles.
MORE: 2017 Chevy Bolt EV electric car: new owner’s first impressions
That’s because the car bases range estimates on the results from recent trips, Williams explained.
A new goal to aim for, perhaps?
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