2020 Chevy Bolt EV: 1% to 100% DC Fast Charging Session - How Long + How Much?

How long to charge to 100%? It's really the wrong question to ask, but we answered it anyway.

In this deliberately elongated DC fast charge session in our 2020 Chevy Bolt EV, we show time and cost to fully charge the car's 66 kWh battery pack on a high-powered Electrify America station. Normally we'd bail around 70% - and most common charging metrics use the time to 80% - but we grabbed lunch and watched this one to the bitter end (so you don't have to).

(Note: the audio levels on this one might be a bit lower than usual, so pop up the volume if it seems off on your device.)

Some interesting takeaways emerge, from the 2020 Bolt EV's improved charge curve still pulling 20kW high up into the pack, to the far cheaper cost of EA in states that assess fees per minute, rather than by energy delivered. Even with a very long charge session on a relatively slow-charging EV, per minute pricing comes out on top in terms of cost.

Beyond that, this session shows what you can expect if you really need the juice and have to hang on to a high state of charge, as well as why you should bounce if you have the miles you need in the upper half of the pack.

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[stevefrank]

We've had our 2017 Premier Bolt for a week and we are loving it. We charge it at level 1, but that works great for us. At 12 amps we reach a full charge overnight, if it's already 1/2 full. I've been driving just because it's so much fun to drive 1 pedal driving. Thanks for all your help. My wife is also loving it. Hugs Steve

[anthonyc]

I would never watch someone fill up their gas tank yet I find these charging videos to be fascinating. Thanks for sitting around so long to make this happen!
Bolt EV drivers are surprisingly intrepid and patient. Despite the slow charging speeds, Bolt EVs get road tripped like crazy.

[TedKidd]

8:30 50%
10:40 per minute vs per kwh
11:10 taper pretty visible at 70%
14:15 paying per minute makes the 2nd 1/2 cost 2x the 1st 1/2
16:10 takeaways

Really good video for ppl learning about fast charging.

KEY FOR LONG TRIPS: have big enough battery that length of each trip leg allows you to stay in bottom 60% of your pack and avoid taper/slow charging.

[j.donaldson]

Appreciate the video! Despite having an ICEV available we seem to always want to take the Bolt on road trips. Something about the more leisurely pace and going point to point makes it feel shorter even if actually takes longer. Sure our next EV will charge 3-4x faster, but I bet one day we look back nostalgically at these early days. Back when we had to plan our stops and wait, before there was 500 kW off every exit and the world went and got in one big hurry.

[Jeff-wbhh]

Thank you very much. That was faster than I thought at 1 hour and 49 minutes, from essentially 0% state of charge to 100%. When I go on long trips, I usually charge my 2017 Bolt (bought new in Sept 2017) from 20% to 100% and it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes at a 150kW station and it is fine with me because I always have a nice relaxing breakfest, lunch or dinner with each full charge, no problem. I hate rushing. Of course I try not to let it go below 15% when road tripping. It's nice to see that going from 0% to 100% does not take much longer.

[seattlevkk]

Thanks for this. We just got a 2021 bolt and are loving it. Its going to be my wife’s daily commuter and used for occasional road trips from Seattle to Portland or Vancouver. I installed a L2 charger for home last year. Hope to keep the car a long time

[voldar]

Thank you for the video, it explains greatly what the Bolt EUV is.
But, it should be noted, a trip of 400 miles in the Bolt EV/EUV is very well doable with about 1 hour of charging session. 200 miles on the first leg @ 70 mph is very doable, then the rest of the 200 miles, split the charging session in two : 35 mins from 10 tp 55% is enough for 120 miles and 25 mins for the last 80 miles. I don't think this would be a problem for the majority of people.
And I hear talking about waiting after a Bolt EV at a DCFC - well, not many are the EV who charge on 150 kW DCFC. Most of them are looking at 350 kW. I doubt a Bolt EV will be the bottle-neck, unless all the 350 kW are not working.

[plugandplayEV]

Disclaimer: This is *not* the way to do it! Charging to 100% is not representative of how long it typically takes an EV to DC fast charge. The Bolt EV is an older design and limited when it comes to DCFC; nonetheless, our charge stops on long trips are usually 40-50 minutes.

The new EVs mentioned in the video are closer to 30-40 minutes, while Tesla, Kia-Hyundai, and Porsche/Audi get things down to 15-20 minutes. Technology is moving fast and we're close to the point where road trip delays will be minimal compared to combustion, while locally most EV owners will actually save time by simply plugging in at home, at work, or while running errands.

[GlockAK]

I just bought a 2020 Bolt today. We use it in Alaska so this should be interesting. We do have a 2017 Yukon for other uses. The Bolt is really cool in a weird way.

[DerekReillyIrl]

Great video. Lots of data, thanks for doing this. The Bolt ramps down HARD. The price per min difference is crazy too.

[desiv]

Great to see. As you mentioned, almost no one would ever do that, but I always wondered how long it would take. :-)
In almost 5 years owning our Bolt, we've fast charged less than 20 times. Usually we are 30%+50% and charge to 85%. Takes 45 minutes to an hour, and usually while we are eating, so it hasn't been an issue for us.

[peterwright]

Thanks for sharing. I usually aim for 60% SOC (55-65) when road tripping my 2020 Bolt. Rarely charge above 70% on DC Fast Chargers unless it will save me an extra stop before reaching my destination for the day. Even then you’re probably better off doing an extra stop in the middle to put in an extra 10-15% rather than waiting to charge to 80+%

[dennislyon]

Hey Steve - thanks for taking one for the Team (Bolt owners)! I know I could never sit and wait for 100% while sitting on a fast charger. That’s just too much lost time. But if you can find a way to space out the charging stops at about 80-120 miles (10-60%) depending on terrain and weather, the Bolt travels ok, and you’re not really held back by charging time, unless you’re trying to cover more than 500 miles in a day, or you frequently take longer trips.

[jaball]

I'm surprised those stations are so expensive! ~20 miles per dollar vs about 8 miles per dollar with gas, but not as cheap as I expected. Makes me glad I can charge my '17 at home!

[verothacamaro]

Dang! 4mi/kWh is pretty efficient - that's mighty impressive.

[Jeff-wbhh]

I just saw a video by "Out of Spec Reviews" and it took the Mustang Mack-E 2 hours and 32 minutes to charge from 1 to 100% with an 99kW battery with a maximum charging speed rating of 150kW! ! ! That makes the 2020 Bolt's 66kW battery and max charging speed of 50kW and a 0% to 100% charging speed of 1 hour and 47 minutes pretty good !

[KJSvitko]

Keeping the charge between 20 and 80% is usually the best for time and charge rate.
The battery charge rate taper is generally not worth the wait.

[jongarside]

Fellow Brit here, road tripping my ID4 from SFO to NYC next week

[Paul-lpzp]

Thanks for posting. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this since you posted about it a while back on Instagram .

[MrMvms]

I’m sorry, and I love all EVs but this made me so thankful for superchargers. It quite litterally takes me like 15 minutes to go from ~10%-70%. No initial ramping.