The car is a 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV, purchased used in late December 2024 from Grants Pass Toyota in Grants Pass, Oregon, to replace our previous Bolt EV. This one is a so-called “Launch Edition, which means it includes just about every automotive bell and whistle known to human kind – including some limited self-driving ability, which was the impetus for the purchase (advancing arthritis has made long-distance freeway driving painful, exactly the place where General Motors’ so-called “Super Cruise” shines). Like the previous Bolt, it boasts 200 electric horses and enough torque to spin the Empire State Building. This is a bigger vehicle, so the same 65 kwh battery pack gives the car slightly less range: 250 miles, give or take a couple of dozen miles depending on conditions, compared to the previous car’s 260. In exchange, we get more interior space (mostly in the back seat) and about an inch more ground clearance (nice to have when approaching remote trailheads). The best word to describe the driving experience is “competent.” It does everything I ask it to – never flashily, but always dependably and always well. Technically speaking, it’s probably the best car I’ve ever owned (see the button below marked “cars I have loved for a page devoted to the rest of them).

Luck of the draw gave our previous Bolt Oregon license plate 019 LEV – which was close enough to a vanity plate that we had it transferred to this one. The Juicebox EVSE that we used to charge both our Volt and our previous Bolt at home gave up the ghost shortly after we got the EUV; fortunately, the car came with its own factory-issued level 2 (220-volt) charger, which plugs into the same NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage that we used for the Juicebox. We’re using that one for now, while we look for a permanent alternative. The charger draws its power partly from the grid and partly from the 16-panel, 3200-watt solar array on our roof that is the source of 35%-50% of our total electrical use; our fuel costs run roughly two cents per mile.