First Family Drive in the Chevy Bolt: Danvers to Hampton

Last night I fully charged the Bolt to 100% and woke up ready to take the family on our first real trip in it. We decided on a drive up Route 1 to Hampton, NH so we could hit a few stores. It's about an hour from home. Nothing epic, but a good first test.

When I unplugged in the morning, the display showed three range estimates:

• Max: 300 miles

• Average: 255 miles

• Min: 182 miles

That range spread is GM’s way of showing how far you might go depending on driving style, terrain, and accessory use. It’s actually reassuring because you’re not locked into one number—you get the optimistic, the realistic, and the cautious guess.

The Drive

The ride up Route 1 was quiet and smooth. No air conditioning, no radio, just three passengers and windows down. By the time we got back from Hampton, I had used 14.6 kWh over 71.4 miles, which works out to about 4.9 miles per kWh. For context, the EPA rating for the Bolt is 3.9 mi/kWh, so this was very efficient driving.

When we parked, the range adjusted to show:

• Max: 239 miles

• Average: 203 miles

• Min: 166 miles

Not bad at all considering the car still had plenty of charge left. 

The Food Stop

We went to the Shaw's at Lafayette Crossing to grab some pre-made ham and turkey sandwiches, parked the Bolt in the shade at the Dunkin Donuts across the street, and hung out for a bit. The car had plenty of room and everyone was comfortable. Even opening the giant bag of popcorn we bought was easy and I never felt cramped. I appreciated the cubby under the radio that fit my wife's large bag perfectly, giving her more room than our other cars in the past.

Driving in “L”

The whole trip was done in “L” mode, which is GM’s single-pedal driving setting. Instead of constantly moving between the accelerator and brake, you just use the accelerator to both go and slow down. Lift your foot and the car automatically applies strong regenerative braking, sending energy back into the battery while slowing the car smoothly.

It takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, you hardly ever touch the brake pedal except at the very end of a stop. On this Route 1 drive of mixed speeds and stops, it felt natural and comfortable. I highly recommend this mode. 

First Impressions

• Comfort: For a compact hatchback, the Bolt was comfortable for the whole family during an hour-long drive. The leather seats are perforated, but not actively cooled. The seats were comfortable and didn't make you feel sweaty like most on a hot day...something I was worried about.

• Noise: Almost no road noise or wind buffeting, which made the ride relaxing. 

• Efficiency: 4.9 mi/kWh is better than expected and should make longer trips easier, for people with DC fast charging, with fewer charging stops.

• Simplicity: Plug in overnight, wake up full, drive. Hard to beat that.

What the Numbers Mean

At 4.9 mi/kWh, the Bolt’s 66 kWh battery could theoretically deliver over 320 miles of range. Realistically, you’ll never hit that number because of weather, traffic, and accessory use, but it shows what the car is capable of.

Put another way: from Danvers you could reach New York City on a single charge if you drove carefully, or comfortably make it to Portland, Maine and back with miles to spare.

For a car that many people dismiss as “just a commuter,” this first trip showed me it’s ready for much bigger family adventures.

Picking Up My Chevy Bolt at CarMax Danvers: A Smooth Experience

Today I went to CarMax Danvers to pick up my Chevy Bolt. Before signing everything, I took it out for a test drive to make sure everything was in good shape.

Right away, I noticed that CarMax Danvers had gone above and beyond. The car had originally come from another CarMax location in Maryland, and there were a few cosmetic issues left unaddressed there. The Danvers team fixed them without me even asking. On top of that, they replaced the missing 120v charger and flat tire kit, also without me having to say a word. The car was spotless and waiting for me when I arrived.

The whole process took about two hours. That might not sound like much, but it feels like forever when you’ve got a three-year-old in tow. Even with that, the staff did a good job moving everything along quickly. Out of the four cars I’ve bought from CarMax, this was actually not the smoothest but was the fastest experience I’ve had. The only thing that slowed us down was a stubborn screw that stripped while they were trying to get the old license plate off. The plate got a bit mangled but they got it off. 

I traded in a 2022 Corolla SE, and already the Bolt feels like a better car. Driving it home made me realize how much happier I am with this car compared to the Corolla. 

CarMax has mostly earned my trust over the years. The people working there aren’t perfect, but most of them genuinely try to do the right thing and take care of customers. They’ve always been helpful, and I don’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for a car. The Danvers store may not be representative of the entire chain, but they do a good job there. You will have a much better experience with them than any of the other dealers on 114. 

Tomorrow i'll be taking it up to NH with a full charge. Stay tuned to see how that goes!

Picking and Installing A Home Charger on 100-Amp Service

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When I bought my Bolt I knew I wanted the convenience of charging at home. The twist: my house has 100-amp service, and there’s a persistent internet myth that you must upgrade to 200-amp service to add a Level-2 charger. That isn’t true for the Bolt — with the right approach, 100-amp service is more than enough.

Disclaimer: I’m not an electrician — just an EV owner sharing my personal experience. Electrical work can be dangerous if done incorrectly. Always consult a qualified, licensed electrician before starting any electrical project. You are responsible for ensuring your work meets local building codes and safety requirements. I am not liable for any damages, injuries, or issues that may arise from attempting to replicate anything described here. 

After reading reviews and comparing features I went with the Emporia Classic. It hit the balance I wanted: not the cheapest, not the fanciest, but solid. The biggest benefit is that it's compatible with National Grid's off-peak program and can automatically schedule charging based on off peak hours. It charges reliably, has Wi-Fi and an app for scheduling and monitoring, and it offers both a plug (NEMA 14-50) option and a hardwire whip. Since my install was outdoors and I wanted a clean look, I chose the hardwire route.

Installation was straightforward because I had a lucky break: an abandoned hose spigot right above my electrical panel. I removed the spigot, mounted a single-gang outdoor electrical box, ran flexible conduit through the old hole, and pulled the properly sized wire to the panel. The Emporia hardware uses a ¾" threaded PVC conduit fitting which made connecting to the outdoor box easy and neat.

Why you don’t need 200A just to run a Bolt

A lot of people assume you need a 200-amp service for Level-2 charging — but the Chevy Bolt’s onboard AC charger limits it to roughly 32 amps (about 7.2–7.7 kW) on Level-2, so you don’t need a huge circuit to get useful charge overnight.

That was handy for me: I installed a 40-amp breaker for the charger circuit (a common choice), but I configured the Emporia to behave as if it were on a 30-amp circuit. In practice that gives me a safe buffer so the EV and the charger never try to pull the full 40A, while still topping the car overnight easily.

National Grid off-peak (what I enrolled in)

If you’re in Massachusetts and served by National Grid, they run an off-peak EV program that pays rebates for charging during designated off-peak hours. The program currently offers $0.05/kWh for off-peak charging in summer months (June 1–Sept 30) and $0.03/kWh in non-summer months (Oct 1–May 31). There’s also a one-time enrollment incentive in some rollouts. Charging must occur within Massachusetts and you generally enroll through the program portal or partner app. (Check National Grid for eligibility and the exact program window/dates — they publish full details).

A couple practical notes: confirm the exact off-peak hours for your account (they’re published by National Grid and can vary by program/version), enroll so your off-peak charging shows up in the program’s tracking tools, and set your charger schedule to charge during those windows for the rebate.

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Charging math (so you can see the real overnight numbers)

Assumptions I used (conservative & realistic):

• 2020-era Bolt usable battery capacity: ~60 kWh is a common conservative usable figure for many 2020 Bolts (some later replacements/upgrades push to ~66 kWh).

• Starting state of charge (SoC) for this example: 50%, so you need to add ~30 kWh to get to 100%.

• Charger/vehicle losses: account for ~10% charging overhead (heat/inefficiencies). I show results both without and with that 10% loss so you can see both ideal and realistic cases.

Power from a 240V circuit = 240 V × amps ÷ 1000 = kW.
So:

• 20 A → 240 × 20 / 1000 = 4.8 kW

• 30 A → 240 × 30 / 1000 = 7.2 kW

• 32 A → 240 × 32 / 1000 = 7.68 kW (Bolt is limited to ~7.2–7.7 kW by its onboard charger). 

HOURS to add 30 kWh (ideal, no losses)

• 20 A (4.8 kW): 30 ÷ 4.8 = 6.25 hours

• 30 A (7.2 kW): 30 ÷ 7.2 = 4.17 hours

• 32 A (7.68 kW): 30 ÷ 7.68 = 3.91 hours

HOURS to add 30 kWh with ~10% charging losses (realistic)

If we assume ~10% loss, you actually need about 33.3 kWh input (30 ÷ 0.9):

• 20 A (4.8 kW): 33.33 ÷ 4.8 ≈ 6.94 hours

• 30 A (7.2 kW): 33.33 ÷ 7.2 ≈ 4.63 hours

• 32 A (7.68 kW): 33.33 ÷ 7.68 ≈ 4.34 hours

Bottom line: even at the conservative 20-amp rate you’ll get a full 50%->100% overnight in under 7 hours (with losses). At 30A and 32A you’re easily done in a single overnight window (4–5 hours). That’s why the Bolt on a properly configured 30–32A L2 circuit is more than enough for daily commuting.

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Practical tips from my install

• If your charger supports setting a max breaker/amps (like the Emporia), set the charger lower than the breaker to keep a safety buffer. I used a 40A breaker and set the charger to run as if it were on 30A.

• Schedule charging during off-peak hours (National Grid) to capture rebates and lower per-kWh cost — the program’s tracking and rebate make this worthwhile.

• If you’re unsure about fitting conduit/wiring or local code, hire a licensed electrician. That money is well spent for a clean, safe install.

• Double-check connector and box sizes (Emporia uses a ¾" threaded PVC conduit fitting for the outdoor box on the unit I used) so your outdoor run is watertight and neat.

Finding the Bolt : CarMax

By the time I’d decided on getting a Bolt, I knew exactly where I’d start my search: CarMax.

This isn’t my first rodeo with them — in fact, this would be my fourth CarMax car.

Why CarMax? A few big reasons:

• I can search inventory across the country and have anything shipped to me (for a fee).

• The selection is solid, and the buying process can be done entirely online until it’s time to pick up the car.

• Listings have plenty of detailed photos.

• Every car comes with an AutoCheck report.

• They have real people you can call with questions.

Now, I’ll be honest — CarMax is usually a little more expensive than other options. But for me, the time it saves (and the headaches it avoids) is worth every penny. I’d rather pay a bit more and skip the drama than spend days arguing in a showroom.

Are they perfect? No. Things can go wrong. But every time I’ve had a problem, they’ve fixed it quickly and fairly — which is more than I can say for most local dealerships.

That’s actually how my CarMax habit began. Years ago, I tried to buy a Chrysler 200 from two different local dealers. It was everything you’d expect from a dealership stuck in 1970: high-pressure sales, endless back-and-forth, little “surprise” add-ons. The same tired games.

Frustrated, I gave CarMax a shot. I was on vacation, sitting in an Airbnb with my Chromebook. Over morning coffee, I searched for the car I wanted, found it, bought it, and had it shipped — all before anyone else in the house even woke up. When I got home a week later, I just finalized the paperwork. No drama, no wasted weekends, no “let me talk to my manager.”

The Bolt search has been just as smooth. In fact, CarMax delayed the sale for a bit when they noticed it didn’t come with a charger. I didn’t have to argue or point it out — they just fixed the issue before handing me the keys.

So while the sale isn’t completely wrapped up yet, so far it’s been the exact kind of car-buying experience I like: no games, no headaches, and everything done at my own pace.

From EV1 to Bolt: A 25-Year Detour

I’ve been chasing an electric dream since the late ’90s — and it’s taken me 25 years, three missed chances, and a lot of “what ifs” to finally get here.

Back in the late ’90s, I had my eyes on the EV1. It was sleek, futuristic, and unlike anything else on the road. The problem? I was too young to afford one, and it wasn’t even sold in Massachusetts. My electric dream was parked before it even left the driveway.

Years later, GM announced the Spark EV. It was no EV1, but it had that same spark of possibility (pun intended). The problem this time? Still not sold here. We ended up buying the gas version instead — fun little car, but not what I really wanted.

When the Spark EV started showing up used, I was tempted. I even looked at having one shipped from CarMax. But the Spark EV was a “compliance car” — built mainly to satisfy California’s emissions requirements. That meant I wasn’t convinced GM would stick around to support the batteries long-term. Turns out, I was right.

Somewhere in there, I briefly flirted with the idea of a Tesla. It had the range, the performance, and the tech — but I wasn’t sold. The build quality left me cold, the vibe felt like the kind of car a BMW 3 Series driver would “graduate” to, and I didn’t love how much control the company kept over the car after you bought it. And then, of course, the price tag landed — which made the decision easy.

Fast forward to recently, and the itch came back. I found myself looking at Spark EVs again… but with the battery degradation they suffer over time, there was no way it could reliably make my daily commute.

Then I spotted it: used Chevy Bolts, priced low enough that I could trade in my ICE car and still have money left over. Longer range, still all electric, and — unlike the Spark EV — built to be sold nationwide.

So, after years of “almost” moments, I finally made the leap. I might not be pulling off the lot in a brand-new EV1 from Saturn of Danvers, but in a way, this Bolt feels like I’m finally driving the future I dreamed of back then.