The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) offers drivers a customizable one-pedal driving experience to help boost the vehicle's maximum total range to an EPA-estimated 238 miles on a full charge.

General Motors (GM) says one-pedal driving—which allows the driver to speed up and slow down by using the accelerator pedal—combines the "highest available level" of regenerative braking, which captures otherwise lost energy from deceleration and sends it back to the Bolt EV's 60 kWh battery pack. Along with additional software controls, regenerative braking allows the driver to stop the vehicle without using the brake pedal in certain driving conditions.

Bolt's 238-mile range means many commuters could go several days between charges. Image credit: General Motors.Bolt customers will be able to tailor their driving experience vehicle to their preferred style and/or to maximize range. Progressively stronger levels of regenerative braking are employed in the Bolt EV through a series of four driver-selectable modes:

1. Operating in drive and easing off the accelerator.

2. Operating in drive and using the regen-on-demand paddle on the back of the steering wheel.

3. Operating in low and easing off the accelerator.

4. Operating in low and using the regen-on-demand paddle in tandem.

Number 1 provides the lowest level of regenerative braking and requires the use of the brake pedal to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. Numbers 2-4 are progressively stronger one-pedal driving modes that, under certain driving situations, allow a driver to stop the vehicle without stepping on the brake. (One-pedal modes do not eliminate the need to use the brake pedal altogether, especially in emergency situations, GM notes.)

Using a vehicle simulation model, GM engineers compared regen performance on a testing cycle that simulated heavy stop-and-go traffic in drive and another using one-pedal driving while in low in tandem with the regen-on-demand paddle (scenarios 1 vs. 4 as described above). They found that the one-pedal driving can add up to 5% to the Bolt's range.

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt is scheduled to go on sale in late 2016.