EV Ramblings - Revisiting the Chevrolet Bolt
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- Опубликовано: 21 ноя 2019
- In this video I go back and drive the Chevrolet Bolt after a few years of driving it. Big thanks to Jenner Chevrolet for letting me borrow one. Check them out:
www.jennerchev.com/en
Also check out my blog:
drwattsonev.blogspot.com/ 
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Dustin i agree. The bolt is a great car.
Couldn’t agree more with your detailed review. We bought a 2019 Bolt Premier in Shock yellow and couldn’t be happier!
Performance is amazing. Friends who have driven it are amazed and a few are performance and luxury car and owners.
Yeah, I jammed it once in eco to make a quick lane change, and it literally scared me how quick it was. Sure the standard model 3 might be a bit quicker, but the Bolt is quick enough (if the acceleration frightens the average person it is fast enough for any legitimate driving maneuver).
Good video. I currently drive a 2017 Volt that I bought in February of 2019. After watching your review I think that I will test drive a Bolt for comparison.
Thanks for the comments! Let me know what you think of it
@@DustinBatchelor I will. Stopped by the local dealer, but they don't have any Bolts in stock. Will have to wait until I visit the city.
Great take, I agree, esp for the price. There are videos on how to stuff more padding in the seats, for doers.
Vry nice testing,if its65dbls4both bolt offers alot of headroom which can prove more quiter,regenerative braking makes it hasslefree driving gentleman uhav nailed it,its d most Environmental car out but just4 Aesthetic ppls seek oder,but bolt hav vry unique Ergonomically well designed Aesthetic too
I'm a first gen Volt (fully loaded with leather seats) owner who traded in for a Bolt LT and I find the Bolt seats more comfortable (I am skinny) but if you want comfortable seats nothing beats Ford/Lincoln. For some reason they make the best auto seats on the planet.
Great video and on point. I bought my 2019 Bolt LT at the end of August 2019 and so far (with some cold weather) I am really happy with the Bolt. After all the manufacture, state and federal incentives it was just under $25,000 USD.
One pedal driving is very natural, it doesn't take long to get used to it. Just need to keep in mind that the brake lights do not stay on after the car has stopped. If a car is behind me or approaching while stopped I try to remember to cover the brake to at least turn on the brake lights. I drive mainly city streets and the car is very good at city driving and parking.
Comments on the interior are fair. The plastics were a concern when I bought the car after having a few higher trimmed cars before, but I hardly notice it any longer. Light and durable are good things for an electric vehicle.
The only downsides I have after three months of ownership is the car rides a bit stiff. It's good but bumps are a bit harsh and can get annoying on roads that are not smooth (combination of suspension and shorter wheel base?). Also, I will say the seats, at least the front seats, leave a bit to be desired. I'm 6 foot 200 pounds and I would say that for me the seats are a just bit too small for my frame. Daily driving through the city and short trips less than 80-100 miles is okay. I'm not sure I would be comfortable on longer road trips.
I was looking at a Tesla Model 3 or waiting for the Model Y, however, they are just too expensive (cost and insurance) for the amount of driving I do. The Bolt was really a sweet spot for me.
Anyways, great videos. I appreciate your views on EVs and car buying / ownership considerations. Thanks.
Thanks for taking to time to post all of this. Really appreciate it!
does it have higher seating (atleast as high as prius?)
higher than kona by any chance?
The only thing holding me back is the Bolt's struggle with long distance travel. It would work great for city driving but it takes to long to recharge on long distance travel and I do quite a bit of long distance travel. Now if the Bolt could charge around 150kw or more, then I would be interested but it currently just doesn't charge fast enough for me on the CCS network. That's the other thing, that CCS network is not very reliable either.
reason to buy bolt over tesla. I just bought a brand new 2020 bolt for 26K that is at least 14K cheaper than tesla. Yes tesla is a great car so if you don't mind taking another 14K out of your bank account go for it. The bolt is a great car just doesn't have some of the advanced tech like auto pilot. Even though I really like tesla in the end I like my 14K more. If you take long road trips frequently tesla is the way to go. I use the bolt as a daily computer and its perfect for that. If I want to take a trip i will have an extra 14K so plenty of money to rent a car. lol
Does it come with a sunglasses holder?
It does not - but the center console storage is very deep
Your explanation of how regenerative braking works is incorrect. The Bolt uses a permanent magnet motor so there is no need to provide an excitation field, that is only necessary with induction motors. Essentially all that is required to regenerate with the Bolts synchronous PM motor is to stop providing power to it while keeping it connected to the battery and at that point it becomes a generator as it tries to drive into the batteries load.
I don’t know why everyone complains about the seats they feel fine at least in the 2019
The seats are fine for around town, but after an hour or so on the road, it would be nice to have more padding.
Is the Kona Electric available in all Canadian Provinces? Here in the states still only available is Carb States which is generally West Coast or New England States. Audi E-Tron is available with a heftier price tag.
Ford Mustang Mach E looks like a great car. Defiantly a higher performance car than the Bolt. Probably more in line with the Model 3 performance and Audi E-Tron
The 2020 Bolt EV offers slightly improved EV Range plus a revised front grill design. One missing feature that the Chevy Volt had was Adaptive Cruse Control. Not an option on the Bolt.
Should be a lot of 2017 Volts coming off of 3 year leases. The 2019 Volt has almost similar one pedal driving as the Bolt. The regeneration with the 2019 Volt is much more aggressive than the 2016 thru 2018 models plus charges in half the time with 7.2kW charger vs. the previous 3.6 kW version in the 2016 thru 2018 model years. Too bad GM killed the car off. Most of the 2019 left are all LTs. If any premiers exist, they're missing adaptive cruse control.
The Tesla pick-up is a polarizing vehicle. Specs are great, looks not so good in my opinion. Tesla Model 3 is still the best bet with Tesla with maybe Model Y as a second choice if more cargo space in desired.
Are EV incentives still in effect for EVs in Canada. In the U.S. both Tesla and Chevy incentives are winding down where Audi, Hyundai and Ford have full $7,500 incentive in effect yet.
The Kona Electric is available Canada wide, but in very limited quantities in provinces that aren't electric vehicle hot spots (pretty much every province except for British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec). In regards to the incentive program, every province is able to set whatever rebates they want. Right now British Columbia and Quebec are the only provinces offering a rebate, with BC just recently dropping theirs from $5000 to $3000. There is no cap on manufacturers - the program gets funded yearly and people pull from there.
The Federal rebate is Canada wide and a bit more complicated. The rebate is from $2500 to $5000 based on the type of vehicle and the amount of kWh storage (PHEV vs BEV). For a manufacturer to qualify for the rebate, they have to offer a version of the car for sale for $45,000 CDN or less. Tesla famously created a Canada only Model 3 with only 150km of range for $44,999. It's not available online but allegedly you can order it by talking to a salesperson. Anyways, this unfortunately means that the Mach E doesn't qualify for the federal rebate since the starting price is $51,000 CDN. I also would expect the Model Y will probably not qualify for this rebate either.
And regarding the Bolt, I think the 2017 models by next year coming off lease should be a steal.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
@@DustinBatchelor Here is the U.S. the Chevy Bolt tax credit is in Phase-Out at $1875 USD until March 31, 2020. Chevrolet has adjusted the price currently with dealer incentives and Chevrolet cash incentive to about $30,000 down form $44,000 MSRP for a Bolt Premier. Looks like the 2019s are in short supply before the release of the 2020 models. I assume the 2020 Bolts are delayed due to the strike.
Kona EV nowhere to be found by me in Illinois. Currently only available in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Audi E-Trons are available with-in price range of $68,000 to $80,000 USD with full $7,500 USD tax credit.
The thing with me is that the Bolt does not have towing capacity where the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV does at 1,500 pounds. I plan to buy an electric vehicle at some point, but GM needs to come out with electric vehicles that can do as much as a suv or a regular car can
Snow chains are not allowed on the Bolt EV, not even the minimal clearance cable chains according to Chevrolet. The strut tower is way too close to the tire tread. Go look inside the front wheel wells for yourself. It's definitely a bummer.
You don't want a hybrid heat pump if you're planning to own the vehicle (not lease). The heat pump will break down and it will be an expensive repair. That's the only problem I would have with the Hyundai.
The Tesla cyber truck is the same price as this car. Think about that.
Sure, but it still doesn't have an official release date, and if we look at past history the lowest price one will be released last. Could be three years before someone can actually easily buy a $39,000 USD Tesla Cyber Truck
Also the cybertruck looks like it came from the year 3000 lol....i don't know other than Tesla fans, if traditional truck people will be into such a bold and radical design that is far from ANYTHING that came out since the history of cars invention. In my opinion, I do not like Plug in hybrids or electric cars that have to look flashy just because it runs on electricity. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV keeps the design simple without having to put it on blast. Even this Bolt being pure electric is not put on blast just because it's electric. The design is different but soft.
Not in Canada. Let's face it the base Cybertruck will be a limited release (like the Model 3 SR). They have already pushed the delivery out of the base RWD truck. That means the dual motor Cybertruck will be pushing $70K in Canada. The Bolt EV starts at $44K in Canada right now. It's due to receive a major update for the 2021 MY (lots of spy photos) so it will be interesting to see what happens. Not to mention GM's up coming launch of the BT1 and BEV3 electric vehicle platforms over the next couple of years.
@@erikstephens34 if you want to get real, things in Canada cost a lot more than in the USA. Every car sold in Canada seems to have a $5,000-$10,000 price hike compared to the USA.
@@lucky1206 You do realize that in Canada we don't use the US dollar. We have a completely separate currency. Currently 1.31 CAD = 1 USD. The Bolt EV has a price in CAD that is ~20% higher than it's MSRP in USD. That actually means at MSRP the Bolt EV is actually CHEAPER in Canada than the US after exchange. And this is accomplished because GM produces more cars in Canada then they sell in Canada allowing them to leverage those operations to hedge currency fluctuations. Something that for example companies like Tesla cannot do, making them more susceptible to currency fluctuations.