What should I know about a Chevy Bolt?
January 29, 2023 5:36 PM Subscribe
My car is on its last legs (wheels?). Three of the doors only open when they feel like. We are officially in the "repairs cost more than the car is worth" phase. I wanna buy a Chevy Bolt. Tell me what I need to know!
This will be my first electric car (and first not-fully-ICE car). I don't really know anything about the differences in maintenance or what to expect. I live near Chicago, so cold and snowy.
I'm agnostic on the EV or EUV, leaning a bit towards the EUV just for space. We're a family of five, one still in a booster. But when all five of us are in the car, we're usually going 5 miles down the road to my brother's house for dinner, so I figure my kids can suffer for eight minutes of togetherness in the three-across back seat.
Because I know people will ask, a solid 95% of my driving over the past five years has been within a 20-mile radius -- taking kids to school or camp, running errands, meeting friends. Another 3% has been within a 60-mile radius -- going to Ikea, picking up family at the airport. I figure for that 2% when I need to go a long way, I can either take my husband's car OR I can (in the event of a road trip) just rent a minivan with all the money I'm not spending on gas.
This will be my first electric car (and first not-fully-ICE car). I don't really know anything about the differences in maintenance or what to expect. I live near Chicago, so cold and snowy.
I'm agnostic on the EV or EUV, leaning a bit towards the EUV just for space. We're a family of five, one still in a booster. But when all five of us are in the car, we're usually going 5 miles down the road to my brother's house for dinner, so I figure my kids can suffer for eight minutes of togetherness in the three-across back seat.
Because I know people will ask, a solid 95% of my driving over the past five years has been within a 20-mile radius -- taking kids to school or camp, running errands, meeting friends. Another 3% has been within a 60-mile radius -- going to Ikea, picking up family at the airport. I figure for that 2% when I need to go a long way, I can either take my husband's car OR I can (in the event of a road trip) just rent a minivan with all the money I'm not spending on gas.
We recently went one EV and one hybrid, and for our lifestyle, it’s been really great, and our used Leaf gets way fewer miles per charge.
We generally charge off of the 120v charger it came with in our garage and on most days, it’s full by morning.
Snow tires have been really great on our little EV in Minnesota.
The other thing is making sure you communicate with your other driver about when you expect to have a high mileage day. Maybe that’s to switch cars, maybe it’s to split up errands differently.
posted by advicepig at 5:56 PM on January 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
We generally charge off of the 120v charger it came with in our garage and on most days, it’s full by morning.
Snow tires have been really great on our little EV in Minnesota.
The other thing is making sure you communicate with your other driver about when you expect to have a high mileage day. Maybe that’s to switch cars, maybe it’s to split up errands differently.
posted by advicepig at 5:56 PM on January 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have a 2018 Bolt and I love it.
The good:
First, for a small car there's a lot of room in the back seat. There's no "hump" in the middle either in the bench seat or on the floor, so it's not as much of a compromise when you're fitting three in the back for a short time. Adults can sit comfortably in the back.
Second, if you don't drive more than 500-800 miles a month, you may be able to get away with trickle charging instead of getting a home charger. I've lived with both, currently with just plugging it into a wall outlet in the garage, it takes a long time to charge, but not that big of a deal if I consistently plug in after running it down 50 or 60 miles. I think there are rebates for home car chargers from the feds right now, and we had a utility company rebate as well when we got ours.
Third, it's a heavy car, for its size, because of the batteries. This means it grabs better than a lighter car in slippery conditions (with the proper tread tires ... it's not magic, it's just far better at staying on the road than my old 2 wheel drive Subaru). It also doesn't seem to get blown around by the wind as much as my previous small cars.
Fourth, it's very easy to maintain. I put air in the tires usually when the season changes, swap out the wiper blades. I go to the dealer and have the tires rotated, filters swapped, the fluids checked and any software updates once a year. You'll go through tires a little faster, because the car is heavier.
Fifth, the car has far more pep in its step. You'll notice that the EV cars accelerate much faster than the ICE engines. It's a comforting feeling when merging that you have the power.
The bad
First, in cold climates you'll find your mileage suffers. Batteries don't hold their charge as well, and running the heat and defrost also drain the system faster than you'd probably like.
Second, not much trunk space. I can hold a whole bunch of groceries (6 bags) and putting the seats down to hold bigger things is no problem, but it's not a lot of cargo space, so picking up a couple of friends at the airport who have checked luggage might end up having one on the back seat with them.
Third, long distance is a pain. I had to do a 230 mile trip recently and making sure I had time to charge someplace meant planning ahead. None of the apps are great at telling you what you really want to know about charging stations or navigating you there (a street address for a large mall that you've never been to, that says "by the Panera entrance of the mall").
Fourth, not a lot of bells & whistles like extra cup holders or air vents in the back.
Fifth, infrastructure. Do you have other places to charge? At Target or the library? We had a power outage at our house and I got very nervous about where I could charge up if was a multi-day thing.
posted by typetive at 6:07 PM on January 29, 2023 [7 favorites]
The good:
First, for a small car there's a lot of room in the back seat. There's no "hump" in the middle either in the bench seat or on the floor, so it's not as much of a compromise when you're fitting three in the back for a short time. Adults can sit comfortably in the back.
Second, if you don't drive more than 500-800 miles a month, you may be able to get away with trickle charging instead of getting a home charger. I've lived with both, currently with just plugging it into a wall outlet in the garage, it takes a long time to charge, but not that big of a deal if I consistently plug in after running it down 50 or 60 miles. I think there are rebates for home car chargers from the feds right now, and we had a utility company rebate as well when we got ours.
Third, it's a heavy car, for its size, because of the batteries. This means it grabs better than a lighter car in slippery conditions (with the proper tread tires ... it's not magic, it's just far better at staying on the road than my old 2 wheel drive Subaru). It also doesn't seem to get blown around by the wind as much as my previous small cars.
Fourth, it's very easy to maintain. I put air in the tires usually when the season changes, swap out the wiper blades. I go to the dealer and have the tires rotated, filters swapped, the fluids checked and any software updates once a year. You'll go through tires a little faster, because the car is heavier.
Fifth, the car has far more pep in its step. You'll notice that the EV cars accelerate much faster than the ICE engines. It's a comforting feeling when merging that you have the power.
The bad
First, in cold climates you'll find your mileage suffers. Batteries don't hold their charge as well, and running the heat and defrost also drain the system faster than you'd probably like.
Second, not much trunk space. I can hold a whole bunch of groceries (6 bags) and putting the seats down to hold bigger things is no problem, but it's not a lot of cargo space, so picking up a couple of friends at the airport who have checked luggage might end up having one on the back seat with them.
Third, long distance is a pain. I had to do a 230 mile trip recently and making sure I had time to charge someplace meant planning ahead. None of the apps are great at telling you what you really want to know about charging stations or navigating you there (a street address for a large mall that you've never been to, that says "by the Panera entrance of the mall").
Fourth, not a lot of bells & whistles like extra cup holders or air vents in the back.
Fifth, infrastructure. Do you have other places to charge? At Target or the library? We had a power outage at our house and I got very nervous about where I could charge up if was a multi-day thing.
posted by typetive at 6:07 PM on January 29, 2023 [7 favorites]
So, strangely, I am on my THIRD Bolt in less than five years (2 EVs, 1 EUV)
I loved the first one (2019) and would have driven it to the ground, but there was a recall (battery related, you are probably aware of it already) where GM basically offered me a buyback that had me coming out of it with a brand new 2021 model plus extra cash in hand. Then… the recall expanded to my recently purchased 2021 - and again, the buyback resulted in essentially a free Bolt, EUV this time, with a little cash left over pay the excise tax. So obviously there were some bumps along the road but I feel like the company is pretty determined that this car succeed, and is standing behind it with regards early growing pains.
I am pretty happy with where I have landed with the EUV. The overall space between the two models is pretty close, but the EUV will give you a little more leg room in the back seat, and perhaps a tiny bit less space in the hatchback/trunk area. From a power point of view, the EV has a little bit more pickup than the EUV, but I am happy with the smooth ride of the EUV, it also has pretty good pickup, and like the way it feels - and looks.
My commute is 20 miles, each way. On the weekends, running errands, maybe a little more. But I’m using it as a commuter vehicle, and it is ideal. That said, I have a driveway, and installed a level 2 charger on the front of the house. I know someone using a Leaf with a longer commute, and no charger, but it is definitely not the same experience as just being able to drive home, plug it in, and forget about it. I do not miss gas stations at all. I also don’t miss oil changes. The only thing you will need to keep an eye on is windshield wiper fluid. Maintenance is incredibly minimal.
I am in Massachusetts, so I’m also in fairly cold weather in the winter. In the summer, it easily gets the stated range and in fact more (250 to guestimates of 300 miles) not that I have every come close to running out of battery for my purposes. In the winter, it does lose range due to cold temps, around 150-180 miles starting out in the morning, again, still plenty of rang for my purposes. We do have a RAV4 if we need to do a long road trip, but it doesn’t come up much.
My last car was so old it still had hand-crank windows, so moving to a Bolt has been an experience. Heated seats are lovely. Heated steering wheel - unexpected, also lovely. The idea of ventilated seats confused the hell out of me until I experienced it and discovered it can cool your hot sweaty back off so you don’t stick to the seat in the summer. The EUV I am in has wireless charging for my phone, with CarPlay, and a great navigation screen.
The automatic high-beams are far superior to my own speed and decision making when it comes to turning on and off for traffic. I no longer know how people park without the surround-cameras (backup, and all four sides from above). My model has the warning signals on the side view mirrors for merges - also great.
The OEM tires that come with it are not necessarily the greatest. They are designed to get the car the maximum range on one charge, but not to get the best grip in bad weather. I have new all-weathers for most of the year, snow tires for the Bad Months.
Yeah, so, I love it.
posted by instead of three wishes at 6:12 PM on January 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
I loved the first one (2019) and would have driven it to the ground, but there was a recall (battery related, you are probably aware of it already) where GM basically offered me a buyback that had me coming out of it with a brand new 2021 model plus extra cash in hand. Then… the recall expanded to my recently purchased 2021 - and again, the buyback resulted in essentially a free Bolt, EUV this time, with a little cash left over pay the excise tax. So obviously there were some bumps along the road but I feel like the company is pretty determined that this car succeed, and is standing behind it with regards early growing pains.
I am pretty happy with where I have landed with the EUV. The overall space between the two models is pretty close, but the EUV will give you a little more leg room in the back seat, and perhaps a tiny bit less space in the hatchback/trunk area. From a power point of view, the EV has a little bit more pickup than the EUV, but I am happy with the smooth ride of the EUV, it also has pretty good pickup, and like the way it feels - and looks.
My commute is 20 miles, each way. On the weekends, running errands, maybe a little more. But I’m using it as a commuter vehicle, and it is ideal. That said, I have a driveway, and installed a level 2 charger on the front of the house. I know someone using a Leaf with a longer commute, and no charger, but it is definitely not the same experience as just being able to drive home, plug it in, and forget about it. I do not miss gas stations at all. I also don’t miss oil changes. The only thing you will need to keep an eye on is windshield wiper fluid. Maintenance is incredibly minimal.
I am in Massachusetts, so I’m also in fairly cold weather in the winter. In the summer, it easily gets the stated range and in fact more (250 to guestimates of 300 miles) not that I have every come close to running out of battery for my purposes. In the winter, it does lose range due to cold temps, around 150-180 miles starting out in the morning, again, still plenty of rang for my purposes. We do have a RAV4 if we need to do a long road trip, but it doesn’t come up much.
My last car was so old it still had hand-crank windows, so moving to a Bolt has been an experience. Heated seats are lovely. Heated steering wheel - unexpected, also lovely. The idea of ventilated seats confused the hell out of me until I experienced it and discovered it can cool your hot sweaty back off so you don’t stick to the seat in the summer. The EUV I am in has wireless charging for my phone, with CarPlay, and a great navigation screen.
The automatic high-beams are far superior to my own speed and decision making when it comes to turning on and off for traffic. I no longer know how people park without the surround-cameras (backup, and all four sides from above). My model has the warning signals on the side view mirrors for merges - also great.
The OEM tires that come with it are not necessarily the greatest. They are designed to get the car the maximum range on one charge, but not to get the best grip in bad weather. I have new all-weathers for most of the year, snow tires for the Bad Months.
Yeah, so, I love it.
posted by instead of three wishes at 6:12 PM on January 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Nthing the trickle charger. I am charging my Leaf right now off of a 110V outside socket. You will need, though, not just a GFCI socket but an industrial grade one (Hubbell is highly recommended) next to your driveway. And then it pretty much just charges overnight, especially if you're doing a bunch of 20-mile-or-less trips.
If you're getting heavier use out of it, then either install a 240V charging station or find out where there are pay stations near you (out west, it seems like every WalMart has one, and some of the other big grocery chains)
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 6:40 PM on January 29, 2023
If you're getting heavier use out of it, then either install a 240V charging station or find out where there are pay stations near you (out west, it seems like every WalMart has one, and some of the other big grocery chains)
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 6:40 PM on January 29, 2023
I don’t have direct experience with it, but my neighbors in Madison use theirs as a daily driver and love it. They have a bigger SUV for road trips, but it rarely leaves the garage otherwise.
posted by rockindata at 6:52 PM on January 29, 2023
posted by rockindata at 6:52 PM on January 29, 2023
I'm a part-time driver of instead of three wishes' Bolt EUV, and I love it.
Don't let the battery recalls scare you off - we never had any actual problems with her Bolts before they were recalled and replaced with newer, shinier ones. You can definitely read up on the issue and decide for yourself on that - but I'm happy with the car we have now, and would buy one myself if I had the $$ for it and if I didn't basically have any-time access to my housemate's. :)
I think it drives great, in both cold and warm weather. I deeply appreciate the heated steering wheel and heated seats. (I could care less about the seat vents for warmer weather; I am always cold so would never go near that feature.) As the owner of the Rav 4 she mentioned, another weird thing I appreciate is the quality of the windshield wipers, which I thought at first were great because they were new - but it turns out, they're just great in general, and nothing I can get for the Rav 4 measures up. I like that I can just get into the car with my phone on my person and CarPlay picks up. I also like that I can just slide my phone into a pocket on the middle column and it charges wirelessly.
I am endlessly amused that sometimes my housemate's car emails her to tell her one of its tires is a bit low, or it needs charging, or whatever. Yikes, and HEE. :)
The only thing I don't love about it is the "lane-assist" feature, which basically attempts to overrule lane changes by making the wheel harder to turn when you forget to signal. (Sometimes I forget!) I would prefer a polite bing or something. But my housemate likes it, and it is in fact her car, so I live with it. FWIW, I think it's an optional feature, or at least one that you can turn off if you don't love it.
I've never felt at risk in Massachusetts snow or rain in this car. And for just getting around the Greater Boston area it's been amazing. Heartily recommend.
posted by invincible summer at 6:53 PM on January 29, 2023
Don't let the battery recalls scare you off - we never had any actual problems with her Bolts before they were recalled and replaced with newer, shinier ones. You can definitely read up on the issue and decide for yourself on that - but I'm happy with the car we have now, and would buy one myself if I had the $$ for it and if I didn't basically have any-time access to my housemate's. :)
I think it drives great, in both cold and warm weather. I deeply appreciate the heated steering wheel and heated seats. (I could care less about the seat vents for warmer weather; I am always cold so would never go near that feature.) As the owner of the Rav 4 she mentioned, another weird thing I appreciate is the quality of the windshield wipers, which I thought at first were great because they were new - but it turns out, they're just great in general, and nothing I can get for the Rav 4 measures up. I like that I can just get into the car with my phone on my person and CarPlay picks up. I also like that I can just slide my phone into a pocket on the middle column and it charges wirelessly.
I am endlessly amused that sometimes my housemate's car emails her to tell her one of its tires is a bit low, or it needs charging, or whatever. Yikes, and HEE. :)
The only thing I don't love about it is the "lane-assist" feature, which basically attempts to overrule lane changes by making the wheel harder to turn when you forget to signal. (Sometimes I forget!) I would prefer a polite bing or something. But my housemate likes it, and it is in fact her car, so I live with it. FWIW, I think it's an optional feature, or at least one that you can turn off if you don't love it.
I've never felt at risk in Massachusetts snow or rain in this car. And for just getting around the Greater Boston area it's been amazing. Heartily recommend.
posted by invincible summer at 6:53 PM on January 29, 2023
We have a Hyundai Kona, which is pretty similar to the Bolt. Two things to keep in mind when you're driving it - make sure you check out all the "driving modes" and regenerative braking levels, assuming they are available. The driving modes make a huge difference in how the car feels, how responsive it is to throttle input, etc. So do a bit of research up front to know how to see what the current level is and how to change it (usually just some button press), that way when you're test driving you can pick what you like.
If you can get used to high regen braking levels you'll basically never touch the brake - when you let off the throttle the car slows itself down so you have to remap how you drive a bit. But I don't think we've replaced the brakes in our 40K miles of ownership, and it's inspected yearly. Saves a good bit of battery life too.
Agreed on good all-weather tires, or on a set of good winter tires that you swap out.
posted by true at 7:11 PM on January 29, 2023
If you can get used to high regen braking levels you'll basically never touch the brake - when you let off the throttle the car slows itself down so you have to remap how you drive a bit. But I don't think we've replaced the brakes in our 40K miles of ownership, and it's inspected yearly. Saves a good bit of battery life too.
Agreed on good all-weather tires, or on a set of good winter tires that you swap out.
posted by true at 7:11 PM on January 29, 2023
This will be my first electric car (and first not-fully-ICE car)
I drive my spouse's Volt so I won't comment on the Bolt part of the question, but I will comment on this. You will likely notice that you need to adapt your style of driving from an ICE car to an electric car. The braking mentioned above is a big one - I finally figured out why all the Priuses slow down so much on the downhill! - but there's also some differences in how you accelerate and the speeds you need to drive in order to maximize battery life.
If you, like me, are a bit of a speedster then you may find yourself not getting max mileage right off the bat until you adapt. I mention this because I found driving style to be a huge difference when I switched over to primarily driving the Volt during this past Summer of Epic Gas Prices. Some drivers won't find it makes a huge difference; others do.
posted by librarylis at 7:32 PM on January 29, 2023
I drive my spouse's Volt so I won't comment on the Bolt part of the question, but I will comment on this. You will likely notice that you need to adapt your style of driving from an ICE car to an electric car. The braking mentioned above is a big one - I finally figured out why all the Priuses slow down so much on the downhill! - but there's also some differences in how you accelerate and the speeds you need to drive in order to maximize battery life.
If you, like me, are a bit of a speedster then you may find yourself not getting max mileage right off the bat until you adapt. I mention this because I found driving style to be a huge difference when I switched over to primarily driving the Volt during this past Summer of Epic Gas Prices. Some drivers won't find it makes a huge difference; others do.
posted by librarylis at 7:32 PM on January 29, 2023
Pursuant to a remark above, if you are considering getting a charger installed there are tax credits available. RewiringAmerica has a calculator where you tell it your income & ZIP, and it spits back the various credits that can apply to you (since some are means-tested in various ways); there's $1000 on the table for a charger, and $7500 for the car, if you qualify (and note: if you need electrical panel work, there's $600 for that as well).
posted by aramaic at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have a '23 Bolt EUV. A few things:
- You don't have to use "one pedal driving". I keep that turned off and it drives like a normal car. It does still do regenerative braking when it can.
- GM offers a Level 2 (240V) wiring/outlet install for free (ish) with the car. If it's considered a "standard install" it's free, otherwise it's $1000 off. Mine cost $1800 and GM covered it.
- It's an awesome car and I highly recommend it. Pretty full-featured (mine is the premier, has the surround-view camera, ventilated seats, etc.)
- The maintenance schedule is basically: Tires.
- You sound like the ideal candidate for a Bolt, it can pretty much manage your 60-mile-radius trips even in the worst possible weather.
- /r/BoltEV on Reddit is pretty good if you have questions.
posted by mmoncur at 3:50 AM on January 30, 2023 [5 favorites]
- You don't have to use "one pedal driving". I keep that turned off and it drives like a normal car. It does still do regenerative braking when it can.
- GM offers a Level 2 (240V) wiring/outlet install for free (ish) with the car. If it's considered a "standard install" it's free, otherwise it's $1000 off. Mine cost $1800 and GM covered it.
- It's an awesome car and I highly recommend it. Pretty full-featured (mine is the premier, has the surround-view camera, ventilated seats, etc.)
- The maintenance schedule is basically: Tires.
- You sound like the ideal candidate for a Bolt, it can pretty much manage your 60-mile-radius trips even in the worst possible weather.
- /r/BoltEV on Reddit is pretty good if you have questions.
posted by mmoncur at 3:50 AM on January 30, 2023 [5 favorites]
Owner of a 2021 Bolt EV here, purchased in late summer 2021...I somehow timed my purchase ridiculously well, and ended up getting a fantastic deal. YMMV in the current car climate.
I adore my Bolt. Drives ridiculously smoothly for a small car, partially because of the weight and mostly because coming from any ICE the EV will be nearly silent. I drive a LOT, doing prob 75-100 miles a day average, hauling my teenager around from rehearsal to rehearsal...in less than 2 years I'm sneaking up on 45K miles, and the only maintenance on the car is changing wiper blades and fluid, rotating the tires. My stock tires are just about done, so I am going to need to replace those soon.
For my driving, I definitely needed an L2 charger at home. It sounds like you might not, but if you can get one installed via a subsidy of some sort (either Chevy directly, or through your local power company), they will only increase the value of your home.
It, like all EVs, take a serious mileage hit in extreme cold. I don't notice a huge difference even down a little below freezing, but we recently had a few days down around -2 F or so and it absolutely destroyed my range...took me from regularly getting 230-250 miles on a charge to something like 160.
The only real downside on the Bolt for me is the fast charging...all new Bolts (but NOT all previous models) have CCS charging capability ("high speed" charging). But the car itself is the limiter for how much juice it can pull at any single time, and one of the reasons the Bolt is so affordable is that Chevy chose to build it out with a high-end limit of about 50-55kW. This means even if you pull up to a charger that could deliver 350kW, you won't get that...and you'll only get 50ish kW within a certain charging band on the battery (roughly from empty to about 60%, the slowing a little to around 80% full, and then REALLY slowly above that). This means it's really not a road trip kinda car, even though it would be fantastic to drive long distances...you simply can't without a much better charging infrastructure and a lot of time to "waste" charging.
But even with that, I adore mine.
posted by griffey at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
I adore my Bolt. Drives ridiculously smoothly for a small car, partially because of the weight and mostly because coming from any ICE the EV will be nearly silent. I drive a LOT, doing prob 75-100 miles a day average, hauling my teenager around from rehearsal to rehearsal...in less than 2 years I'm sneaking up on 45K miles, and the only maintenance on the car is changing wiper blades and fluid, rotating the tires. My stock tires are just about done, so I am going to need to replace those soon.
For my driving, I definitely needed an L2 charger at home. It sounds like you might not, but if you can get one installed via a subsidy of some sort (either Chevy directly, or through your local power company), they will only increase the value of your home.
It, like all EVs, take a serious mileage hit in extreme cold. I don't notice a huge difference even down a little below freezing, but we recently had a few days down around -2 F or so and it absolutely destroyed my range...took me from regularly getting 230-250 miles on a charge to something like 160.
The only real downside on the Bolt for me is the fast charging...all new Bolts (but NOT all previous models) have CCS charging capability ("high speed" charging). But the car itself is the limiter for how much juice it can pull at any single time, and one of the reasons the Bolt is so affordable is that Chevy chose to build it out with a high-end limit of about 50-55kW. This means even if you pull up to a charger that could deliver 350kW, you won't get that...and you'll only get 50ish kW within a certain charging band on the battery (roughly from empty to about 60%, the slowing a little to around 80% full, and then REALLY slowly above that). This means it's really not a road trip kinda car, even though it would be fantastic to drive long distances...you simply can't without a much better charging infrastructure and a lot of time to "waste" charging.
But even with that, I adore mine.
posted by griffey at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
My spouse and I love our 2020 Bolt, and I second all the comments given above. It is very peppy, very low maintenance, and mileage goes way down in winter. Seat warmers are not a luxury in an EV. They increase your mileage by allowing you to run the cabin at a lower temperature. We have gotten by with just wall-outlet charging, with an occasional visit to a neighbor's level-2 charger when we need a quick turnaround after a long trip.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:54 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:54 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have a 2022 Bolt I bought in August last year and it's fantastic so far. I generally agree with everything that's been said. I don't drive every day, and my driving patterns pretty well match yours, down to the mile radius.
For charging, Chevy's offer to install an outlet via QMerit covered the cost of a 240V outlet in my garage. If you're in a home (vs. an apartment where you might not be allowed to do this), it's a great plan. I filled out the application, submitted it, and everything was taken care of. You might not need this L2 charging, but it really is a huge benefit to get home, plug in, and never have to worry about how much gas you have. (L2 will charge to full overnight, a standard 110V outlet will take literally days to charge empty-to-full). Also, as I understand it, the EVSE (what people think of as "the charger") that comes with the Bolt EV only works on a standard 110 outlet, where the one that comes with the EUV includes attachments to work with 110 or 240. I'm using the included EVSE to charge at home, though some people buy dedicated units to install permanently (and keep the included one in the car to charge in other locations).
I really enjoy one-pedal driving and using the extra paddle on the steering wheel if you need to slow down more (and regenerate more energy). I hardly use the brakes at all.
The EUV I got also had the SuperCruise (aka "we don't want to call it self-driving") feature, which is great for the relatively rare times I drive on the highway. I don't know that I'll pay to keep it running after the 3 years free, but for now it's a useful convenience. It works well, at least in my area.
I took a ~250 mile trip the weekend after I bought it (the trip was pre-scheduled, I decided I wanted to try to take the car to see how it'd do). With my family of 4 plus luggage in the car, the range was pretty significantly diminished from what I expected. I'd planned to stop and charge along the way, but we needed to stop longer than I'd anticipated. There were chargers along the way, but only a couple options (downstate Illinois). And our destination had no publicly accessible ones for 30 miles or so. I did discover one in town, but it wasn't functioning. So, not a _great_ experience, although we managed. I would still use it for longer trips when feasible, but probably only if I'm going solo.
One other observation is that the suggestion for driving longer distances in cold weather is usually to pre-heat the cabin (while you're presumably plugged in at home), then use the heated seats/steering wheel and minimize use of the cabin heater while on battery power. This works, but you do have to defog the windows occasionally. And if there are other folks in the car, their tolerance for the cool air may not match yours of course.
In general, though I've only had it for five months, I'm really happy with it. If your driving habits match its capabilities (and it sounds like they do), it works very well. I used to drive because I enjoyed driving — gas prices of under $1.50/gallon and my own obliviousness to pollution sure helped. When I'm driving this car, I feel a bit of that again, which is nice. I don't worry about how much it costs or how much I'm polluting — I know it does cost money, and I know that I am still contributing to pollution, but it feels a lot more negligible (hopefully it is actually significantly less, on the pollution front. I know it is on the money front).
posted by brentajones at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
For charging, Chevy's offer to install an outlet via QMerit covered the cost of a 240V outlet in my garage. If you're in a home (vs. an apartment where you might not be allowed to do this), it's a great plan. I filled out the application, submitted it, and everything was taken care of. You might not need this L2 charging, but it really is a huge benefit to get home, plug in, and never have to worry about how much gas you have. (L2 will charge to full overnight, a standard 110V outlet will take literally days to charge empty-to-full). Also, as I understand it, the EVSE (what people think of as "the charger") that comes with the Bolt EV only works on a standard 110 outlet, where the one that comes with the EUV includes attachments to work with 110 or 240. I'm using the included EVSE to charge at home, though some people buy dedicated units to install permanently (and keep the included one in the car to charge in other locations).
I really enjoy one-pedal driving and using the extra paddle on the steering wheel if you need to slow down more (and regenerate more energy). I hardly use the brakes at all.
The EUV I got also had the SuperCruise (aka "we don't want to call it self-driving") feature, which is great for the relatively rare times I drive on the highway. I don't know that I'll pay to keep it running after the 3 years free, but for now it's a useful convenience. It works well, at least in my area.
I took a ~250 mile trip the weekend after I bought it (the trip was pre-scheduled, I decided I wanted to try to take the car to see how it'd do). With my family of 4 plus luggage in the car, the range was pretty significantly diminished from what I expected. I'd planned to stop and charge along the way, but we needed to stop longer than I'd anticipated. There were chargers along the way, but only a couple options (downstate Illinois). And our destination had no publicly accessible ones for 30 miles or so. I did discover one in town, but it wasn't functioning. So, not a _great_ experience, although we managed. I would still use it for longer trips when feasible, but probably only if I'm going solo.
One other observation is that the suggestion for driving longer distances in cold weather is usually to pre-heat the cabin (while you're presumably plugged in at home), then use the heated seats/steering wheel and minimize use of the cabin heater while on battery power. This works, but you do have to defog the windows occasionally. And if there are other folks in the car, their tolerance for the cool air may not match yours of course.
In general, though I've only had it for five months, I'm really happy with it. If your driving habits match its capabilities (and it sounds like they do), it works very well. I used to drive because I enjoyed driving — gas prices of under $1.50/gallon and my own obliviousness to pollution sure helped. When I'm driving this car, I feel a bit of that again, which is nice. I don't worry about how much it costs or how much I'm polluting — I know it does cost money, and I know that I am still contributing to pollution, but it feels a lot more negligible (hopefully it is actually significantly less, on the pollution front. I know it is on the money front).
posted by brentajones at 7:33 AM on January 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
2022 Bolt EUV owner. Mostly happy with it, so don't let this come off as too much of a whine about it. Still waiting on the new battery (April, they say), running on 80% battery until then. Before they told us this car was gonna be part of the battery update too, the console was telling us 259 miles with a full charge. After they updated the software to give us 80% it said 200-208 miles, after the latest software update, and it became (coastal Northern California) winter it's saying about 160, and what I thought had been 3.8 or so miles per kWh has become 3. Hopefully the new battery and assorted firmware stuff will sort that stuff out, and I don't know how much is due to weather (it's giving the shorter range even when I run with climate control off).
Main complaint: the UX on the climate controls is a freakin' nightmare. Like what's a switch and what's a button and how do I turn on the defroster without excessive cabin heat? Play around with that for a while when you're feeling out and test driving the car.
It's got a lot of other levers and buttons and stuff that seem superfluous. I've come to like the back of the steering wheel top left "what if regen braking but more?" lever, but I don't even remember what the first and second finger buttons behind the left side of the steering wheel are (I think the right side is volume), and I worry about how all of these buttons are going to age on the car.
Oh, and: The traction control when turning suuuucks. We had a BMW i3 before this, never squealed the tires. I've ridden in my boss's Tesla Model 3, even under terrifying acceleration, no tire squealing. Turning out of a driveway into traffic in the Bolt? Gotta do it gently, or tire slip.
But: we like that even the EUV is fairly short relative to most of the other electric cars. The Adaptive Cruise Control is miles ahead of the BMW's, and even served us well on a fairly long trek during one of the recent atmospheric river storms; even when it got confused it didn't get confused in a way that made me feel unsafe. It's comfortable and quiet.
And driving an electric is *so much nicer* than driving an internal combustion engine vehicle.
So, yeah, I'd probably buy it again.
posted by straw at 9:18 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Main complaint: the UX on the climate controls is a freakin' nightmare. Like what's a switch and what's a button and how do I turn on the defroster without excessive cabin heat? Play around with that for a while when you're feeling out and test driving the car.
It's got a lot of other levers and buttons and stuff that seem superfluous. I've come to like the back of the steering wheel top left "what if regen braking but more?" lever, but I don't even remember what the first and second finger buttons behind the left side of the steering wheel are (I think the right side is volume), and I worry about how all of these buttons are going to age on the car.
Oh, and: The traction control when turning suuuucks. We had a BMW i3 before this, never squealed the tires. I've ridden in my boss's Tesla Model 3, even under terrifying acceleration, no tire squealing. Turning out of a driveway into traffic in the Bolt? Gotta do it gently, or tire slip.
But: we like that even the EUV is fairly short relative to most of the other electric cars. The Adaptive Cruise Control is miles ahead of the BMW's, and even served us well on a fairly long trek during one of the recent atmospheric river storms; even when it got confused it didn't get confused in a way that made me feel unsafe. It's comfortable and quiet.
And driving an electric is *so much nicer* than driving an internal combustion engine vehicle.
So, yeah, I'd probably buy it again.
posted by straw at 9:18 AM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I love my 2020 Bolt, purchased new back in Jan 2020. Things I like:
- great pickup. one pedal driving is fun and works really well.
- minimal maintenance. Since I've had the car all I've needed to do is tire rotations and change windshield wiper fluid
- cost effective, especially since I can charge at work (on the rare occasions these days I go in to the office)
Things I don't like:
- stock tires are designed with efficiency, and ONLY efficiency in mind. They're noisy and not great in rain or snow. Almost any alternative will drive better but with some efficiency hit
- suspension is tight, you can feel all the bumps on the road. But coming from a 2012 Civic it pretty much feels the same, tbh.
- front seats are a little uncomfortable, though I've heard they made them a bit better in newer models.
Other things to know:
- There's an active battery recall. I'm still waiting on replacement batteries for mine (and have been since the recall was announced in mid-2021). There was a software update which caps charging at 80% but I can park inside again (prior to that the recommendation was to move vehicle outside immediately after charging) Any car you buy at a Chevy dealer will have had this battery swap performed already or they can't sell it. If you're buying used or from somewhere else, check to see whether or not you'll need a battery replacement.
- The r/BoltEV forum on Reddit is a pretty active community, though it's been full lately with lots of people talking about the status of their recalls / swaps / orders
- I've heard that there aren't any new Bolt EV orders for this year's model available as they're all taken by fleet orders, and all you can get is the EUV, which is much more of a SUV than a hatchback.
- I believe new purchases from Chevrolet now include credits for EVSE (charger) installation, but this wasn't offered when I got mine so I can't really speak to that.
- Make sure you buy a UL listed EVSE. Lots of the cheap models on Amazon aren't UL listed, and some have been known to overheat / melt. (See, e.g. here, here, here)
posted by reptile at 12:17 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
- great pickup. one pedal driving is fun and works really well.
- minimal maintenance. Since I've had the car all I've needed to do is tire rotations and change windshield wiper fluid
- cost effective, especially since I can charge at work (on the rare occasions these days I go in to the office)
Things I don't like:
- stock tires are designed with efficiency, and ONLY efficiency in mind. They're noisy and not great in rain or snow. Almost any alternative will drive better but with some efficiency hit
- suspension is tight, you can feel all the bumps on the road. But coming from a 2012 Civic it pretty much feels the same, tbh.
- front seats are a little uncomfortable, though I've heard they made them a bit better in newer models.
Other things to know:
- There's an active battery recall. I'm still waiting on replacement batteries for mine (and have been since the recall was announced in mid-2021). There was a software update which caps charging at 80% but I can park inside again (prior to that the recommendation was to move vehicle outside immediately after charging) Any car you buy at a Chevy dealer will have had this battery swap performed already or they can't sell it. If you're buying used or from somewhere else, check to see whether or not you'll need a battery replacement.
- The r/BoltEV forum on Reddit is a pretty active community, though it's been full lately with lots of people talking about the status of their recalls / swaps / orders
- I've heard that there aren't any new Bolt EV orders for this year's model available as they're all taken by fleet orders, and all you can get is the EUV, which is much more of a SUV than a hatchback.
- I believe new purchases from Chevrolet now include credits for EVSE (charger) installation, but this wasn't offered when I got mine so I can't really speak to that.
- Make sure you buy a UL listed EVSE. Lots of the cheap models on Amazon aren't UL listed, and some have been known to overheat / melt. (See, e.g. here, here, here)
posted by reptile at 12:17 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh and you don't need a "smart" charger, a dumb one is fine. (I have a Clipper Creek HCS-40) You can schedule any timing for charging needed in the car itself. I have mine set to charge after 8pm on weekdays and anytime on weekends while at home (to match the times of my utility's cheaper rates), and immediately when away from home.
posted by reptile at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by reptile at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
I normally chime in on the EV questions here, but you all are already killing it :) Yay Bolt!
posted by intermod at 6:42 PM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by intermod at 6:42 PM on January 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you all, this is so helpful! I'm going to go to the dealer next week and move towards buying!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:25 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:25 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
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