I test drove a Bolt EV Premier at Community Chevrolet in Burbank, CA courtesy Oscar Gutierrez who was very helpful and knowledgeable about the car. Remarkably so. He has a Volt, so I think that helps. I can't comment on this dealer's pricing, but if you want to give them a try, I highly recommend Oscar as being friendly and knowledgable.
We had 5 people in the car.
I had no issue with sitting in the leather seats, they felt good and comfortable. While driving, I did not feel the door-side seat cushion "edge" some have mentioned. I did notice it a bit on the underside of my leg when I turned my body 90° to exit the car. I liked the dark gray perforated leather seats. I did not care for the light light gray & white combo I had seen at the car show as it was getting dirty fast.
The car felt very solid, the suspension firm.
The shifter takes a little getting used to, but should not take long to master. I suspect it is the answer to "how can we have a shifter that does not take up a lot of space?"
As other's have mentioned the interior space (especially front headroom) is good. At 6'2" I did not feel crowded in height or width. The center arm rest storage space is pretty shallow compared to the Volt's which is a bit disapointing, but can be slid forward if you are a shorter person so that's a plus for some.
The rear view camera is awesome, I think I'd use it all the time. One rear passenger found it oddly disquieting and it caused a bit of car sickness for them because they saw the rear view while the car moved forward. Just like some people can read a book in a car, others' can't, I guess the same holds for rear passengers and the camera view. Me? No problem. Huge improvement over the normal rear view in my opinion.
The Bolt is a peppy car and it's VERY easy to chirp the tires while in Low. The car is very spry. I did not try Sport as Low just blew me away and I ran out of time. Low also blew away a Prius that had the misfortune to come up along us at a light,
I LOVED the one-pedal driving experience in Low. Also tried the Regen paddle in Drive and it too was very nice as many have mentioned. This seems like a
great car for city driving. I did not try the expressway so can't comment on that experience.
The rear head height is adequate but less than the rear seat of a Honda fit. The three rear passengers did not feel squeezed side-to-side, but be realistic...the Bolt EV is a compact not a land yacht after all.
It annoys me that GM does not have a head restraint for the rear middle passenger to prevent whiplash. I think it's disgraceful actually. Shame on GM.
I'm not sure yet about the center console UI, seemed a little busy. Millennial's in the car seemed more bugged by it than me. It was the first thing they mentioned actually. The center screen is nice and big, though some of the buttons seemed too small given the screen size. Apple Car Play is cool. I was looking for sun washout on the screen, but did not notice any, perhaps due to screen brightness, plus the screen angle and a slight dash overhang above.
I know some feel the interior materials are not luxurious enough, but I don't normally caress the dash and door while driving (or even when not driving, lol). The dash and door panels are about the same as my 2011 Volt, so no big deal for me. I liked the white patterned dash plastic
a lot.
The car is much quieter than my Volt. That was a pleasant surprise.
I like the CUV form factor, I don't want or expect a sedan (got one of those: a Volt). The styling is in keeping with other vehicles using this "space wagon" form. I like the way the light paint colors (white, silver, light blue) contrast with the black exterior trim.
The rear cargo space storage area for the EVSE and tow-eye bolt gave me the only trouble I experienced. The black foam cover would not fit until I had the EVSE handle and electronics box "just so". It took a while before I could get the lid to sit flat.
The front under hood compartment is remarkably short, but looked very well organized and uncluttered compared to what you normally see in ICE cars. It looks like you need a flexible snake funnel to fill some of the fluids as they are tucked under the windshield sheet metal cowling.
I didn't have time to try out all the steering wheel and dash controls. I'll leave that to a later test drive when the car comes to Illinois in a few months.
Anyway, it was a very positive experience though I suspect I was more excited than my passengers (except yelps when I floored it!) who feel a car is a car, haha. This car would make an excellent companion to my Volt.
I contrast to my last LA visit in December, I saw a lot of EV's this time around. Many Volt's and Teslas, a handful of BMW i3's and an occasional Leaf.
