I like it
I drove 600 miles in my first week and a half with the Bolt, and I like the car. I have driven a 1998 Lexus LS400 for the past 19 years, so the Bolt is a big change for me - it's basically the opposite of my old car. Some comments:
Pro
1. I very much like the 1-foot driving. It is different, something new to think about while I drive, at least at first. It feels a little safer, in that I can slow the car quicker if I need to by just lifting my foot instead of lifting, moving to the brake pedal and then stomping. Though I will admit I have so far used this advantage to drive more aggressively, rather than for added safety.
I pretty much always use L rather than D, even on the freeway. I might use D if I had a very long drive on the freeway, but then, the Bolt is not capable of such a drive.
2. It's peppy, though not dramatically quicker than my ancient luxury sedan - 0-60 and quarter mile times are almost identical to the old LS.
3. I enjoy the small dimensions of the car - length and width - makes it more maneuverable, easier to park and merge than a big car.
4. Overall, fun to drive.
5. Front, rear, and surround view cameras are nice. The front camera shows the car hitting forward obstacles when they are still 18 inches away - seems like a larger-than-necessary error, but easy enough to compensate for mentally. The rear cameras get distorted by raindrops, but the rear windshield washer seems to clean them up nicely.
6. I like the rear view mirror camera, and use it almost all the time. I was able to get my eyes accustomed to it immediately, and appreciate the unobstructed, wider angle view. Distortion of distances (i.e. objects are closer than they appear) takes a little getting used to. Even with the regular old-fashioned rear view mirror, visibility seems good through 360 degrees.
7. Touchscreen and instrument display seem responsive and reasonably clear. I'd prefer better organization, optimization for efficiency, and customizability, but overall not bad.
8. Hill top reserve charges my battery to 87%. I'd prefer more control, but if you only get one option, 87% is pretty close to what I'd want. I got wifi on my EVSE, so may fine tune my charge limit a little with that.
9. I kind of like sitting up slightly higher - I've never owned an SUV. I put the driver's seat up as high and as far back as it will go, and fit perfectly (I'm 6'1").
10. Fit and finish seem rock-solid, everything seems to work as designed. This should go without saying, but there is Tesla, whose owners seem to have to plan on about 30 days at the service center in the first year after delivery...
Con
1. I don't see any great advantage yet from the electric 'instant torque', because the wheels just spin when I stomp on the accelerator. I'm hoping better, non-LRR tires may help, and will be interested if you find some that work well.
2. The shifter is very unintuitive. You need to push it forward (and sideways) to shift into reverse, and pull it back to shift into forward gears. Seems backwards, though no doubt I'll get the hang of it eventually. I'd prefer a more futuristic control, maybe buttons on the steering wheel, and then the shifter space could have been used for storage or something else.
3. Cargo space is a little smaller than I'd prefer, but probably enough for my commute and kid's baseball and lacrosse games and such 99 days out of 100. On the hundredth day, I'll just borrow my wife's SUV.
4. Speed is limited to 93 mph (the car says the top speed is 92 and GM's media page says 91, but I got to 93 on a level freeway before being limited). I have only been limited once, and rarely wish to exceed 93, but I do drive on Southern California freeways, so a few more available mph would be desirable.
5. myChevrolet app is quite weak. It takes ~45 seconds to communicate with the car (painfully slow - after all, I don't have all minute!), and often fails to communicate at all. When it fails, I can usually re-start communication by rebooting my phone or force-closing the app. App features are quite limited. Also, some info seems wrong - my lifetime efficiency shows as 2.5 miles per kWh - I'm pretty sure I'm doing better than that, and efficiency since last charge generally shows around 3.5 mpk, which seems reasonable. A good app would make the car a lot better - GM should work on improving this. However, I will not hold my breath...
6. I would like a few more fancy features - front parking sensors, automatic parallel parking, adaptive cruise control. adaptive headlights. But Bolt seems to have the most important safety features, and the missing bells and whistles are not a big deal.
7. For such a small car, the turning circle is fairly wide, at 35.4 feet. My big old Lexus has a tighter turning circle of only 34.8', even though it's 2-3 inches wider and nearly 3 feet longer than the Bolt!!! It's not terrible, but it seems to me GM could have done better, and could make the Bolt more maneuverable and pleasant to drive.
8. The brakes seem weak. I think this is because they try regeneration first, and friction only later after a good stomping. Stopping distance ratings for the Bolt are relatively poor, so I guess the brakes are not that great - or maybe it's the tires again. Safety is important to me, so this one's a bit troubling, but only a bit.
9. Sport mode does not persist, and must be selected every time you start the car. Minor, but annoying. Why do it this way?
10. Temperature control is less accurate than I'm used to. In the Lexus, I set my thermostat to 68 degrees the day I bought the car, basically never changed it for 20 years, and the cabin was always at a comfortable temperature, day or night. In the Bolt on a cool night, I need to set the thermostat to 75 degrees at first. Then after a few minutes, it will feel too hot, so I need to lower it to 72. It's ok for a while, then I need to lower it again, eventually ending up at 68 degrees after 20 or 30 minutes. Minor annoyance.
11. USB ports seem to be just medium power, i.e. not enough power to charge my phone 'rapidly'. I'm going to try using both front ports together with a Y-cable, but they really should have given us 2 or 3 amps per port. The wireless charger seems like a silly feature for a car, but at least it gives me a place to stick my phone while plugged into Android Auto.
12. It's not a luxury car. I'd gladly pay extra for a nicer interior - power hatch, homelink, soft-touch surfaces, better leather, adjustable seats, falcon wings (just kidding), lighted vanity mirror, etc. - but none of the missing features really bothers me. Though it's not pretty by any means, the appearance of the Bolt - both interior and exterior - has grown on me.
Other
1. Driving an electric car is less different than I was expecting. No big difference in quietness or vibration, as some have observed. I once had a slight case of range anxiety, just because I don't know how/where to charge away from home, but Bolt's range is enough that I've never gone much below a quarter of a battery, so range shouldn't be a concern once I get more experience. Overall, quite similar to an ICE car experience
2. The seats are fine for me and for my passengers. I have thrown a cover on the driver's seat bottom only, for a bit of protection and it is also a bit more comfortable for me in various seating positions.
3. The regen paddle is nice to have, though unintuitive for me. Difficult to find it if you're in the middle of a turn and the steering wheel is not in the home position. Once I found myself furiously pressing the audio "VolumeUp" paddle on the right side of the back of the steering wheel, trying to slow the car. I'll get used to it at some point.
4. The ride quality is much firmer than my old Lexus. Does not bother me, but my passengers miss the soft ride of the old car.
5. I get a lot less than EPA mileage, but attribute that to my driving style and freeway mix. I will have to monitor this a little more scientifically to know for sure, but my general impression is that I'm averaging around 3.3 mpk, with much of my driving at around 80 mph.
6. Android Auto is a nice idea, and I use it a lot for navigation. Definitely wants some improvement/maturing, though. Bluetooth, more apps, stability, ease of use.
7. Welcome lighting doesn't work great - probably senses my phone approaching frequently while I'm just walking around my house, and the lights have already gone off by the time I walk into my garage. I'll probably turn this off, as I can't see any actual useful purpose in it.
8. Normally, the car does not 'creep' forward in L mode. However, it DOES creep at 2 mph in L mode if the driver's seat belt is unfastened. Seems odd, though easily addressed by buckling the belt.
9. Lane Keeping Assist has scared the bejeebers out of me a couple times. I sometimes fail to signal lane change, if I know there's nobody behind me, and could do without LKA in those cases. It felt a little too strong/sudden. Perhaps it will be helpful if I ever inadvertently drift out of my lane, but that doesn't happen often.
10. I haven't yet figured out all of the features and software, but eventually I will. The car is clearly smarter than I am.
11. I'll be interested to see crash test results. I'm hoping Bolt will do well, based on similarities with the design of the Volt and the Model S (heavy for its size, rigid battery skateboard).
I could ramble on indefinitely, but I think those are my main observations so far. Overall, I like the Bolt, and can recommend it heartily, so long as you don't need it to travel long distances.
I drove 600 miles in my first week and a half with the Bolt, and I like the car. I have driven a 1998 Lexus LS400 for the past 19 years, so the Bolt is a big change for me - it's basically the opposite of my old car. Some comments:
Pro
1. I very much like the 1-foot driving. It is different, something new to think about while I drive, at least at first. It feels a little safer, in that I can slow the car quicker if I need to by just lifting my foot instead of lifting, moving to the brake pedal and then stomping. Though I will admit I have so far used this advantage to drive more aggressively, rather than for added safety.
I pretty much always use L rather than D, even on the freeway. I might use D if I had a very long drive on the freeway, but then, the Bolt is not capable of such a drive.2. It's peppy, though not dramatically quicker than my ancient luxury sedan - 0-60 and quarter mile times are almost identical to the old LS.
3. I enjoy the small dimensions of the car - length and width - makes it more maneuverable, easier to park and merge than a big car.
4. Overall, fun to drive.
5. Front, rear, and surround view cameras are nice. The front camera shows the car hitting forward obstacles when they are still 18 inches away - seems like a larger-than-necessary error, but easy enough to compensate for mentally. The rear cameras get distorted by raindrops, but the rear windshield washer seems to clean them up nicely.
6. I like the rear view mirror camera, and use it almost all the time. I was able to get my eyes accustomed to it immediately, and appreciate the unobstructed, wider angle view. Distortion of distances (i.e. objects are closer than they appear) takes a little getting used to. Even with the regular old-fashioned rear view mirror, visibility seems good through 360 degrees.
7. Touchscreen and instrument display seem responsive and reasonably clear. I'd prefer better organization, optimization for efficiency, and customizability, but overall not bad.
8. Hill top reserve charges my battery to 87%. I'd prefer more control, but if you only get one option, 87% is pretty close to what I'd want. I got wifi on my EVSE, so may fine tune my charge limit a little with that.
9. I kind of like sitting up slightly higher - I've never owned an SUV. I put the driver's seat up as high and as far back as it will go, and fit perfectly (I'm 6'1").
10. Fit and finish seem rock-solid, everything seems to work as designed. This should go without saying, but there is Tesla, whose owners seem to have to plan on about 30 days at the service center in the first year after delivery...
Con
1. I don't see any great advantage yet from the electric 'instant torque', because the wheels just spin when I stomp on the accelerator. I'm hoping better, non-LRR tires may help, and will be interested if you find some that work well.
2. The shifter is very unintuitive. You need to push it forward (and sideways) to shift into reverse, and pull it back to shift into forward gears. Seems backwards, though no doubt I'll get the hang of it eventually. I'd prefer a more futuristic control, maybe buttons on the steering wheel, and then the shifter space could have been used for storage or something else.
3. Cargo space is a little smaller than I'd prefer, but probably enough for my commute and kid's baseball and lacrosse games and such 99 days out of 100. On the hundredth day, I'll just borrow my wife's SUV.
4. Speed is limited to 93 mph (the car says the top speed is 92 and GM's media page says 91, but I got to 93 on a level freeway before being limited). I have only been limited once, and rarely wish to exceed 93, but I do drive on Southern California freeways, so a few more available mph would be desirable.
5. myChevrolet app is quite weak. It takes ~45 seconds to communicate with the car (painfully slow - after all, I don't have all minute!), and often fails to communicate at all. When it fails, I can usually re-start communication by rebooting my phone or force-closing the app. App features are quite limited. Also, some info seems wrong - my lifetime efficiency shows as 2.5 miles per kWh - I'm pretty sure I'm doing better than that, and efficiency since last charge generally shows around 3.5 mpk, which seems reasonable. A good app would make the car a lot better - GM should work on improving this. However, I will not hold my breath...
6. I would like a few more fancy features - front parking sensors, automatic parallel parking, adaptive cruise control. adaptive headlights. But Bolt seems to have the most important safety features, and the missing bells and whistles are not a big deal.
7. For such a small car, the turning circle is fairly wide, at 35.4 feet. My big old Lexus has a tighter turning circle of only 34.8', even though it's 2-3 inches wider and nearly 3 feet longer than the Bolt!!! It's not terrible, but it seems to me GM could have done better, and could make the Bolt more maneuverable and pleasant to drive.
8. The brakes seem weak. I think this is because they try regeneration first, and friction only later after a good stomping. Stopping distance ratings for the Bolt are relatively poor, so I guess the brakes are not that great - or maybe it's the tires again. Safety is important to me, so this one's a bit troubling, but only a bit.
9. Sport mode does not persist, and must be selected every time you start the car. Minor, but annoying. Why do it this way?
10. Temperature control is less accurate than I'm used to. In the Lexus, I set my thermostat to 68 degrees the day I bought the car, basically never changed it for 20 years, and the cabin was always at a comfortable temperature, day or night. In the Bolt on a cool night, I need to set the thermostat to 75 degrees at first. Then after a few minutes, it will feel too hot, so I need to lower it to 72. It's ok for a while, then I need to lower it again, eventually ending up at 68 degrees after 20 or 30 minutes. Minor annoyance.
11. USB ports seem to be just medium power, i.e. not enough power to charge my phone 'rapidly'. I'm going to try using both front ports together with a Y-cable, but they really should have given us 2 or 3 amps per port. The wireless charger seems like a silly feature for a car, but at least it gives me a place to stick my phone while plugged into Android Auto.
12. It's not a luxury car. I'd gladly pay extra for a nicer interior - power hatch, homelink, soft-touch surfaces, better leather, adjustable seats, falcon wings (just kidding), lighted vanity mirror, etc. - but none of the missing features really bothers me. Though it's not pretty by any means, the appearance of the Bolt - both interior and exterior - has grown on me.
Other
1. Driving an electric car is less different than I was expecting. No big difference in quietness or vibration, as some have observed. I once had a slight case of range anxiety, just because I don't know how/where to charge away from home, but Bolt's range is enough that I've never gone much below a quarter of a battery, so range shouldn't be a concern once I get more experience. Overall, quite similar to an ICE car experience
2. The seats are fine for me and for my passengers. I have thrown a cover on the driver's seat bottom only, for a bit of protection and it is also a bit more comfortable for me in various seating positions.
3. The regen paddle is nice to have, though unintuitive for me. Difficult to find it if you're in the middle of a turn and the steering wheel is not in the home position. Once I found myself furiously pressing the audio "VolumeUp" paddle on the right side of the back of the steering wheel, trying to slow the car.
I'll get used to it at some point.4. The ride quality is much firmer than my old Lexus. Does not bother me, but my passengers miss the soft ride of the old car.
5. I get a lot less than EPA mileage, but attribute that to my driving style and freeway mix. I will have to monitor this a little more scientifically to know for sure, but my general impression is that I'm averaging around 3.3 mpk, with much of my driving at around 80 mph.
6. Android Auto is a nice idea, and I use it a lot for navigation. Definitely wants some improvement/maturing, though. Bluetooth, more apps, stability, ease of use.
7. Welcome lighting doesn't work great - probably senses my phone approaching frequently while I'm just walking around my house, and the lights have already gone off by the time I walk into my garage. I'll probably turn this off, as I can't see any actual useful purpose in it.
8. Normally, the car does not 'creep' forward in L mode. However, it DOES creep at 2 mph in L mode if the driver's seat belt is unfastened. Seems odd, though easily addressed by buckling the belt.
9. Lane Keeping Assist has scared the bejeebers out of me a couple times. I sometimes fail to signal lane change, if I know there's nobody behind me, and could do without LKA in those cases. It felt a little too strong/sudden. Perhaps it will be helpful if I ever inadvertently drift out of my lane, but that doesn't happen often.
10. I haven't yet figured out all of the features and software, but eventually I will. The car is clearly smarter than I am.
11. I'll be interested to see crash test results. I'm hoping Bolt will do well, based on similarities with the design of the Volt and the Model S (heavy for its size, rigid battery skateboard).
I could ramble on indefinitely, but I think those are my main observations so far. Overall, I like the Bolt, and can recommend it heartily, so long as you don't need it to travel long distances.
