[MikeyCVolt]

I was thinking that soon (in the next few months) I might be ready to move to a pure BEV so I test drove a Bolt this week. Really nice car: has everything I want as far as features, comfort, etc. The one thing that took me by surprise was that it felt noticeably slower off the line than the Volt. I knew that the numbers suggested that the Volt was slightly faster 0-30 but it was really noticeable. It seemed like it took the Bolt 4-5 seconds to apply full power off the line whereas the Volt ramps up to its full 120 kW much faster and pulls much harder from the start.

The opposite is true at speed and passing power is much better in the Bolt above say 40 MPH. But I find myself needing 0-30 more often than 30-60 or 50-70 because the times when I find it difficult to merge are congested roads between lights where you have to get rolling from a start so you can be moving quickly. Higher speed country roads tend to have much larger gaps so pulling out is easier and if you get to 30 in just a couple of seconds, you are already going half of the traffic speed and the cars behind you aren't bearing down on you as quickly.

So my question is this. I didn't have time to spend a lot of time on the test drive. Is there a mode (Sport maybe) in the Bolt that gives it more grunt off the line? What about if you turn off traction control? I even watched the power meter and you could see it SLOWLY ramping up power when you floor it from a stop and it looked like it took forever to reach max power (160 kW). My Volt doesn't do that, or rather, it does it but it reaches max 120 kW a lot faster than the Bolt.

At this point, that turned me off a bit plus I'm not a fan of the Bolt body style. It felt a bit like driving a micro minivan. I've just about decided to wait a year or two to see if GM comes out with a sporty EV.

Mike

 

[Tacoma]

I want to test drive a Bolt also. Just been slammed, and too busy to make it happen. I will pay attention to this when I get a chance to test drive one. What did you think of the seats?

 

[pe1979b]

When it came to acceleration I felt the Bolt was comparable to the Volt even though the Bolt has bettered measured speeds (I drove the Bolt in January and the Volt in June so there was a large gap in between the two test drives). I did not have any issues with the Bolts acceleration and found it more than acceptable for entering into high speed traffic. I believe the Bolt has a sport mode much like the Volt. I'd recommend possibly driving a different Bolt, perhaps there was something wrong with the one you drove.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

I want to test drive a Bolt also. Just been slammed, and too busy to make it happen. I will pay attention to this when I get a chance to test drive one. What did you think of the seats?

The seats felt a little harder/firmer than the Volt but nothing really noteworthy. They felt comfortable enough but I don't know if they'd feel any better/worse than the Volt on longer drives as I only drove it for maybe 15 minutes. I was more interested in the tech, dash, display, etc. at the time. I did pay attention to the white trim on the dash as a few reviews said that produced a reflection in the front windshield in just about all conditions so I was concerned about that. I didn't see any reflection from that at all so I'm not sure what the difference is. We are in FL and it looked like they put window tint on all the side windows... so maybe that helps.

I'll take the advice of test driving another one. Maybe something was screwy with that one and it was in some sort of granny mode on takeoff... although it did, after a few seconds, plant you back in the seat and reach the full 160 kW. It just didn't have that plant-you-in-the-seat-instantly that my Volt has.

Mike

 

[hallcp]

Yeah, something wrong. When I test drove a Bolt the wheels spun and the rear end started to swing around under moderately hard acceleration. Pretty much untamed power. And I don't think we were even in Sport mode.

 

[pe1979b]

The seats felt a little harder/firmer than the Volt but nothing really noteworthy. They felt comfortable enough but I don't know if they'd feel any better/worse than the Volt on longer drives as I only drove it for maybe 15 minutes. I was more interested in the tech, dash, display, etc. at the time. I did pay attention to the white trim on the dash as a few reviews said that produced a reflection in the front windshield in just about all conditions so I was concerned about that. I didn't see any reflection from that at all so I'm not sure what the difference is. We are in FL and it looked like they put window tint on all the side windows... so maybe that helps.

During my research of the Bolt I discovered seats were a common compliant.

 

[obermd]

I had a chance earlier this year to test drive a Bolt. Didn't like it as it rode too much like a truck for my tastes.

 

[Jmaj]

Re: the ride. Mine noticeably smoothed out after several thousand miles. At 7000 miles the ride is quite acceptable for me. Wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Tacoma]

I had a chance earlier this year to test drive a Bolt. Didn't like it as it rode too much like a truck for my tastes.

Well, in the end the wife will have veto power over our next purchase, and she does have some opinion about seats and the ride. Probably the number one focus for her.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

I may just need to recalibrate my brain a little, so I'll give one a test drive at a different dealer. I'm just used to the instant "jerk" of acceleration in the Volt; it's like a 200 lb guy just leans into you. The Bolt seemed more like that 200 lb guy started pushing on you a little first, and then leaned into it.

As to the seats, I noticed right away that they felt more "flat" and were harder than the Volt. Didn't seem to bother me on that short drive but maybe I should take a longer drive and pay more attention to my arse. If it gets uncomfortable such as too much pressure on the tailbone or something, that could be a deal breaker.

Mike

 

[pe1979b]

As to the seats, I noticed right away that they felt more "flat" and were harder than the Volt. Didn't seem to bother me on that short drive but maybe I should take a longer drive and pay more attention to my arse. If it gets uncomfortable such as too much pressure on the tailbone or something, that could be a deal breaker.

Any chance you would be able to take one for an extended test drive? I've had dealers offer me the vehicle for a couple of days.

 

[Eagleco]

Well, in the end the wife will have veto power over our next purchase, and she does have some opinion about seats and the ride. Probably the number one focus for her.

Same here. My wife didn't like the seats, just sitting in a Bolt at the Auto Show. Plus she didn't like the looks, and didn't want any range anxiety on her frequent trips to rural Minnesota where charging infrastructure is virtually nonexistent.

If I could afford it, I would trade my Cruze Eco in on a Bolt EV tomorrow. It was her turn for a new car, so 2018 Volt it was. At least she let's me drive it....sometimes

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Steverino]

Put it in Low, hit the pedal hard and the Bolt will chirp the tires and Go! Definitely faster than my Volt.

Seats are like shoes, some fit, some don't. Neither my wife, I or others who have driven our Bolt have issues with the seats.

 

[VoltAP1]

I test drove both, and the Bolt seemed to feel faster than the Volt in pretty much all circumstances. They're both really traction limited at <20-30 mph with FWD and an open diff, but they're at worst "comparable" down there. Above that the Bolt felt faster. Honestly like it had too much power for the chassis and open front diff.

I felt the Volt had better ride quality and handling than the Bolt, and the Bolt seats felt horrible after sitting in the Volt for 10 mins. No range anxiety, and me getting the Volt for probably $8-10k less than a comparable Bolt made it an easy decision for me.

 

[Jeff N]

I may just need to recalibrate my brain a little, so I'll give one a test drive at a different dealer. I'm just used to the instant "jerk" of acceleration in the Volt; it's like a 200 lb guy just leans into you. The Bolt seemed more like that 200 lb guy started pushing on you a little first, and then leaned into it.

How full was the battery? You’ll get noticeably more power out of the Bolt if the battery is above 75% state of charge. Power output is kind of the inverse of charge power. The batteries can accept higher charge when near empty and can output peak power when near full.

Many people find it easy to chirp the wheels on the Bolt from a stop but it’s 0-30 track numbers are not quite as good as the excellent 2nd generation Volt numbers. The Volt has a higher final drive gear ratio that helps to multipliy the torque to the wheels and gives it great low-speed acceleration.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

How full was the battery? You’ll get noticeably more power out of the Bolt if the battery is above 75% state of charge. Power output is kind of the inverse of charge power. The batteries can accept higher charge when near empty and can output peak power when near full.

Many people find it easy to chirp the wheels on the Bolt from a stop but it’s 0-30 track numbers are not quite as good as the excellent 2nd generation Volt numbers. The Volt has a higher final drive gear ratio that helps to multipliy the torque to the wheels and gives it great low-speed acceleration.

It was a little under half so I'd say 40-45%. Didn't know that mattered with the Volt/Bolt as they seem to always reach the max power (120kW for the Volt and 160kW for the Bolt).

Mike

 

[hellsop]

I may just need to recalibrate my brain a little, so I'll give one a test drive at a different dealer. I'm just used to the instant "jerk" of acceleration in the Volt; it's like a 200 lb guy just leans into you. The Bolt seemed more like that 200 lb guy started pushing on you a little first, and then leaned into it.

That's to keep people from spinning the tires by accident all the damned time. Either someone has to carefully learn how NOT to or software does it. Software saves a lot of time. And rubber. It'll still beat my Volt across the intersection and up the freeway ramp, and probably yours too.

 

[VoltAP1]

That's to keep people from spinning the tires by accident all the damned time. Either someone has to carefully learn how NOT to or software does it. Software saves a lot of time. And rubber. It'll still beat my Volt across the intersection and up the freeway ramp, and probably yours too.

The 2G Volt is noticeably quicker to 30-35 mph than the 1G Volt. It's probably the starkest difference between the two cars driving them back to back.

I would agree with others than the Bolt is a tad slower than the 2G Volt up to 30 mph, but we're probably talking a couple of tenths of a second, whereas from 30-60 mph the Bolt is noticeably quicker than the 2G Volt (which I feel tends to fall off pretty hard as the speeds get above 40 mph).

 

[MikeyCVolt]

That's to keep people from spinning the tires by accident all the damned time. Either someone has to carefully learn how NOT to or software does it. Software saves a lot of time. And rubber. It'll still beat my Volt across the intersection and up the freeway ramp, and probably yours too.

Your Bolt will definitely beat a Volt on a freeway ramp but you're never beating one across an intersection, sorry.

Sources: Motor Trend
Volt: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/chevrolet/volt/2016/2016-chevrolet-volt-first-test-review/
Bolt: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tes...s-nissan-leaf-sl-vs-tesla-model-3-long-range/

Bolt 0-30: 2.6s
Volt 0-30: 2.2s

Both cars (motors) have virtually linear acceleration to 30 MPH so the Volt hits 30 MPH in 48.4 ft at which point the Bolt is going 25 MPH and has travelled 40.8 feet. So at 30 MPH, the Volt is about 7.6 feet ahead of the Bolt... close but no cigar. 48 feet happens to be about 4 lanes of traffic, so a decent width intersection. "Intersection" is a bit of a fuzzy term so maybe if we are talking about 2 travel lanes plus two turn lanes on both sides plus a median, the Bolt would have passed the Volt by then.

Mike

 

[mike100]

My test drive in the Bolt suggested that GM held back on the software to not go full power before about 18-20 mph on the Bolt. That car clearly has a bigger motor set than the Volt but similarly skinny tires. Also the suspension isn't particularly sophisticated (Like the ELR cadillac) to avoid torque steer at the level it would be capable of providing torque if unrestrained.