brucet999
Active Member
I drove a Bolt today. My impressions:
Salesman not very informed; told me that "238 miles range is conservative" and "people are getting 271 miles" "Maybe at 30 mph, but not at 70mph", I said. "No, no", he said, "Doesn't matter how fast, 60, 70, even 90 - doesn't matter." Riiighht.
Charge time is listed on window sticker as 18hr for included 120V charging cable; 9.3 hours for 240V (amperage not stated).
The car I drove had no DC fast-charging capability. Salesman claims 30 minutes to full charge from depleted battery for fast DC. That seems too fast to me for a nominal 60 kWh battery. Even from 10% to 90% SOC in 30 minutes would mean an average 96 kW charge rate.
Salesman told me that Chevy doesn't sell a 240V charging station. Actually they do, complete with GM part number, but made by AeroVironment Corp. - $800 for 32A 240V output charging station. Salesman recommended Bosch unit for about $1500 installed, but had no details about it. There is no way to plug into a dryer or 14-50 outlet at home.
The car I drove was "Premier"? version with leather or part leather seats (I couldn't tell) instead of basic cloth and a luggage compartment cover to hide stuff from view. Fairly comfortable seats, but no lumbar support adjustment. Manual adjustments for up/down were quite smooth; felt kinda like a bicycle pump. Recline was quick and bumpy, dropping into fixed detents. Forward/back was quick, but difficult to move forward since your own weight tends to move the seat backward.
AV system supports iPhone and Android music via BlueTooth. There is a shark fin roof antenna as well, so I suspect its am/fm radio reception would be better than Tesla's.
The car is much smaller than it looks in pictures, seems shorter than Volt ,but higher so that headroom both front and rear is very good. My 6'2" friend commented that he could have worn a hat without touching the headliner. Back seats are higher than Model S, so knees are comfortably less bent. Trunk space is pretty small, but it is not a road trip car anyway; plenty for groceries and such. Both rear setbacks fold down for bulkier cargo.
Side mirrors gave good rear vision and center mirror features both wide-angle camera view and direct reflection view. Backup camera gives wide angle view and presents guidelines for your path that curve as you turn the wheel.
Visibility through windows is good all around.
Regen braking in "L" mode is strong and, unlike Tesla, brings the car to a complete stop (technically it must be using friction brakes at the end like the BMW i3) without touching the brake. In "D" mode, regen is weak, so those who like ICE vehicle behavior would not be alarmed. There is a paddle control on the steering wheel you pull and hold to get more regen when in "D" mode.
Power application indicator features a "meatball" (for you ex carrier pilots out there ) a green dot that rises above center when power is applied and changes to yellow when power application is stronger; drops below center during regen. No kW indicators, just relative.
Acceleration from stopped would be considered fairly peppy, if you aren't accustomed to a Tesla. Acceleration from 45mph felt pretty weak to me. I didn't get to try it on a freeway.
Quieter than most ICE vehicles, especially small ones, but above 20 mph I was aware of an annoyingly loud motor whine.
I found the center console-mounted gearshift handle to be poorly situated; too far back. Even though I had my seat pretty far back, I had to awkwardly wedge my elbow backward a little ways between the seatbacks to get my hand on the lever. For a short person with seat forward, I would think it would be much worse. For reverse, you must press a thumb button, then move the knob forward and left; no chance of accidentally shifting into reverse.
Salesman not very informed; told me that "238 miles range is conservative" and "people are getting 271 miles" "Maybe at 30 mph, but not at 70mph", I said. "No, no", he said, "Doesn't matter how fast, 60, 70, even 90 - doesn't matter." Riiighht.
Charge time is listed on window sticker as 18hr for included 120V charging cable; 9.3 hours for 240V (amperage not stated).
The car I drove had no DC fast-charging capability. Salesman claims 30 minutes to full charge from depleted battery for fast DC. That seems too fast to me for a nominal 60 kWh battery. Even from 10% to 90% SOC in 30 minutes would mean an average 96 kW charge rate.
Salesman told me that Chevy doesn't sell a 240V charging station. Actually they do, complete with GM part number, but made by AeroVironment Corp. - $800 for 32A 240V output charging station. Salesman recommended Bosch unit for about $1500 installed, but had no details about it. There is no way to plug into a dryer or 14-50 outlet at home.
The car I drove was "Premier"? version with leather or part leather seats (I couldn't tell) instead of basic cloth and a luggage compartment cover to hide stuff from view. Fairly comfortable seats, but no lumbar support adjustment. Manual adjustments for up/down were quite smooth; felt kinda like a bicycle pump. Recline was quick and bumpy, dropping into fixed detents. Forward/back was quick, but difficult to move forward since your own weight tends to move the seat backward.
AV system supports iPhone and Android music via BlueTooth. There is a shark fin roof antenna as well, so I suspect its am/fm radio reception would be better than Tesla's.
The car is much smaller than it looks in pictures, seems shorter than Volt ,but higher so that headroom both front and rear is very good. My 6'2" friend commented that he could have worn a hat without touching the headliner. Back seats are higher than Model S, so knees are comfortably less bent. Trunk space is pretty small, but it is not a road trip car anyway; plenty for groceries and such. Both rear setbacks fold down for bulkier cargo.
Side mirrors gave good rear vision and center mirror features both wide-angle camera view and direct reflection view. Backup camera gives wide angle view and presents guidelines for your path that curve as you turn the wheel.
Visibility through windows is good all around.
Regen braking in "L" mode is strong and, unlike Tesla, brings the car to a complete stop (technically it must be using friction brakes at the end like the BMW i3) without touching the brake. In "D" mode, regen is weak, so those who like ICE vehicle behavior would not be alarmed. There is a paddle control on the steering wheel you pull and hold to get more regen when in "D" mode.
Power application indicator features a "meatball" (for you ex carrier pilots out there ) a green dot that rises above center when power is applied and changes to yellow when power application is stronger; drops below center during regen. No kW indicators, just relative.
Acceleration from stopped would be considered fairly peppy, if you aren't accustomed to a Tesla. Acceleration from 45mph felt pretty weak to me. I didn't get to try it on a freeway.
Quieter than most ICE vehicles, especially small ones, but above 20 mph I was aware of an annoyingly loud motor whine.
I found the center console-mounted gearshift handle to be poorly situated; too far back. Even though I had my seat pretty far back, I had to awkwardly wedge my elbow backward a little ways between the seatbacks to get my hand on the lever. For a short person with seat forward, I would think it would be much worse. For reverse, you must press a thumb button, then move the knob forward and left; no chance of accidentally shifting into reverse.
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