It is indeed something you learn. I have a way of holding the wheel with my hand resting on my knee that has become second nature, and I can drive for an hour with hardly any nags.
Second the notion.
For what it's worth, am back from another road trip from NJ to Boston and back over several days. All the restricted access highway driving was done with FSD 11.4.9, including getting back and forth across the George Washington Bridge, a place not for the faint of heart. A couple of minor interventions, mostly on the Very Local roads that Boston is full of (i.e., narrow, two-lane, but not really, with Really Strange Angles). Do wish that the new Summon would hurry up and appear so we all get autopark back, since it does parallel parking a bit better than a human.
Windshield wipers were a
bit flaky; there was light drizzle and mist kicked up by other cars that would gradually scum up the windshield. The wipers would wipe, eventually, but not until it took a couple of sprays of cleaner to get the windshield clean again. Stating, "Wipers Low!" to the car more-or-less fixed that. When the rain was heavier, the wipers were fine.
Interestingly, went and made a long-overdue visit with a brother in Central Mass. In between visits he had gone and bought a Chevy Bolt, 2023 model. He spent quite a bit of time showing the car off. And having me drive it around, which was an experience since, natch, all the controls
There's not a small bit to like about the car. Seats are cloth and a bit more comfortable. Fair amount of room, front and rear, the rears being noticeably bigger than the M3 I drive.
For those who just
have to have climate control buttons, this car's got a full set, a bit more advanced than ye cars of olde. There's two sets of screens, Model S style, one behind the wheel and another, around half the size of the Teslas' in the center.
And then we get to the negatives.
First and foremost: The car does have what Tesla would call Basic Autopilot with TACC and LK, but both aren't anywhere near as good as the Teslas'. The TACC doesn't hold speed that well, going up and down an MPH or two on hills. But the LK is Very Scary. Unlike LK on a Tesla, which more-or-less welds the car to the centerline, with an obvious shift away from large trucks, the LK on the Bolt.. drifts. With help, I got it into LK and the car started drifting towards the right lane line. And kept on drifting until it was nearly on top of it, then steered away. Then drifted towards the line on the left; lather, rinse, repeat. And during these perambulations, it got Too Darn Close to the cars in the adjacent lanes. My brother stated that he doesn't use it and, by gum, I can see why. He claims it works OK on highways with clearly marked lines.. I'm not so sure. FSD, EAP, and Standard Autopilot beat Chevy's approach all hollow.
People around here complain that they can't get Android Auto or Apple Auto. This car's got both of those and, to boot, Chevy's approach. I think one can also run Waze, but am not sure. However, only the Chevy one does pre-heat before DC fast charging. I dunno.. Tesla's approach of One App To Rule Them All when it comes to NAV does get some complaints, but not getting the car's basic functions working when on the alternate apps is a downcheck.
Other negatives: The car's about the size of a M3, sort of, but there's no Frunk. And the "trunk" volume is somewhat smaller than the M3's and a lot less than a MY's. One does get a freebie air pump and flat-tire gunk tool.
Oh, yeah: So, I subscribe to the Advanced Connectivity feature on the Tesla: $10/month or $100/year. He's got the equivalent on the Bolt. And that turns out to be Onstar, which is $35/month, and another $15/month for the traffic density stuff, for a total of $50/month. OK: So the Bolt is several thousand bucks cheaper than a Tesla, so it's going to take a while at $50/month to drain one's wallet, but, still.
The car doesn't quite have the get-up-and-go of a M3 LR, but he does like the instant acceleration. He claims it leans in turns, something that a M3 doesn't do so much, but I didn't feel much of a difference.
